Page 32 of Whispers of You
The sirens were already on when Amber came across the line. “Less than a minute out.”
But I knew anything could happen in a minute. It could destroy someone’s whole world.
I moved back to the phone line. “Where are you hiding?”
“In the back of the coat closet. There’s a panel in the back wall that leads to our crawl space.”
“Smart, Jane.”
I quickly typed her location into our computer system, knowing Amber or Clint would see it.
“Oh, God.”
Fear spiked through my system. “What is it?”
“He’s in the house,” Jane whispered.
“Did you see who it was? Is it someone you know?”
“I only saw them from the back. I think it’s a guy. He was wearing a hoodie. It sounds like he’s searching for something.”
Everything around me slowed, the world tunneling for a moment. I bit the inside of my cheek, hard. The pain was what I needed to stay in the here and now and not let the similarities pull me under to a decade ago.
“Hold on, Jane. I’m going to mute myself, but I’ll still be on the line. Stay quiet and keep breathing.”
I clicked on the radio. “The intruder’s in the house. Male suspect, wearing a hoodie.”
Amber bit out a curse as the sirens blared. “We’re here. We’ll get him.”
Empathy swept through me at Amber having to be the one to answer the call. She was just as tortured by these memories as I was.
I listened to Jane’s staccato breaths with one ear while I kept the other trained on the radio. The officers maintained an open line as they moved through the house, clearing rooms.
“Shit, he’s running out the back. I’m in pursuit,” Clint clipped.
Footsteps sounded.
“I’ll get to Jane,” Amber said.
I struggled to keep my voice even as I unmuted myself on the phone. “Jane, he ran out the back. Amber is coming to the closet now.”
A knock sounded.
“Y-you’re sure it’s her?”
“Jane, it’s Amber. I’m going to open the closet door. Think you can climb out of the crawl space?”
Tears filled the line. “I-I can get out.”
Shuffling filled the line, and then the sound of tears as Amber let out anoof. “It’s okay, Jane. I’ve got you.”
The girl only cried harder.
Abel motioned to me. “Tell Jane her dad’s on his way.”
“Did you hear that? Your dad’s on his way.”
I could barely make out the“thank you”as she continued to sob. “I’ve got her now. You can disconnect, Wren.”
