~/~/~/~/~
Listening to the voice on the other end of the call, Josiah’s knuckles turned white on his left hand from the increasing force of his grip on the chair arm. He’d passed the stunned stage and now was fully enraged at the news that a witness to the massacre had come forth. “He’s a fake,” he growled.
“The High Council is satisfied that the sworn statement is true.”
“Who’s this last minute witness? Probably some asshole my fucking nephews convinced to lie for them.”
“Hardly. She’s…”
“She? The witness is a female?” stuttered Josiah.
“Yes, she’s Willow Thatcher. Her son works for the agency.”
“I don’t care who she is…she’s lying!” Josiah barked.
“Maybe…but right now the Council believes her.”
“Where is she right now?”
“Don’t know. The High Council is keeping a tight lid on this. I only found out by accident.”
“Can’t you do something and find out where she is?”
“I-I-I don’t know…I got to go… just wanted to warn you.”
“Wait,” Josiah snapped, but it was too late; the other person had hung up. Throwing his phone against the wall, he watched as it shattered into pieces, leaving a divot in the plaster. A red mist clouded his vision as fury consumed him. No longer able to sit still, he jumped up, his chair crashing to the floor behind him by the force of his movement. Unable to remain still, Josiah began pacing, his anger growing as he took each step.
No fucking way are my fucking weak-ass nephews gonna win. I don’t care if I have to personally kill each and every one of them…that land belongs to me. Fucking brother…you shoulda done what I told you to do. But no, you told me to fuck off, so you have no one to blame but yourself…what the hell did you think I was going to do? Just lie there and let you walk all over me? I did the only thing I could after you stole what was rightfully mine…Hope belonged to me, you fucking asshole! I saw her first but did that stop you? Oh no, you just ignored me after I told you she was mine. Laughed in my face and told me I wasn’t good enough for her. Well, guess what brother, you weren’t either…I made sure of that!
Stopping in his tracks as the reality of what he was facing finally sunk in, Josiah returned to his desk, righting the chair before sitting down and unlocking a drawer from which he removed a file folder. Until recently, he never thought the tables would turn on him so quickly, but after his Shaman’s last warning he decided he needed an escape plan. Of course, it would have been better if his fucking son hadn’t left, but there wasn’t much he could do about that, now.
Sorting through the documents in the folder, he checked to make sure everything was there. His new untraceable identity cost him a pretty penny but, what the fuck, as long as it kept him safe. Shoving everything into his briefcase, he closed and locked it before setting it under his desk.
According to what his contact said, Josiah figured he still had some time before the High Council enforcers appeared. That meant he had the rest of the day to search his files for any incriminating evidence before leaving. First, though, there was something else he had to do. Buzzing his secretary, Josiah asked her to get Rudy. It was time for him to set his backup plan in motion.
