Page 91 of Sterling Clay

“No funny business, Mavis. Straight talk. No locations. Nothing yet. He agrees to a chat.”

“Or else?”

Darren drops his gaze. He doesn’t want to answer me, but I already know what he might do, what he is capable of.

While my heart hammers, I’m equally calm. Maybe too calm. Maybe this is shock, or fear on the most base level. I’m numb.

“And if he agrees?”

“Then I’ll tell him where and when.”

Being that my father is in Florida, some five states away, and Darren isn’t likely to let us go until he talks to Dad, we’re stuck.

“Let me call Clay. I don’t want him to worry. Plus, his brother, Stone, the sheriff . . .” I let the thought linger. The authorities will be looking for us and that’s more trouble for Darren.

“Hammer first.”

Hearing my dad’s road name stiffens my back, but when Darren releases his phone in my hand, I make the call. It goes unanswered. I’m positive dad lost this number and won’t answer a random one he doesn’t recognize.

My next hope is my mom. “Let me call Mom. She can pass this number to Dad.”

Darren eyes me suspiciously before nodding. It takes a minute to recall my parent’s house phone number. Shocking they still have a house phone, but mom feels safer with the landline service. She answers on the second ring.

“Hello.”

“Mama.” My voice cracks and my gaze catches on Darren. He shakes his head slowly side to side, warning me to keep it together. He also lifts his hand, holding it close to my ear, before capturing my wrist and pulling the phone downward. He clicks on the speaker button.

“Mavis, baby. It’s been too long. How are you? How’s Dutton?”

“We’re both . . . okay. Mom, I don’t have long to talk, and I really need to get in touch with Daddy.”

“He’s not here, honey. Got a call and said he needed to roll. You know how he is.” She chuckles. “Before he left, though, he told me if you called, he wanted to know where you were. Ask if there was a way to reach you.”

If my mother is concerned, she’s giving nothing away. And if she knows more than she’s leading on, she’s a darn good actress.

“I’m—” Darren’s hand covers the phone, ready to pull it from mine. “I need Dad to call this number.” I’m practically yelling, knowing I’m running out of time because Darren is running out of patience.

“Let me get a pen.” The comment buys me time. Darren takes pity that my parents are older, pen and paper is their thing.

“Okay, honey. Shoot.”

I call out the number as Darren mouths the digits. Then I ask Mom to repeat it back to me.

“Are you in some kind of trouble?” she finally asks.

“A butterfly is never trapped.” My voice is hushed, shaky and rough, and before Mom can respond, Darren clicks off the call.

Our eyes meet. “You’re walking a fine line, Mavis.”

I glance at Dutton again, my throat thickening. I don’t have a choice. If the proverbial line is thin, I need to cross it to keep Dutton safe.

And the code to Mom should explain it all.

We are in trouble.

Chapter 32

[Clay]