Page 43 of Love Under Siege

"Jacob! Let him go!" Marissa commands sternly, but I ignore her. "She didn't choose this!" I pin his chest with my arm, holding him against the wall. Marissa pulls me away and urges me to calm down.

"He – "

"GO!" She cuts me off and points towards the kitchen. Angry and frustrated, I storm off but can still hear Marissa yelling at Tom in the living room. Although we rarely raise our voices in this family, tensions are high in this moment.

Tom and Marissa enter the kitchen, but Tom looks down at the ground like a scolded child.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that," Tom says sheepishly.

"It's not her fault, Tom. You know that if she had even the slightest thought that you both would be in danger, she wouldn't have come," I say sternly.

Tom nods, and then Marissa tells him to go back home and wait for her. She comes over to me and rubs my arm. "We'll get through this," she reassures me. I nod slowly and grab a beer from the fridge. "What do we do next?" I ask as I take a seat on a nearby stool. Marissa joins me.

"Well, I already scheduled the funeral for tomorrow. After that, I need to figure out what to do with the farm. Then...I don't know," she responds. I nod and take a sip of my beer. "Where do you need me?" I ask.

She smiles at me. "Just be there for the funeral, and then...well, I already know what you want to do," she says, patting my hand. I snort and nod my head; sometimes she knows me better than I know myself.

"For now, I think you should just get some rest. I'll meet you at the funeral home," she says as she takes my empty beer bottle and throws it away. I laugh, causing her to furrow her brow. "Acting like a mom already," I joke. She smiles again and leaves.

I head to my room, feeling incredibly alone in this quiet house. I lie in bed, trying to sleep, but it's no use. My mind keeps going back to Anya - where could she be? Why isn't she answering her phone?

Finally, unable to relax, I sit up and start texting Connor. I haven't talked to him since before I left for basic training, which isn't unusual considering the limited communication we had with our families. We need to come up with a plan - not just to find Anya, but also to figure out who is following her. And once we confront the people who killed my mom, they'll wish they were never born!

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Anya

The drive home was a blur, as if I were on autopilot. Before I knew it, I had arrived at my grandparents' house. The sight before me snaps me back to reality; there are at least twelve cars parked out front. Some are cop cars, and I recognize Lana's jeep among them. My heart sinks when I see my parents' car as well. The last time I spoke to them was when Jacob was with me. No no no, I can't do this! I can't face them now! Panic sets in internally. Just as I am about to put my car in reverse and leave, someone knocks on my window. I slump back into my seat and roll down the window.

"Leaving so soon?" Lana asks with a knowing smirk.

"I can't face my parents, Lana! Not after everything."

She opens my door and kneels in front of me, placing her hands on either side of my cheeks. "Yes, you can," she reassures me with a sympathetic smile. "It's going to be okay. You are strong Anya, you always have been." She pulls me into a hug and we stand there as I begin to sob.

She continues to rub my back and then after I have calmed down she pulls away and looks me in the eye. “Come on, the detective is here and he says he has some good news”.

"WHAT?!" I exclaim in surprise and immediately head toward the house. The thought of hearing good news from the police overrides my fear of facing my parents.

I enter the house and feel all eyes on me. Normally, I would feel self-conscious and nervous in this situation, but my determination to put this behind me overrides those feelings.

"Anya, thank God you're okay!" My parents rush over to me.

"We were so worried," my mom says, gently stroking my hair.

"Why didn't you tell us what was going on?" My dad asks.

Seriously? I think to myself as I step back from them.

"You're kidding, right?" I start to say, but Detective Collins interrupts me.

"Excuse me, Miss Parker?"

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to let you know that we charged the men who attacked you in Pennsylvania." He says with a smile.

My eyes widened in shock. “You did? Who are they? What do they want? Why were they following me?” I ask, my voice trembling with a mix of panic and relief.

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