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She walked closer, not sensing the danger.“Oh no!She doesn’t normally have issues.Did something happen?”
“She received an unexpected call.Mom is with her now.”
For the first time, I saw a flicker of annoyance in her eyes, but she quickly masked it and gave me an understanding nod.“Your mother is really attached to this one.”
“She should be,” I said as I turned to walk back to the main house with her.“Nishia is going to be her daughter-in-law soon.”
Deborah’s brows lifted in surprise.“You two are that serious already?Even after…you know, everything that happened to her?”
“As soon as she’s ready, she will have my last name.”
“Huh,” she muttered.“Well, congratulations.Your mom always did want a daughter.”
“Yeah, thanks.”Chance’s footsteps were soundless, but I didn’t need to hear them to know he was close.I dropped back a step, and Deborah was too confident to question it.Reaching behind me, I waited for the gun to touch my hand.Wrapping my fingers around the cool metal, I flipped the safety and pressed it to the back of the woman’s head.
“J-Jack?”she stuttered.
“Don’t fucking move.”Ripping the bag off her shoulder, I shoved it against Chance’s chest without looking at him and reached inside to pull out Amy’s phone.“Want to tell me what you’re doing with a cell that doesn’t belong to you?”
“A-Amy forgot it,” she rushed to answer.“I-I’ve been meaning t-to return it to her.But she hasn’t been home, and I d-didn’t want to j-j-just leave it in her mailbox.”
Pocketing the phone, I stepped closer to the nurse, dropping the gun to the small of her back.“Let’s take it to her together.Now.”
“B-but I-I h-have patients.”
“Not today.”Grabbing her wrist with my free hand, I guided her around the main house and into the garage, Chance right behind me with his backup piece in hand.
“Do I need to call Unc?”He finally spoke when we were inside the garage.“Or Aunt Raven?”
“Call my dad,” I gritted out, trying to keep the monster in check until I could get Deborah somewhere no one would hear her screams.“Tell him to get his ass over here.After I take care of this, I have somewhere else I need to go.He needs to be with Mom and Nishia.”
I opened the trunk of the car, and Deborah lifted her scared eyes to me.Bending my knees, I smiled at her.“Why are you so afraid, Deborah?”
“Y-you’re acting crazy, Jack.What happened to you?”
I let her see the madness that glowed from my eyes.Realization dawned on her face, and she gulped.Her fear spiked higher, and it only made my smile grow into a grin.“Did you think you could hurt what is mine, and I’d just let you walk away?Ah, Deborah, I thought you were smarter than this.”
“J-Jack—”
Before she could stumble over another word, I hit her with the butt of the gun.Her eyes rolled back into her head, and she went limp.She started to fall, and I pushed her backward, not giving a shit when the back of her head hit the side of the trunk.Lifting her legs, I tossed her bottom half inside and slammed it closed.
It was so dark inside my head.The monster was taking over, and for once, it didn’t bother me.
CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE
raven
A scream echoedoff the trees and had me reaching for my gun as soon as I opened my car door.Flipping the safety, I lifted it with both hands and glanced around, not even knowing what to expect.The woods around the old, dilapidated cabin were motionless.Not even the sound of wildlife could be heard as the sun began to set.
Gracie had called me around noon when she couldn’t find Jack.I could tell from the way her voice trembled that she was upset, and my sister-in-law was hard to fucking upset.Unlike Kelli, who had a temper that was easy to set off, or Quinn, who was rarely put in a position to be even remotely upset—because Raider was smart and made sure she never had a reason—Gracie had learned to deal with the evil in the world and had built up an armor against it.Hearing her voice quaver had let loose something inside me reserved only for my sisters by marriage.
After a quick recap of her morning, she’d burst out that she couldn’t find Jack.And with Nishia still upset, she didn’t understand where he had gone.She didn’t want to tell Hawk or even Bash, but she had a bad feeling.
As another terror-filled scream rent the air, I knew she’d been right to worry.
Still holding my gun at the ready, I opened the door to the cabin and walked in.“Jack?”I called out to alert him that I was there.
“In here.”His voice was like gravel, and I walked through the living room into the kitchen.The place was small, cramped, with just a stove, fridge, and an old metal table that belonged in another era.
