AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Forty-Two
Julian
“I heard a phone ring.”
Chloe ran from the kitchen to the living room where Ryker, Zane, Faith, and I sat, not speaking. Hough spent the majority of the morning hovering over the FBI table. Ty sat next to my mother, handing her new tissues. Thank god for Ty. Mom was a crying mess. I knew she needed comfort, but I couldn’t be the one to offer it. I needed to focus and keep a clear head.
Ryker held his cell phone in front of Chloe’s blotchy face. “Our manager. She called to check on us.”
Chloe pinched her lips between her finger and thumb to control the constant whimpering she’d been doing since she got here. “Oh. I just hoped…”
I had no clue who picked Phoebe’s sister up from the airport two days ago. Whether she was here or not made not a damn bit of difference to me. I had a plan brewing in my head, and no part of it included most of the people in the room.
I vaguely recognized hushed mumbling from the table and glanced up to see Hough nodding profusely, his head wobbling on his skinny neck.
Before I knew it, he’d cleared the distance in front of me, his phone mashed against his face. “Yes, what’s the ETA? Fifteen? Fine. Yes, let the guard know. We’ll be waiting.”
The hair on my neck bristled. “Is it about Phoebe?” When he held up a finger in my face, I knocked it away and stood. I had a good two inches on him. “Answer me, goddamn it.”
Ending the call, he palmed the back of his neck. “Calm the hell down, Bale.” I backed a few steps away and glared at his phone. “That was the postmaster. He’s identified a package addressed to you. Agent Young flagged anything addressed to this house to be held and rerouted to a holding tank.” He lifted his stare. “It’s on its way.”
Every eye in the room watched the clock on the cable box as each minute changed to a new number. Pacing, sitting, tapping my feet—nothing helped to calm my nerves or distract me from watching the clock. Just as I lifted my head to demand Jaxon call them back, the door creaked and flew open. Everson stood in the entryway with a small rectangular brown box tucked under his arm.
“Been dusted and scanned. All’s good.” He handed it off to Hough.
Before he could get a finger inside the opening, I grabbed it out of his hands. At the frayed ends of my rope, I tore into the box, shredding the cardboard like notebook paper. What fell into my hands confused me. I stared at it, not understanding what to do next.
“DVD?” Ryker spoke up, his voice raised in a question.
Agent Hyatt called out from the dining room, turning her laptop around. “My laptop has an external media drive hooked up. If there’s a virus on it, the spyware on this thing will quarantine the hell out of it. Bring it over.”
In a daze, I carried the case like some sort of offering. Taking it, she popped it open and inserted it into her computer. I felt everyone in the room close in behind me and the air stagnated.
Within seconds an image emerged on the screen. Voices mumbled, one female, a few male. Suddenly, a bright light illuminated the entire room and an audible gasp resonated behind me. Every muscle in my neck tightened.
The camera panned to Phoebe. She was tied to a chair, her face bruised and bloody. A shadowy blond stood behind her as she struggled.
Zane’s mouth fell open beside me, his overgrown beard hiding most of his face. “What the fuck?”
“Shut up!” I commanded.
As I struggled to make out what Phoebe was saying, a figure in ugly brown boots slowly walked toward the camera. His gray hair was disheveled, but once he smiled, his eyes crinkled with satisfaction. I knew those eyes.
“Hello, son. Or should I say, welcome to the family, boy.”
“I’m not your boy, motherfucker,” I mumbled under my breath while glaring at the screen.
“Glad you could make it to our little party. I enjoyed our chat the other week. Hate you didn’t listen to my warning.” He glanced back at Phoebe. “Like I said, you gotta keep your eye on those princesses.”
Two different sets of arms held me back as I lunged forward. “Where is she?”
He smiled and winked into the camera. “Now pay close attention, boy. You’re not gonna wanna miss this.”
Ice ran through my veins as he sauntered behind Phoebe and pulled out a yellow scarf from his pocket. A muffled cry beside me turned into hyperventilating gasps as he tightened it in both hands. Without turning, I knew it was Chloe. She knew what it meant.
“No!” I yelled as two more hands grabbed me.
“Remember this, son?” He looked down at the scarf in his hands. “Should’ve listened to the little woman.” Phoebe screamed as he wrapped it around her neck and pulled.
