Page 75 of The Devoted Husband

“All right, Dante. Call me back when you know something.”

Dante agreed and ended the call. As if his nerves weren’t bad enough, seeing that Sade had turned off her location only worsened matters.

“Okay, Day. Where you at, bae?”

As he headed to his car, he received a call from Barron.

“Hello?”

“I went outside to smoke a cigarette. Her car is still here. The door was open. She’d dropped her keys.”

Dante’s feet temporarily froze in place as his heart dropped. “Jones has her. Have you called the police?”

“N-no, but I’m about to now.”

Dante ended the call and rushed to his car. He called Wicked, the man watching Jones’s house, to see if he’d shown up, but Wicked had yet to see Jones. If he had Sade, where would he have taken her? Time couldn’t be wasted on a wild goose chase. He’d need to remain logical and stay in his head, not his heart if he wanted to find his woman.

By the time Dante arrived, the police were already there. He watched their camera footage, grateful they still had it active even though they’d cut the notifications off after Atlas died and they came to a truce with his family. Dante didn’t have to see the face behind the mask. He could tell by the body shape that it was Jones.

Even with the Memphis Police Department putting out an APB for Jones and Sade, Dante knew he’d have to handle this himself. He called Captain Bennit, who told him Jones hadn’t returned to his place in weeks. Standing around doing nothingwas driving Dante crazy, so he left with no clear destination in mind.

As he drove, he thought back over the last several months, trying to find a clue in Jones’s words and actions. Would he be at Sade’s parents’ graves? Dena’s? Then it hit him. This, to Jones, was about Patrice, Trina, and Willow. Dante didn’t know where he’d taken her yet, but he was sure they would be in Vanzette.

Jones

Jones watched as Sade’s head bobbed. Groggily, she groaned. Heavy lids fluttered before they focused on him. When she realized who he was, she tried to stand, but he had her tied by her wrists and ankles to a chair.

“What did you give me?” she asked through gritted teeth. “If anything happens to my baby because of you...”

“Spare me the threats. Do you think I care about that baby? Both of you will be dead soon enough.”

Sade chuckled, licking her dry lips. “Actually, you’re a dead man talking. Dante’s going to kill you—and that’sonlyif I don’t get free and do it first. Now, what thefuckdid you give me?”

Sitting back in his seat, Jones lit a cigarette and crossed his ankles. “Something to make you sleep so I could transport you here without any issues.”

“What was it? I’m not supposed to be taking sleeping medicine unless it’s a certain kind. That could send me into labor prematurely. Are you ready to deal with that? If not, I suggest you let me go.”

“Nice try, but you’re not getting out of here that easily.”

“Where are we anyway?” Sade’s eyes shifted around the room, and Jones saw the exact moment she recognized where they were. “Is...this...”

“Your old shed?” Jones grinned. “It is. I got pretty close to your renters and told them this house wasn’t the family home you presented it to be. I told them the woman who lived here killed three people, and they wanted no parts of that.” He chuckled. “They moved out. You didn’t get the notice?”

“No, I didn’t. You’ve been spamming my email to the point where I can’t even open it without getting hundreds of notifications daily.”

“Yeah, well, they left two weeks ago. Willow’s dead, though I have no proof. And the older neighbors to your right are on vacation. That means for miles on this stretch, it’s just me and you. No one will hear you scream. No one will come to your aid.”

That didn’t get the reaction Jones was hoping for. Her eyes remained the same size. Her nostrils didn’t flare. Her mouth didn’t twitch. She didn’t momentarily stop breathing. There were no jerky movements within her body. She seemed genuinely unfazed by his words, and that only pissed him off more. Before he could stop himself, he was leaping from his seat and backhanding her.

Her jaws clenched as she glared at him. “I’m going to enjoy killing you, Terry.”

Jones smiled as he sat back down. “Strong words whenyou’rethe one tied to that chair.”

“And that was a weak action by a free man. Why don’t you untie me and make this a little fairer?”

“Cut the shit!” he roared, spittle spewing from his mouth. “Enough of the back-and-forth. I’m done with this.”

“You at least owe me an explanation,” she baited. “This can’t be because of two women you don’t even know. Why have you been so obsessed with me, Terry?”

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