AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Eleven
Hunter
A knock on the door had Hunter sitting up straight. He cursed at himself for falling asleep and being startled like that. He slid out of the bed, which woke Vanessa. When she realized what was happening, she sat up and jumped out of bed, a frightened look on her face.
He picked up his pants and took out his gun, then loaded a bullet into the chamber. He nodded toward the door, indicating Vanessa should go and see who it was.
She pulled on a robe and walked toward the door, Hunter only steps behind her, his gun drawn and ready. The knock came again.
“Vanessa Powers?” a man’s voice called through the door.
Hunter whispered, “Do you recognize the voice?”
She shook her head. “Who is it?”
“Nicholas Johnson. I’m from Child Protective Services. I’ve received a call.”
She put her hand to her mouth and looked back at Hunter. He lowered his weapon.
“Ask for his ID,” he said.
She unlocked the door, but didn’t slid open the chain. With the door open a crack, she looked out at the man. “Do you have ID?”
He held up a plastic name badge with his photo, name, and an employee number. It said Child Protective Services across the bottom.
She looked to Hunter again, asking what to do with her expression. He nodded and placed his gun in the back of his pants in easy reach. Who knew if this guy was for real, but if he was, greeting him with the muzzle of his gun wasn’t the best impression.
Vanessa slid off the chain to open the door all the way. Nicholas stepped inside and she closed and relocked the door.
“What’s this about?” she asked.
“Sorry to disturb you this morning. We’ve had a call about your daughter, Opal Powers. I’ve been sent to investigate the whereabouts of the child.”
Vanessa stared at him in shocked silence.
“And who placed this call?” Hunter asked.
“I’m sorry, and you are?” Nicholas asked.
“A concerned party,” Hunter said. “Let me see that ID again.”
Nicholas handed it over, and Hunter took a moment to inspect it. It looked legit as far as he could tell. There was a number on the card, but he didn’t trust that.
“Just wait here a moment,” Hunter said. He went to the bedroom and got his phone, then returned. He looked up the number for CPS, saw that it matched the one listed on his ID, and called. There was a menu option to verify a social worker. He entered the number on the ID, and it read back Nicholas’s name. So that lowlife Jeremy really had called CPS on Vanessa.
Hunter handed back his ID. “Sorry about that. You have to understand we’ve been in quite a stressful and dangerous situation recently. We have to take every precaution necessary.”
Better to come right out and talk about the details of the abuse and how Jeremy was after them than to let Nicholas question it out of them. He needed to understand very quickly that Vanessa was not responsible for any harm to Opal. And he needed to know just how bad of a father and husband Jeremy had been.
“And it was the father, Jeremy Powers, who called you?” Hunter asked.
“I’m not allowed to disclose that information,” Nicholas said.
“It had to be him, because he’s the one responsible for harming Opal, and he’s the one who’s after Vanessa to get his daughter back, when she had to flee from him to keep Opal safe.”
“I see,” Nicholas said. He turned to Vanessa. “Are you Vanessa Powers?”
“Yes,” she said in a soft whisper. Her face had gone pale.
