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Dana arrived home from work, feeling a little guilty. She hadn’t spoken to her father since her date with Cross the previous night, and the worry had been gnawing at her all day. As she entered their rented apartment, she set the bag of groceries she had bought on the kitchen counter, careful not to spill any of the contents.
“Dad? Are you here?” she called out. “I bought us some roasted chicken and grabbed a tub of potato salad for dinner. It was on sale at the supermarket.”
The apartment remained eerily quiet. Dana was certain her dad had been home not too long ago, because he left lights on.
Her worry grew as she made her way toward his bedroom, the door ajar, and her frown deepened as she noticed an open drawer. She hesitated for a moment, not wanting to intrude on her father’s privacy, but concern for his well-being overcame her hesitation. Dana peered inside, only to find it contained nothing particularly interesting—just some boxers and socks.
Returning to the living room, Dana’s gaze finally fell on her father’s phone, which he had plugged in and left to charge. She let out a sigh of relief, at least it seemed he intended to return.
Dana sank into a chair, the uneasiness that had gripped her heart refusing to subside. Something—an unexplainable instinct perhaps—prompted her to reach for her father’s phone, which lay on the table, its screen lit up with notifications.
She knew the password, her mother’s birthday. Dana entered the code, and the phone unlocked. Her eyes fixated on the screen for a moment, and shock reverberated through her as she discovered a series of text messages from Panther.
Dana felt this surge of mixed emotions. She couldn’t help but wonder why her dad hadn’t mentioned Panther’s threatening texts to her. It felt like a breach of trust, and it made her stomach churn.
Her stomach dropped even lower when she checked out the images Panther had sent her dad. The shop, their family’s legacy, was in total chaos, and the pictures hit her like a ton of bricks. It was all a big mess—broken tools, smashed windows, and those menacing Crows lurking in the photos. It was painful to see.
Dana couldn’t help but feel frustrated and helpless. She wondered why her dad hadn’t let her in on all this trouble, why he’d been keeping it to himself. It stung.
At the end of the message chain, Dana noticed that Panther had provided her dad with an address, probably expecting Jeremy to hand Dana over. But Dana sensed her father had decided to face Panther himself, a decision that sent chills down her spine.
“You’re a fool, Dad,” she mumbled, shaking her head in disbelief.
One thing became painfully clear to Dana—she couldn’t handle this daunting situation on her own. She quickly reached for her own cellphone and dialed Cross’s number. Cross answered right away.
“Hey, sweetheart. How’s dinner with your dad?” Cross’s warm and comforting voice came through the phone.
Dana took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. “Cross,” she whispered. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she blinked them back, but it was no use. The last time she had cried was at her mother’s funeral, and now, the thought of losing her dad was too much to bear.
“Dana, are you crying?” Cross asked. “What happened?”
Dana let it all spill, holding nothing back as she shared every detail with Cross.
“It’s 8:30 now, and they’re supposed to meet at 9:00,” Dana said.
She couldn’t just sit around and let her dad walk into bar full of Crows.
“Dana, let me and my crew handle this. It’s not safe for you to jump into this mess,” Cross insisted.
But Dana was having none of it. “Cross, my dad’s in trouble, and I can’t just stand by. I have to do something,” she insisted.
Cross let out an impatient sigh. Although they’d only started dating, Cross knew her better than most people. He probably recognized that once Dana made up her mind, she wouldn’t back down.
“Fine,” Cross finally said. “You have to promise you’ll follow my instructions. It will be dangerous, Dana.”
“I understand, Cross. Thank you.”
“I’ll meet you in ten minutes,” Cross said. “I just need to grab Priest and Spike and a couple of weapons.”
“Got it, I’ll see you soon, Cross.”
Chapter Ten
Cross killed the engine of his Harley. Dana hopped off the bike, yanking her helmet free. She was a little pale, definitely scared, but he knew she was determined to go through with this no matter what.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this plan,” Cross told her.
