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There, he dialed his home phone. It was the first time he’d done this in years.
The shaking in his hands diminished, but all the questions remained the same. All of them directed at Tulip. The girl he’d chained up. The girl he wanted more than anything but knew, deep down, he could never have. Not really.
Or could he?
No. Sarah.
With every passing day, Sarah was becoming nothing more than a mere thought. He didn’t know if he liked the feeling, and it was certainly upsetting.
“Hello,” Rick said.
With the years Rick had been in England, his voice had picked up a twang of the accent.
“Hello, Uncle,” he said.
“Landon, I figured I would hear from you.”
“Did you get the girl to go through extensive plastic surgery?”
“Such a striking resemblance, isn’t it? I couldn’t believe it myself but the moment I saw her, I had to wonder.”
“So you brought her right back here.”
“Of course. I don’t want you to be all alone now.”
“I’m not coming back.”
“Landon, it’s not safe for you.”
“I’ve survived this long.”
“Blind luck. All the tricks I gave you are going to run out. People are hunting you.”
“And I’ll kill every last one of them, but I didn’t make this a call about me. Who is she? Sarah never had a sister.”
“You feel it, don’t you? I was right. Sarah was just a connection to Tulip. With her, you were never completely whole, but your need to make Tulip yours is strong. You will give your life to protect her, won’t you?”
“I’m not coming back.”
“To protect her, you will. As long as she is with you, she’s in danger, Landon. You know how this works.”
“I’ve made it work before. I know you’re a thorough bastard. The moment you saw her, you would have someone on it. Did the Smiths give up one daughter and keep the other?”
There was a long pause. Landon knew he was doing it on purpose.
“Yes.”
“Fuck.” He hung up the cell phone. For some strange reason, he was even more furious with the Smiths than he cared to be.
Pocketing his cell phone, he walked back toward the house, taking the longest route possible. He had a gun on his inside jacket and two knives strapped to his ankles. Years of training had paid off. Being under his uncle’s wing wa
s where he truly learned to be himself, a killer.
Arriving back at the house, the smells of tomato and garlic were heavy in the air. He entered the kitchen to find Jade stirring a large pot.
“What is it today?”
“I think it’s lasagna soup. I could be wrong. Really wrong.” She nibbled her lip. “I don’t know what I’ve got.” Her brow furrowed and she looked confused.
