August must’ve seen the change in my expression, because he dropped my hand, his mouth curling at the corner. “Let’s make him pay, brother.”
Anderson should be terrified. Because when it came down to it, the Shadow Stalker was nothing more than his namesake. A shadow. A passing, fleeting darkness that had no substance, and no real power.
The only thing he had was fear, but we would not fear him.
A calmness trickled down my spine. A resolve that I clung to, and I believed in. We would win. There was no other option.
My phone rang.
August and I both glanced down at my pocket.
We knew who was calling before checking the number.
I pulled my phone out and confirmed it was an unknown caller.
August grabbed the phone, and we both hurried into the kitchen.
By the third ring, August held the phone out to Fox. “It’s him.”
Fox took it without hesitation and plugged something connected to his laptop into it before his thumb hovered above the green button on the screen.
“I’m going to put it on speaker. You talk to him, okay?” he said.
I nodded, more confident now that I was calmer. Fox and August shared a brief look before he tapped the screen.
“Ah, and here I thought you weren’t going to answer my call.”
The infuriating, nonchalant voice on the other end of the line made my hackles rise.
“Where is she, Anderson?” I snapped, not wanting to listen to his posturing.
He tsked, and my blood boiled. “Patience, Roman. You know she’s not exactly my type. I don’t want to hurt her. She’s just a means to get what I want.”
I saw red. Hate, potent and sharp, consumed me.
Amos had a victim profile for college-aged brunettes. She didn’t fit his preferences, but he had taken her anyway. The bastard.
“What do you want?” August said when I didn’t reply.
There was a pause. When Amos spoke next, his tone had shifted to something lower, more menacing.
“You know what I want,” he hissed. “You think you can take my Emersyn? And my own daughter? No. I’m tired of all of you. I’m done. Tell me where the safe house is, and I’ll let the blonde go.”
August closed his eyes, letting out a measured breath. “I can’t give you that.”
“Then she dies.”
He said it with finality, like it was inevitable. My stomach clenched, nausea surfacing. I wouldn’t let her die. But I also knew that we couldn’t tell him where the safe house was. We couldn’t sacrifice anyone else.
When none of us spoke, Anderson laughed. The cold, inhuman sound sent chills over my skin.
“I’ll send you my location. Though I’m sure your little hacker has already pinpointed it. You will come here alone, all of you. Only then will I let you come into the building.”
August and I glanced at each other. He wanted all of us to go?
“I want to know that Palmer is still alive,” I spat. “Let me talk to her.”
Amos let out a long, suffering sigh. There was a pause, and then her voice came through the line. It shook slightly, but it was her.
