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“Hello, Ember. It’s hard to get you alone.”
“Who is this?” I shiver at the deep, smooth voice.
“You’ll know who I am soon. Right now, you only need to know a few things. Number one, keep this phone on you at all times. When it rings, you answer.”
“What do you want?”
“I’ll give you a hint. It’s about your sister. She thinks hiding in rehab could get her out of her debt. I waited as long as I could for her, but the bitch decided to extend her stay. According to her, you can get me my money. So you’re taking responsibility.”
“I don’t have the money. She’s crazy.” my voice cracks.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Don’t lie to me. Find a way to get it.”
I reach for my phone in my purse to text Robbie, but his next words paralyze me.
“Wouldn’t do that if I were you. You see, I know all about your boyfriend. My knowledge runs deep, so you’re not going to tell anyone about our little talk. No one. We’ll figure out how and when to meet, and you’ll get my money.”
He’s watching me. I don’t see anyone in the vicinity of the parking lot. “Are you threatening me?”
“No, sweetheart, just leveraging. You want your loved ones to stay safe, you keep your mouth shut.”
“You don’t know who you’re messing with. Leave me alone.”
“I assure you, I know who I’m dealing with. To give you good faith, we’ve left a package by your back door. I’ll be in touch.” The phone goes dead.
My body trembles as I walk to the back door and open it slowly. Another envelope lies against the wall. When I slide out the contents, my hand flies to my mouth to hold in my scream. These are photos of Robbie. As I flip through them, I realize they were all taken over the last few days- jogging, walking into the gym with Finn, parking his bike in front on Hayes Security. The last picture chills me to the bone. It is a black and white picture of a pair of dogtags, nothing else.
A small, typed note falls out.
‘$10,000 plus interest.’
The threat is implicated. Whoever this is, they’re watching Robbie.
I slam the door and lock it quickly, rushing to the front. I pull the small stepladder out, reattach the announcement bell, and then start to pace.
My mind is racing. The only solution I can come up with is to tell Robbie. He’ll know what to do. The small phone rings again, so I snatch it up.
“What?”
“I want to remind you not to be stupid. If you decide to tell your boyfriend about this, you’ll regret it.”
The line goes dead again, and my stomach drops. He’s definitely watching me. I pull up the security feed from the back parking lot and watch a guy leave the envelope. The rim of his hat shades his face, but I recognize him as the man that was here this morning. He’s changed into a delivery uniform. Suddenly, it all comes together. He didn’t need rental information; he was here to leave the envelope with the phone. He was also scoping out if I was alone.
My personal cell phone rings, and Dad’s name pops up on the screen. I answer as calmly as possible.
“Hey, Dad.”
“You busy?”
“Not really.”
“I’ve scheduled a dinner meeting at Chloe’s tonight. We need to talk about some things. Think you and Robbie can be there around seven?”
“Sure, see you then.”
My dad. He’ll know what to do. I’ll get him alone tonight and talk. It’s not the same as telling Robbie, but hopefully, he’ll understand. I’d die before anything ever happened to him because of my fucked up sister.
I give up trying to eat all together when my dad finishes his story. Robbie grips my knee and hands me the half empty glass of wine with a sympathetic look. He’s pissed, but he’s staying silent.
