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?”
