Page 106 of High Water

“So do you. Now tell me what you know about my daughter.”

“First, I want you to understand that I’m just the messenger here. And I’m acting in the interest of this family, even though it may not seem that way when I show you what I’m about to show you. I volunteered for this position again so I could be a conduit to help settle these fucking tensions once and for all. This family needs it, and the people of Purgatory Falls deserve it.”

“Show me what?” I couldn’t care less about all of this gather-around-the-fire-and-hold-hands bullshit. I want my daughter.

“This was sent to me this morning.” Uncle Jay flips his phone around and shows me a text message from an unsaved phone number.

It’s a photo of Fallon. Sitting in a chair. Her hands are tied to it, and her mouth is taped shut.

“Oh my god!” I gasp. My stomach churns and my chest tightens. I feel sick. I want to scream. I want to run to her. But most of all, I want to kill this man for being in contact with the sort of person who would kidnap my daughter.

“Stay calm,” he instructs, his eyes darting to one side and then the other. “We can have an emotional conversation about your missing daughter, but you act wild and do something we’ll both regret, and I’ll have to take you down to the jail and book you.”

“I’d like to see you fucking try.”

“I have officers waiting outside in unmarked cars.”

“You’re that afraid of my brothers?”

“I’m that afraid one of you will do something without thinking it through and put us all at risk.” He gives me a pointed look. “I’m as disgusted by this as you are, and I want to help you get her back.”

“Where is she? I want to see her now. I want to talk to her. If they’ve hurt her⁠—”

“They haven’t hurt her. It’s the governor’s sons. I assume they’re working on his behalf. They’ve given me assurances they haven’t, and they won’t so long as we cooperate.”

“Like I’d trust the governor or his family. The same man who was going to kill his own daughter if it saved his hide. Spare me.” I smack my open palm on the table, and it draws the eyes of a couple of tables around us and the waiter who’s working on pouring coffee for the people on the other side of the partition.

“Listen to me. I know what you’re going through. He held my own daughter’s life ransom against me when he was twisting my arm to turn on all of you. He’s despicable. But he acts in his own self-interest. Hurting your daughter won’t help him. It’ll only stir the hornet’s nest. You don’t have to trust him to trust that he’ll act accordingly.”

“What does he want?” Because I know that spineless piece of shit would do anything for a little more money and power.

“What he always wants,” Uncle Jay answers flatly.

“The relic? He’s stealing my daughter in the middle of the night and causing her permanent emotional damage so that he can have a fucking piece of metal?”

Jay nods. “He’s still quite pissed about the originals your brothers took, as you might imagine.”

“That man is disgusting. The fact that you and your ilk let men like him walk the streets while harassing people who have done far less is absolutely pathetic.”

“I’ll be sure to pass your thoughts on to HQ.”

“Be sure to do that. It’d be a real shame if someone put you all out to pasture in the meantime though.”

“Is that a threat?”

“I didn’t say that,” I counter, trying to stick to my plan to stay calm. “I just think if you can’t keep the people of Purgatory Falls safe, maybe it’s time for you all to retire.”

“You didn’t have to say anything.”

“Well, guess that’s the Stockton name living up to its reputation. If only you could manage to.” I rake my eyes over him in disgust. I know I shouldn’t antagonize the only man who’s connecting me to my daughter. Who knows where she is. But I can’t hold back my anger.

“I want to help you get Fallon back. She doesn’t deserve any of this. She’s an innocent girl, and she should be at home getting ready for school tomorrow. Not sitting in the governor’s custody like a threat. I know none of you’ll believe me ever again, but I do care about you. I love my family, and I want what’s best for it.”

“You continuing to fraternize with the enemy isn’t helping anyone. Grant will be livid.”

“You and Grant should be happy that I have the information at all. You’d still be out there chasing your tail, doing absolutely nothing to actually bring her back.”

“Don’t underestimate my brothers or my husband.”