Page 79 of Her Nightshade

The silence that followed was suffocating.

Then Jake spoke, his voice low and menacing. “You keep pushing, and Callan’s next. Do you hear me? You keep your mouth shut, or I’ll make sure he’s gone too.”

My eyes widened with horror. Was he going to turn on his own daughter?

“Stop it!” Ana said in the background, her voice filled with anger. “You’re scaring her.”

“She should be scared,” Jake shot back. “You both should be.”

“Mom!”

The call ended abruptly, leaving a deafening silence in its wake.

Callan and I glanced at each other with an unspoken understanding.

“This isn’t good,” he said, already moving. “He’s escalated too quickly. Let’s move. Now.”

We were out the door before I could even think.

“What’s the plan?” I asked Callan, eyeing the .45 he packed in his waistband.

“This is for the worst case scenario, Charlie. We go in and tell him we have this shit on him, threaten him, and go on our merry way with Ana and Sloane,” he explained calmly, our shoes crunching on the leaves as we stepped outside, the cold air biting my cheeks.

I felt for the pocket knife in my jeans. It was there, just as always.

“You don’t think he’s gonna fight it?” I asked cautiously.

“I don’t fucking know, Charlie. He might. Be prepared for anything.”

My heart raced as we glided towards the house, but the sheer anticipation I felt kept my adrenaline high.

“We go through the back door. Follow my lead. Got it?” he asked, stopping as we took in a perfect view of the house just ahead.

I nodded. “Got it.”

We began for the house again, pacing quickly ahead, and I knew I’d do whatever it took to keep Ana, even Sloane, safe.

There was a sudden commotion inside as we approached it; there was some muffled yelling and a loud clunk, like something—or someone—dropping to the floor. Callan ran ahead and I followed, and as he swung the back door open, there was Jake getting up from the floor. There was blood dripping down his temple, his hand held firmly against it. Sloane and Ana were gone. I looked down to find a ceramic vase and plant shattered on the floor.

“Callan,” he said as he turned around, noticing him first, then locked eyes with me. “Charlie,” he spit out, his voice low and venomous. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Where’s Sloane and Ana?” Callan asked, leaving no room for me to answer.

He pointed to the front door that was wide open, headlights pulling out of the driveway. “Ana hit me then took off with Sloane. Which was stupid of them, really. Now they’ve just sealed both of your fates.”

Callan let out a bitter laugh. “Tough guy now, huh, Jake? It doesn’t fit you,” he retorted.

“I’ve always been like this. I’ve just been good at hiding it,” Jake shot back, then turned to me with a glare.

My anger was simmering with each passing second.

“Well, that’s gonna serve you well in prison, bud, ‘cause we got your confession on Sarah,” Callan said, causing Jake to break our eye contact as he turned back to him.

“That’s rich,” Jake said with a bitter laugh. “That’s all you’ve got? What is it, an audio recording? That’ll never hold up in court.”

“Yeah, so maybe we should just fucking kill him, Callan,” I said through gritted teeth.

Jake turned back to me, his eyebrows shooting up. “And so he speaks!” he said mockingly. “Andyou? Killme?“ His mocking laugh returned.

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