Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 56238 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56238 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
“Missed you,” I say, my voice thick.
“I missed you too! Mom said you were on a trip.”
“Yeah, I was. But I’m here now.”
His little arms squeeze my neck.
Jo watches us, something soft and unspoken in her gaze.
I reach for her hand, anchoring us all together.
No one is taking them from me.
Not now.
Not ever.
Sixteen
Josie
One Month Later
I should have known better, right?
Getting comfortable is dangerous. Dean has been home for the last month. He doesn’t take any runs and he has moved in with me and Justice. We decided it was best not to uproot him right now as we adjust to living together.
As soon as he came back, the calls at work stopped, he hasn’t seen the car drive by. The craziest part is Brett gave me the house back. Signed away all rights to it at the end of this year and said he was relocating. While giving him a few more months to live there sucks, I’m happy to finally have that chapter of my life closed.
I wish him the best. I hope he gets help for his anger issues. Until he does, I don’t know that any woman is safe with him.
The happiness I have surrounding me is immeasurable. Danae is going to visit soon as well and I can’t wait for her to meet all the Hellions. Sometimes I think she thinks I’ve lost my mind and gotten into the Hellions cult because I tell her they are family. I know if she was here though, she would see it and understand.
I rub my temples, staring at my work computer screen, but I haven’t gotten a damn thing done all afternoon.
Because the phone won’t stop ringing.
And every time I answer—silence. One month of feeling safe and in an instant the fear returns.
Just breathing on the other end before they hang up.
A shiver runs down my spine as I set the receiver down again, my hand clammy. I tell myself it’s probably a wrong number. A prank.
But deep down, I know better. I should tell Dean, but I don’t want to worry him.
I check the clock and push back from my desk. Time to get Justice from school. He has a dentist appointment this afternoon.
The weird calls can wait.
The second the words leave the receptionist’s mouth, my blood turns to ice.
“Sara already picked him up.” She repeats.
I blink. “What?”
She nods like this is normal, like my whole world isn’t suddenly tilting sideways. “She picked him up about thirty minutes ago.”
My stomach drops. My fingers dig into the counter. “Are you sure it was Sara?” This isn’t possible since Sara is still at the office I just left, and she’s been there all damn day stuck on conference calls.
The woman frowns. “Well, I—”
I don’t wait. I grab my phone and call Sara, gripping it so tight my hands shake.
She answers on the second ring. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Tell me you have Justice,” I rasp.
Silence.
Then, “What? Josie, I don’t—I didn’t pick him up.”
My knees almost give out.
The room tilts. The buzzing in my head gets so loud I can barely think.
Sara’s still talking, her voice urgent, but I can’t hear her anymore because I’m already dialing Dean.
I don’t even know if he’ll answer. I just know I need him right this second.
The moment I hear his voice, I completely fall apart.
“Jo?” His tone shifts immediately, sharp and alert. “What’s wrong?”
I can’t breathe. Can’t get the words out.
“He’s gone,” I choke.
The line goes deadly silent.
Then, “I’m on my way.”
I don’t know how much time passes before the roar of motorcycles shakes the pavement beneath me.
One after another, bikes pull into the parking lot, headlights cutting through the dimming daylight, surrounding me.
Dean is off his bike before the engine even dies, striding toward me.
I’m still on the ground where my legs gave out, my arms wrapped around myself, barely holding it together.
He crouches, hands framing my face. “Look at me.”
I do.
His jaw is tight, his eyes burning with something dark and dangerous.
“We’re gonna find him,” he promises, voice rough.
His arms come around me, pulling me into his chest, and for the first time since I heard those words—Sara picked him up—I let myself believe he will be home with me soon.
The silence in my house is suffocating.
Sara sits beside me on the couch, her knee bouncing restlessly. Neither of us speaks, both of us waiting for my phone to ring, for Dean to call and tell me they found Justice.
I grip my phone so tight my knuckles ache. Every second that ticks by is another second my son is gone.
Then it rings.
I nearly drop it in my scramble to answer.
But the second I see the name on the screen, my stomach lurches.
Brett.
I hesitate, heart pounding, before pressing the phone to my ear. “Where is he?”
Brett hums, casual, like we’re talking about the weather. “Relax, Jo. I know where he is.”