“I’m going to call him every day,” Sam warns, stuffing his gun back into his waistband. “I’m going to make sure he’s still alive and breathing, and if he’s not—.”
“Call him all you’d like,” Xavier shrugs, “but if you warn him at all, he dies. I have his phone tapped—don’t test me.”
I don’t miss the look Vander gives his dad. Like he doesn’t quite recognize him.
“Fine,” Sam growls.
Xavier gives us an appraising look before nodding once and walking towards the front door of the house. He glances back. “Well? Aren’t you going to get going?”
“I s’pose we could start walkin’,” I muse. “Though we might miss your deadline if we have to get home on foot.”
The front door of the house opens, and Adela rushes out, tears streaming down her cheeks and her face flushed red.
“Adela!” Vander barks as she rushes past him and goes straight to me.
“Addie?” My brows shoot up as she grabs my hand, pushing a set of car keys into them.
“Take my car,” she whispers, wrapping her arms around me. “I was listening at the door. I couldn’t make out all of it, but…” She sniffs, pulling back. “It’s probably being tracked so don’t take it all the way to where you’re going. Xavier…he won’t let me go. He can’t—it’s how he keeps Vander under his thumb. Just…just go, okay?”
Tears sting my eyes, and my voice cracks. “Addie.”
“I’ve always wanted a sister,” she sniffs again, her voice strained, “thanks to you, I know what it’s like now. I love you, Jo. Stay safe. This baby is going to need his Auntie around.”
A sob breaks out of my chest as I wrap Adela in my arms again. “I love you too, Addie.”
“Tick, tock, Ms. Harding.” Xavier’s voice slices through our moment like a slap to the face, and I quickly try to reign in my emotions, handing the keys to Adela’s car to Sam.
“When this is over, we’re comin’ back for you,” I whisper so only she can hear me. Lips tight, she nods, and backs away, standing next to a conflicted-looking Vander.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Kole mutters, grabbing me by the hand and leading me to the SUV Adela picked us up in earlier.
Tears sting my eyes as we leave the residence, passing a now-empty guard house.
We drive in silence for an hour, not wanting to speak in case Xavier has listening devices installed in the car to spy on Adela.
Texting with Declan on the burner, I coordinate with him where he can have a car meet us. When we’re finally behind the wheel of a vehicle we know hasn’t been tampered with, Hayden sighs, his head falling back against the headrest. “What the fuck are we going to do?”
“Well, we’re definitelynotgivin’ Brooks to Xavier.” I cross my arms, looking around the car and meeting Sam’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “We just have to figure out how we’re goin’ to keep Samuel Wright safe in the meantime.”
“We could talk to my brothers?” Kole suggests. “I cannot help them kill my father until this is settled, so it would be in their interest to aid us.”
“If I could somehow warn him what was happening, then he’d know to be on guard…” Sam mutters to himself, fiddling with the volume of the radio.
“Sam,” West sits straighter suddenly, his eyes lighting up as he looks at my alpha, “You’re going to go see a play.”
Sam immediately perks up, “Fuck, you’re right!” He sticks his hand behind him, wiggling his fingers. “I need the burner.”
Brows raised, I exchange a look with Kole and Hayden. We’re obviously missing something here. Regardless, I place the phone in Sam’s hand and watch as he quickly dials the phone, putting it on speaker.
“Hello?” A deep voice answers.
“Hey, Dad,” Sam sounds unaffected. “I know I haven’t called recently, and I’m sorry. I just wanted to check in.”
“Sam?” Samuel sounds pretty pissed. “Do you know how worried I’ve been? The things I’ve heard—”
“Yeah, I know, I’m sorry. We’re fine, really. In fact I’m thinking I’m going to go to a play in the next couple of days.”
Silence.
