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Yeah, I don’t fucking think so.
Instead of finding Romeo, I stumble across Julianna sitting in the kitchen alone eating ice cream. With pickles.
“I think you’re taking this a little too far,” I say, pulling out a chair and sitting next to her.
“Blame the baby, not me,” she replies, grinning. “So, today was crazy.”
“Which part of the day are you referring to?” I ask in a dry tone.
She gets an extra bowl and spoon and scoops some ice cream for me, minus the pickles, which I appreciate.
“Thank you,” I say as she slides me the bowl.
“Well, I mean, you couldn’t really control the Mark thing, but the Damon thing...”
“Don’t you start,” I say quietly, eating the cookies and cream in front of me. “I’ve already had to speak to Corey and Bella about this, we made up, I’m done with it.”
“Okay,” she replies, dragging out the word.
“Where’s Romeo?”
“He was having a shower when I left,” she says, tucking her blonde hair back behind her pierced ears. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, just wanted to chat with him before I went to bed, but it’s okay.” I scoop the last bit from the bowl and put it in the sink just as Jag runs into the kitchen, Mark’s phone in his hand.
“The kidnapper finally called, so I answered and said Romeo would like to speak with her, but she hung up. I recorded the voice so maybe you might recognize it,” he says, playing back the woman’s slightly distorted voice saying, “Mark? I let Sarah go, now keep your end of the deal.”
We can then hear Jag speaking to her, and then her hanging up. I know this voice, I just can’t place it. However, it doesn’t sound like Cathy, which is concerning, because who the hell are we dealing with here?
“Play it for Romeo,” I suggest, just as he steps into the kitchen.
“We having a meeting or something?” he asks, smirking as he sees Julianna dipping pickles into her bowl.
“Play it,” I tell Jag. He plays it again for us to hear.
“That’s not Grandma’s voice,” Romeo says after listening to it for a few times. “I don’t think so, anyway. It’s a younger voice.”
“Wait, play it again,” Julianna says, frowning. “It sounds familiar.”
No one can place it, so we call it a night and head to bed. I don’t get to speak with Romeo, but I tell myself that I’ll talk to him tomorrow.
At least Mark got his damn Sarah back, so hopefully he won’t show up here again, because if he does, we’re going to have to kill him.
I’m done playing games with him.
The next morning I take Bella to the shooting range. She’s right—knowing how to shoot is a very good thing. That along with some self-defense can never go astray. I show her how to hold the gun and teach her all about gun safety.
She points at the target and misses on her first try.
But the second one?
Almost a bull’s-eye.
“You’re a good shot,” I tell her, smiling.
I show off a little and demonstrate how it’s done, hitting the target almost perfectly with every shot I fire.
“Okay, I want to be that good,” she says, a determined expression on her beautiful face. “I didn’t think I’d enjoy it, but it’s kind of fun.”
