Page 12 of Then and Now (The Edge of Retaliation 3)
Tatum climbs into the front seat and looks over to me. I can see his face far more clearly now with the interior light of the truck. I study it, taking in the dried blood and bruises, then I say, “You look awful.”
He grins, making my heart do a silly flip flop. “You too, honey. Believe me.”
I smile, small, but a smile, and we get the hell out of there.
That seemed almost too easy.
But who am I to question things?
We’re free … right?
IT TAKES US A FEW HOURS to get back into the land of the living, so to speak. We reach the city, and immediately pull over to find a phone. A gas station is the closest thing, and I use the bathroom, cleaning up as best I can before heading inside to ask to borrow the phone. The lady behind the counter is lovely and happily hands it over to me.
I have to be quick; Chase needs a hospital.
I dial Callie, thanking the good lord I always make myself memorize numbers of those close to me, always imagining a situation exactly like this where I’d need it. Tatum doesn’t know Tanner’s number, so I’m the only option we have of finding out where they are.
Surprisingly, Callie answers after a few rings and, with a cautious voice, says, “Hello?”
“Callie?” I whisper, my voice thick.
“Jo?” she gasps. “Jo, is that you?”
“It’s me.”
“You’re okay!” she cries, her voice breaking and the sound of crying coming through the phone. “Oh, thank god, they found you. They got to you.”
“We got out; Tatum got us out. Is Tanner out looking for us?”
Callie goes silent for a moment. “You didn’t see him and Ethan?”
“No, I didn’t. Wait, where are you?”
“I’m at the hotel, they convinced me to stay behind just in case something new came up. They found out where you guys are, and they are on their way right now to find you.”
“Does Tanner have his phone? Call him, Callie. Don’t let him go there, those men are still there, he could get hurt.”
“Shit, hang on, I’ll call him now.”
“Wait, before you go, where are you?”
She gives me the location where she’s staying and then hangs up after I tell her we’ll be there as soon as we’ve gotten checked out by the hospital. I rush back out to the truck and tell Tatum everything that’s happening.
He goes silent, his face scrunched up.
“What is it?” I ask.
“Something just doesn’t seem right. It all seems … too easy. The fact that Tanner found out where we were so easily, it wasn’t a location that was simple to come across. And the fact that they let us go …”
I know what he means, I felt the same way when we got out of there. The keys in the truck, the way they just let us overpower them. It all seemed … set up.
“Do you think they wanted us to get away?” I ask.
“No.” Tatum shakes his head. “I think they want Tanner. He’s the one they’re after. He’s the one who started all of this. I’m startin’ to think they made it easy for him to find us, knowing he’d come after us …”
“They’re going to kill him,” I whisper.
“And they were planning on killing us, too, but likely figured it didn’t matter if we got away or not, they knew Tanner would be on his way.”
“Oh, god,” I gasp. “They’re in danger, Tatum.”
He nods, and then says, “Get out, go inside, and call the police.”
“What?” I gasp.
“By the time we warn Tanner, it’ll be too late. We took half of them down, might as well finish it. We know where they are, we know that they’re waiting for him. Call the police, give them the location, end this once and for all.”
“Are you sure?” I whisper.
“It’s not worth riskin’ their lives. Go!”
I do as he asks, rushing inside to borrow the phone again. I’m the only one who can, because if Tatum went inside looking the way he looks, they’d freak out. The lady lets me borrow the phone again, and I call the police. I tell them who I am because they already have our names, and then I tell them very quickly what’s happening.
When they tell me they’re sending people out to the location, I call Callie again.
“I couldn’t get hold of him,” she whispers, her voice frantic.
“I’ve called the police and sent them out there; it might be the only chance we have of getting that dick locked up. Sit tight, it’ll all be over soon.”
“What if they get hurt, Jo? I can’t bear any more pain …”
“It’ll be okay, I promise. I’m coming back now. I’ll see you soon, okay.”
“Okay,” she whispers.
Once I’m done, I thank the lady behind the counter profusely, and she’s staring at me with wide eyes, having overheard my conversation. I smile at her, then rush back out to the car and face Tatum. “What now?” I ask.
