“Then we do it on the downlow,” I determine.
“I’m gonna get fired,” Marsten grumbles. “If even an inkling of what you have planned is leaked, I’m done and might as well turn in my badge and hand in my gun.”
“They can’t fire you if I keep you in the dark, Marsten. Unlike you, I don’t have anyone bureaucratic to answer to and can walk that morally gray line.”
“Nothing I say is going to talk you out of this, is there?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Marsten.”
“You should keep it that way, Nova.”
“I will. And Marsten, next time you call me, use the burner phone I sent you or I’m not going to pick up.”
“Shit, sorry, Nova. It’s still in the package. I’ve been so damn busy I forgot to open the damn thing. Won’t happen again.”
“Apologies are like assholes, Marsten. Everyone’s got one and they’re all full of shit.”
“You’re in a mood, Nova.”
“I’m goddamn exhausted, Marsten. I need your men to do their jobs instead of me having to do it for them. Gotta go, I’ve got some hunters to call.” I’m too pissed to let him know I’m hanging up—I just do it.
I comb my fingers through my hair before flopping into my desk chair and calling Rip.
When he answers, I tell him about my conversation with Marsten and recommend letting Icer and Shade off their leashes.
Riptide mulls it over for a few minutes before asking, “Are you sure that’s a good idea, Nova? Those two would burn down the State Parks just to flush him out of his campsite.”
“It’s the only move we have left, pres. It’s either that, or we wait for him to snatch another woman off the streets and pray he makes a grave mistake. One crucial enough that we can catch him.”
“Okay, I’m going to let you make this call and back you on it, Nova. I’m trusting your instincts on this, I just hope they’re not fried from all the pressure you’ve been under to rescue Stella and end Jennings’ reign of terror.”
“Take off their collars, Rip, and let them free. Those two psychos are the only hope we have of finding him,” I say, optimistic that I won’t regret this decision.
“Done,” Rip remarks, disconnecting without so much as a ‘see ya later’. It fucking sucks to get a taste of your own medicine sometimes. It sours your mouth, enough to nearly have you gagging from the tart aftertaste.
“I fucking hope Icer and Shade don’t get added to the top ten most wanted list by the time this is said and done,” I murmur. If I were a praying man, I’d ask for some leeway and mercy for anyone that gets in Icer and Shade’s way while they put on their gear and go after their prey. Those two have a one-track mind when we give them an order and they don’t stop long enough to consider that not everyone in their path is the enemy.
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
FREYJA
I’m trying to enjoy the show we’re watching, but all I can think about is the flashing news report that played on every national network channel last night. Father’s face was the highlight as the reel went across the bottom of the screen warning everyone to be on the lookout for him. He has been deemed armed and dangerous and if spotted, you should call your local authorities immediately. His crimes were scrawled out, and they gave me nightmares which have crossed into my daytime hours.
I don’t know where they got the photo they used, but at some point, he’s been arrested for other, unconnected crimes. Most of them were shoplifting and defacement of property. How he went from small crimes like that to kidnapping, rape, and murder are beyond my comprehension. I thought they started off their tirade of crime by torturing and killing defenseless animals, not with theft and vandalism. Looks like I need to do some further research on the topic because I want to get inside his mind and try to understand why he does the disgusting things he does.
“Ladies,” Nova says as he flops down on the couch across from us. “It’s Christmas Eve and I was curious if you two have some sort of tradition?”
“We weren’t allowed to do anything. All we did was watch shows on television,” Chaney informs him.
“Father said it was a made up holiday to try and break families,” I tell him.
Chaney reaches out and pats my knee before turning her attention to Nova. “Remember, Father led us to believe he had to fight for items. We thought it was like the apocalypse outside of our house. So we were content to stay safe indoors. Although, I had started making plans on how to keep us both safe when he finally set us free.”
“He had you girls so twisted you didn’t know which way was up,” Nova rumbles. “I’m about to give you some quick truths. Nobody fights for food, clothes, or… anything. We work, we earn a paycheck and we pay for our shit. The world is not likeThe Purge.”
I shiver when he states the title of that movie because surviving like that—it’s one of my many fears. Once, when I was brave I asked Father what it was like outside and that’s the movie he showed us, and I shared that with Nova not too long ago. But now that I’m learning he fed us nothing but lies for the entirety of our lives, I am starting to believe that it was his way of keeping us in his debt and thankful for him putting himself in danger to give us what we did have.
