Page 4 of Then and Now (The Edge of Retaliation 3)
“What if he’s hurt her?”
“We’ll get them back.”
“What if he’s done worse?”
“Callie,” Tanner says, grabbing my jaw and forcing my eyes to lock with his, “we’ll get them back.”
“We should call the police.”
Tanner shakes his head. “Not yet, I’ll make sure he goes away, but not before they’re safe. We call the police and he finds out, he could very well end their lives. Not riskin’ that right now.”
“What about Pat?” I ask, biting my bottom lip. “He’ll try to call Jo, and when she doesn’t answer, he’ll get suspicious. He could go to the police.”
Tanner purses his lips and rubs a hand over my thigh absentmindedly before saying, “You call him, tell him that Jo lost her phone and the two of you are okay. Tell him that she wants some time out, and she’ll talk to him in a few days.”
“He’ll lose his mind; he’ll demand to speak with her.”
Tanner squeezes my knee before pushing to his feet. “You’re smart, Callie. Figure it out.”
I stare at him as he starts pacing the room. Sure, I’ll figure it out. I’ll try and hold the raging beast that is Patrick off long enough to get Jo back. If he gets suspicious, this is all over. I’m not going to let something happen to Jo because of him.
So yeah, I’ll figure it out.
I pull out my phone and dial his number, not wanting to wait a second longer. He’s probably already tried to call Jo a few times and has figured out she hasn’t answered.
“Callie,” his voice comes across the line cool, calm and collected, as always. “Been trying to call Jo, where is she?”
Not, Is she okay? Has something happened to her? Just, Where is she? Plain and simple, straight to the point, just how Patrick likes it.
“She lost her phone,” I tell him, “but, Patrick, she is having a hard time and wants some space. She’ll get a new phone in a few days, but she told me to let you know that she needs some time and will call you when she can.”
The line goes silent for a moment. “I knew she’d do this, get you to do her dirty work for her. She’s been playing this little game for months now, and she’s finally spoken up. You can tell Jo that I don’t want her to fucking call me, I want her to come home and speak to me like my wife, like I deserve.”
“Maybe,” I snap, “if you spoke to her a little nicer than you’re speaking right now, she’d do that.”
“Gotten into her ear finally, have you, Callie? You know, she was fine when you were locked away. Then you got out and, suddenly, she doesn’t know what she wants.”
“First of all,” I growl, clenching my fists, “you know damn well Jo hasn’t been happy for a long time. You know it and you’re making her life a misery because of it. She’s finally had enough. I haven’t gotten into her ear; you’ve done a fine and dandy job of doing that all on your own. Now, if she means anything to you, anything at all, you’ll let her be for a few days.”
“Gladly,” he snaps. “She’s not the only one who has had enough. Tell her that she’ll lose everything when she loses me.”
“Maybe,” I mutter, “but she’ll gain a fuck of a lot, too.”
I hang up the phone and glance over at Tanner who has stopped pacing and is staring at me with his arms crossed, eyes narrowed. “That went well then?”
I snort. “Yeah, perfect. Well, at least we know he won’t be calling Jo for a few days, possibly more because he’s a giant dick.”
Tanner grins, and it catches me off guard. He doesn’t smile much these days, but when he does, it utterly breathtaking. I can’t help but grin back at him.
“Now,” he says, his eyes lightening at my grin, “let’s find our friends.”
Yeah.
Let’s.
“I FOUND SOME LOCATIONS,” Ethan says, walking into the hotel living room a day later.
The hospital finally agreed that if I took it easy, kept up with my medication, and didn’t go back to work for a few weeks, that I’d be okay to leave. Tanner insisted we all share a suite, because he didn’t want any of us alone right now in case things went bad. We’re in a different town, with people who are on the hunt for us. It’s dangerous.
Ethan agreed, and booked a two-bedroom apartment for us until we could locate Jo and Tatum and get Chase home so he can finally end this for all of us.
That’s if we find them alive.
The thought has my stomach clenching with anxiety.
If something happens to Jo, I just don’t know if I can go on. She’s … well … she’s everything. She’s gotten me through the hardest times of my life. Without her, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
