Epilogue – Old Habits

After a second brush with death that had left her feeling empty and unfulfilled, Julia found herself changing for the second time. Where once she had moved from place-to-place, tried to stay under the radar, remained nothing more than a faded memory, she was suddenly settled down in a simple, two-bedroom flat and employed to support Sarah and herself. This change was the first and easier of the two to adjust to. The second had been the most difficult to overcome.

For nearly five years, she had woken up to follow same routine. Before breakfast, before her shower, before even dressing fully, she walked through her apartment or hotel room or the floor of the abandoned building and searched. She searched every room, every shadow, every corner for any signs that she'd been followed, that she was being watched, that he'd finally caught up to her. Now, almost six years after fleeing from him the first time, she woke without fear or paranoia. For the first time, she felt safe, free.

Almost a year had passed since she'd last laid eyes on him. In that time, her life had taken on a leisurely, peaceful pace that reminded her of the days before she had ever met the Red Dragon gangsters. A few months ago, the radio newscasters began reporting on the rumored movements of the once-believed extinct Red Dragon syndicate. Despite herself, Julia couldn't help turning the volume up when such reports came on. They never mentioned his name, but she still listened; just in case.

One morning, she came in from working a night shift at the diner to find the house quieter than usual. At times, Sarah would fall asleep listening to a favourite CD; it helped her feel safe in the dark when Julia had to work at night. When silence greeted her, she wondered if perhaps the little blonde was already awake. She hung her coat by the door, slipped off her shoes at the foyer, and draped her apron over a chair in her bedroom. She leaned against her doorway as she freed her tousled hair from the bun she'd pressed it into before her shift.

"Sarah? You awake, pretty girl?"

Silence. The older blonde frowned. With caution, a step she couldn't quite rationally justify, she headed down the hallway towards the little girl's room.

"C'mon, sleepy head. I'll make waffles if you're hungry."

Her hands shook as she grasped the doorknob. With agonizing slowness, she turned the knob and opened the door. At first, she saw nothing. Panic leapt in her throat and her heart pounded in her chest. A struggled whimper caught her attention and she whirled on her heels in the direction of the little girl's voice.

"Sarah!"

As she turned, her heart stopped. In the arms of a tall, dark-skinned stranger, Sarah struggled around a tight-fitting gag. It took a moment for the blonde to breathe again as she stared down the grinning intruder. When she felt the world around her start with a kick, she struggled to keep her legs from collapsing.

"I hope you've enough to feed everyone. We're all mighty hungry, Momma."

"Wh-who…"

"Now I'm certain that feels like a terribly important question right now. The truth is, you don't really need to know who I am. The only thing you need to worry about right now is this sweet, well-behaved little girl. You see, Miss Julia, Sarah is very scared right now and for a very good reason. There are very bad men that want to hurt little Sarah. If it weren't for her favourite new uncle, those men would have done awful things to her."

"Favourite… uncle?"

"Why, that would be me, of course."

"Of course…"

"I promise, Momma, no bad is going to come to your pretty girl. In return, you have to promise you're going to behave. Can you do that for me?"

"What do you want? Why are you in my home?"

"I represent a certain group of people who are very interested in doing business with the new head of the Red Dragon syndicate. Unfortunately, it seems the Van is not as… receptive of our generous offer and my clients feel they haven't been given enough consideration."

"And you think hurting us is going to get you somewhere?"

"Miss Julia, you wound me. I never said anything about hurting either of you. So long as you both are on your best behavior, I can assure no harm will come to you. You may be at the mercy of the wolf pack, but this alpha doesn't like to see innocent blood shed."

"How unusual to find a man among beasts. Unfortunately for your clients, you've found the wrong bait. Vicious considers me dead; we will gain you nothing."

"Well, we'll just have to see about that, then, won't we? In the mean time, my orders are clear. We can do this one of two ways: the easy way or the painfully easy way. The choice is entirely in your hands, but I don't think I need to remind you which one of us is holding little Sarah."

Julia's heart dropped like a rock into the pit of her stomach. Acid burned in the back of her throat and she felt like throwing up. A quivering hand reached out to grasp the bedroom doorknob in order to support her weakening body. After a moment, she drew a strengthening breath and cleared her throat.

"If… if we cooperate and don't make a fuss… If we do that and Vicious doesn't answer, what then?"

"I'm certain my clients will be more than happy to see to it that you and your little girl are returned safely where we found you and with our sincerest apologies."

"Bullshit. Your clients are nothing but gangsters and thugs. I know how you do business. I came to mean something to Vicious by starting out as his partner, not as some five-dollar whore. You can't assure me we'll walk away from this alive without Vicious's help, if even then. What reason do I have to listen to anything you have to say?"

The dark-skinned male listened as she spoke and slowly sighed. He shook his head and suddenly yanked Sarah's head back by a handful of hair. The little girl yelped and Julia saw tears in her eyes. The older female took a step forward, as if intending to rush to her child's side, and stopped. Her breathing was heavy and her eyes glossed over with fearful tears.

"You speak incorrectly, Miss Julia. You have no reason to trust me. You do not, however, have no reason to listen to me and cooperate, regardless of the eventual circumstances. Now, I'm willing to forgive that little outburst as the emotional ranting of a distressed mother. However, I would appreciate, as I'm certain little Sarah would appreciate, no other reasons for me to hurt her. Do I make myself clear?"

Julia trembled and found the world around her become foggy, unfocused.

"Y-yes. I understand."

"Good. If you can comport yourself with some dignity and common sense, I will be happy to release the little girl as you two accompany me to my vehicle outside. Do you think you can handle that?"

"Yes… yes, please."

The male grinned and gently placed Sarah on her feet. The little girl shook visibly as she tried to remain very perfectly still. The intruder took a moment and untied the cloth gag that left bright red marks on the girl's cheeks where they had stretched her skin too far. Julia tried to keep from sobbing at the sight of her scared child and reached her arms out towards her. Once given a gentle push from the male at her back, Sarah went running for her surrogate mother.

"Momma!"

"Sarah…"

Julia wrapped her arms tightly around the smaller blonde and held her close. Out of the corner of her eyes, Julia saw the stranger stand from one of Sarah's chairs and walk towards them. With an arm on her shoulder, her led the female through her apartment. Julia cursed at herself silently as they walked. Why had she thought she was safe? Why had she been so stupid as to think she could completely escape the long reach of the syndicate life?

She found herself longing for the days when she lived in fear, when she took every possible measure to ensure her safety. It had been an old habit. A habit that had taken much time and effort to break. A habit that had seemed over-obsessive, unnecessary. A habit that might have saved her little girl from the terror she had and would eventually witness. Old habits die hard, but childhood scars never fade.

Vicious… how stupid I was to think that I was safest when I was furthest from you… What have I done?