Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 114647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 459(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 459(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
After a few minutes of speed clicking and typing, Winter hooted, jumped to her feet, and fist pumped her arm in the air. “Score one for Team Stoker!”
“Jesus, you’re mother’s a fucking nut. Poor girl. You’re going to have the nutty gene, too.” Jack murmured to his now awake daughter.
“Hey!” She said indignantly.
“What’d you find?” Sam asked to try to stem the fight he could see brewing.
“Well, this crazy girl finally figured it out.” She said sticking out her tongue towards Jack.
He chuckled. “Figured what out?”
The sound of a commotion coming from the phone stopped Winter before she could explain, and my blood ran cold at the voice that I heard above the sound of breaking glass and furniture.
“Give me my fucking kid!” Anna screeched.
“Go fuck yourself.” Shiloh hissed.
Go to the safe room, Janie. Go to the goddamn safe room.
I hadn’t realized I’d been yelling it aloud until Shiloh repeated my plea, screaming it to the girls in the background. The girls’ cries faded, until I could hear nothing else, but the struggles of Shiloh, and the screams of Anna.
“Call Sebastian. Find out who he has on Shiloh, and get him fucking in there.” I shouted as I made my way out the door.
Sam was already on his feet, as was Jack, and they were following close on my heels. Winter stayed with my phone, and was on her phone with someone, too. I just hoped it wasn’t the police. I had shit to say to Anna, and that wasn’t conducive with her being in police custody.
As soon as I made it to the parking lot and on my bike, I started it, throttled it up so loud that my ears popped, and plunged out of the parking lot and onto the street.
By the time I was on Stone Road, I was doing over one hundred and thirty miles an hour and taking corners as if I was on rails. I didn’t have any doubt in my mind that Shiloh could handle herself. She showed me that the other day when I taught her self-defense. Or at least that’s what I thought I was doing. In reality, she was just worried about hurting me, and after making a bet, she’d upheld her end and proved me the fool.
So no, I wasn’t worried about Anna. Shiloh could handle Anna. I just hoped that Anna was alone.
The drive that normally took ten minutes took less than five, and I rolled up to the stop sign that connected my street to the main road, pulled over into the bushes, and hopped off. I ran through the neighbor’s yards, hopping fences as I went.
When I got to the fence that separated my yard from Mrs. Kowalsky’s yard, I paused and listened, straining my ears to hear everything I could. When I could hear nothing, I went to the back of the yard, and slipped in between the two loose boards that I used to use to sneak out when I was a teenager.
Although stiff, and definitely much cozier than it used to be, I managed it, and stepped into my own yard. Once through, I withdrew the Colt .45 from my ankle, and palmed it. The heavy weight was comforting in my hand, settling my nerves as I got down to my hands, and then to my knees in the grass. The large trampoline with the safety net hid me from view. I used it as cover as I made my way underneath of it to survey the scene before me.
And a scene, it was.
***
“Why don’t you tell us what’s going on, Ms. Stevens.” Max warned. “I’m not in to hurting women, but I’ll make an exception in this case.”
Max’s stone cold voice sent shivers down my own spine. I could only imagine what it was doing to a positively terrified Anna. Not that I gave a shit. The woman could rot in hell for all I cared. I just wanted to get some information out of her first. Which was why I’d called Max as soon as I’d made sure that there wasn’t any other people involved in the earlier altercation.
She shook her head, thinning her lips tightly, and clamping her teeth over them to keep them sealed. The look of apprehension on her face intensified when Max went down on one knee in front of her. Looking over his shoulder, he addressed me. “Close the door on your way out.”
Anna’s sharp inhalation followed me out of the room.
Twenty minutes later, Max stepped out of garage, and walked up to the gathering with purposeful steps. He didn’t waste any time with pleasantries, either.
“Sloan Lerng is an anagram for Glen Larson. Originally, Anna just wanted money. She got in a bind and needed some leverage to get it. That’s why she tried to get custody. Then another opportunity, in the form of Larson, came along and she needed custody for a different reason.” Max explained what he’d learned.
A commotion from the front door had Max, Sebastian, Sam and I turning to see Jack barrel through the door, car seat in hand, and Winter trailing behind him. Before I hadn’t been alarmed on who was entering the house. Gabe was in front watching, just in case, and he wouldn’t let anyone through without one hell of a battle. However, with one look at Jack’s face, and I my stomach sank.
He’d gone back to Free once he’d been sure that the scene was secure. Winter had been on the phone with Gabe when we’d left, not the police. Which I’d figured out when he showed not even ten minutes after we’d arrived, telling me that Winter had called him. Now, they were back and they didn’t look settled at all.
My stomach sank as I saw the haunted look in Jack’s eyes, and I braced myself, because I knew I wasn’t about to get good news.
“They want your daughter. They want to sell her. They’ve already got upwards to a million dollars on her head. The pictures that Anna’s been sending them have been posted to some...”Jack shook his head, searching for words. “auction site, I guess. They bid on pictures. Most of the site has the kids shown in some sort of cage. Janie’s pictures are the only ones that are ‘free,’ for lack of a better word.”