“Evie, honey.” My mom’s timid voice came through the phone.
I straightened my spine and took the phone off speaker. “Mom! I’ve been trying to contact you for weeks.”
“I know honey… I’m sorry. It just hasn’t been safe for me to call back.” She continued to keep her voice low, like she was trying to prevent anyone from hearing her conversation.
“What do you mean, not safe? What’s going on?” I tried to keep my composure, but was failing miserably.
“I can’t talk about that right now. There is something more important.”
I scoffed. What the hell could be more important?
“You won’t be able to stay in the shadows for long, Evie. The Butcher is out to play, and play he will.”
I heard a scuffle in the background. My blood ran cold at her warning. How did she know Ricci’s code name? What was coming? Did Ricci know what we were planning? So many questions filled my head, making me feel sick.
I slid on the cabinets until I hit the floor. “Mom… are you in trouble?” Tears filled my eyes. I knew it was risky talking on the phone; however, I needed to know she was alright.
All of a sudden, my mom’s tone changed into a cheerful, happy-go-lucky one. “Oh Evie, I will be fine. Just wanted to say hi. But I must let you go, it’s time for crafts in the big room. Remember what I said, and I love you, my sweet.”
Anyone overhearing us would think this was normal conversation, however, I could tell something was verywrong. My mother hated crafts, they would be the last thing she would ever be excited about participating in.
“I love you too, Momma.” And just like that, the call disconnected. Tears began to freely run down my cheeks.
I needed to get her out of that facility. If she was giving me a warning about Ricci, she absolutely would be in danger as well.
I sent a text to Chief, letting him know we had a code yellow, an indication of some sort of hazard coming our way. After agreeing to fill him in tomorrow, I climbed into bed and tried to get comfortable.
No matter what I did, I couldn’t sleep. I watched as the sun began to peek its way over the horizon. Finally, giving up, I got into some gym gear and headed to HQ.
Chief was already in his office at 6 am. I swear the man never slept. I explained the phone call to him. Thankfully, he kept quiet until I was done, lightly tapping his fingers on his desk.
“We need to get her out, Derick.” I put my head in my hands, attempting to get my emotions under control. I knew that using Chief’s real name would alert him to the seriousness of the situation, even though he was the one person who knew everything about my past and my family better than anyone.
I heard the wheels of his office chair roll as he placed a hand on my back and began to rub circles to sooth me.
“I’ll work with Arrow and his connections with the local authorities to find out if we have any connections in thefacility. We will keep this as quiet as we can, to avoid any unnecessary altercations."
I nodded my head, which was still in my hands.
“Do you trust me?” Chief’s voice was soft and soothing.
I glanced up at him. “With my life.” My voice was strong and steady. I owed my life to this man. He was the father figure I needed. The one person who saw me for who I was.
“Then trust me when I say this, Phantom: I will do everything I can to get your mom out of there and getbothof you to a safe place while we take Ricci down.”
His determined tone sent shivers down my spine. I believed him wholeheartedly, but something in the back of my mind told me something bad was about to happen.
THIRTY
EVELYN
I sat in my living room as the sun was going down, scrolling through shows and movies on Netflix, knowing that I would end up watching reruns of New Girl. My anxiety was in overdrive, my brain replaying the conversation with my mom over and over again. I hadn’t touched my phone all day even though I’d heard the notifications come through. I was so hyperfixated on trying to come up with a rescue plan for my mother that I didn’t hear the buzzer to my apartment ring.
When the sound penetrated my racing thoughts, I walked up to the intercom panel. “Hello?” My voice sounded hoarse.
“It’s me, can I come up?” Kade’s melodious voice came through the speaker, making my eyes bulge in surprise. I buzzed him in as I grabbed my phone to see I had three missed calls and ten text messages.
Kade Romano:
