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“Looking around.” Peeking my head around the wall into the kitchen, I let out a breath when it was empty. Jaime came back a second later, a dark look on his face. He finally flicked on the lights, holding out his hand for the phone.
“Hey, I– Jo? No, I said call for backup, not call you. Give the phone to Liam. Because I said so.”
Listening to them bicker was a little reassuring. If there was something going on, he wouldn’t be so cavalier right now. Unsteadily, I moved away from my spot against the wall, flicking on all the lights I could. Jaime didn’t say anything about anyone being here but he followed me anywhere into each room, the phone held between his shoulder and his ear as he remained on guard.
Nothing seemed to be out of place and I couldn’t find anything missing. Other than the door being open, it almost seemed like nothing happened at all. At least until I finally realized the one thing that was gone.
“Jaime…”
He pulled the phone away from his ear, frowning. “What’s wrong?”
“Samwise is gone.”
We searched high and low for him, in all his usual spots and unusual spots. He wasn’t the type to wander off, even when I left the door propped open to go meet delivery people at the front desk. Him being gone was a big red flag to me. Either someone took him or something scared him enough to run.
Standing in the middle of the living room, I rubbed subconsciously at my chest. Samwise has been with me since college. He’s my baby. He’s the one who would wait for me to come home. I love him to pieces and the thought of him being taken tore me up inside.
My phone ringing drew me from my melancholy and I answered it without looking.
“Hello?”
“Rebecca. It’s time to end this foolishness.”
I frowned. “Father? What are you talking about?”
His voice was cold. “You’re going to come home and do your duty. I’m no longer giving you any warnings. Enough is enough.”
My mind elsewhere, trying to figure out where my cat would’ve gone, I didn’t really think about it when I replied.
“I agree, enough is enough. I’m not ever coming home so you need to let that go. Keep testing me and I’ll file a harassment suit against you.”
He was quiet for a moment and when he spoke again, ice filled my veins. “Fine. Say goodbye to your boyfriend then.”
My head jerked up to Jaime. I watched in horror as a little red dot slowly slid up his body. Dropping the phone, I ran toward him.
“Jaime, watch out!”
I don’t know how he knew. It’s not like it was a decent warning. But somehow, he must’ve figured it out because when I threw myself against him, he was prepared for it. He wrapped his arms around me and twisted his body, giving his back to the window right as glass shattered. His body jerked before the momentum knocked us both to the ground. Screaming, I shoved him off me, throwing myself against him to protect him from any more shots.
“Jaime! Jaime, wake up!”
He was out cold, his face going pale. I sobbed, patting his cheeks to try and wake him up, but he didn’t even flinch.
“Jaime, please!”
“I warned you.”
Sucking in a sharp breath, I whipped my head towards the door. My father stood there, his face blank. He looked… bored. Like this was a regular occurrence for him and he had no feelings about killing the man I love.
“Get out!”
“Don’t start with me, Rebecca. You knew this was coming, I warned you. Now get up. You look ridiculous,” he snapped.
Fury wrapped around me and I launched myself to my feet, throwing myself towards him. He saw it coming and backhanded me hard enough to send me back to the ground. It wasn’t the first time he’s hit me but it’s been long enough that I wasn’t prepared for it like I used to be and the shock made me freeze.
“Is Tony on his way?”
“Yes, sir. He’ll handle clean up.”
