Page 117 of Unhinged Kallie

I gasped as we burst out of the trail, crossed a two-lane road—thank fuck no cars were coming—and then sailed over a small hill to continue on our course. Slowing down, Cain turned right onto a path I never would’ve seen and pulled into a farmer’s field. He cut the lights and drove along the edge in the dark. There was a copse of trees and a wooden fence, and just beyond were three barns and a house that looked ready to fall over with the next strong wind.

“He’ll be in that one or the house,” Cain said, pointing to the only two buildings with a soft glow from a window.

“I don’t see Kallie’s car,” I said, and Cain hopped out. “You won’t. She will have snuck on like we are.” Jumping out, I looked at Cain just in time to be sucker punched in the face so hard that I was on my ass, flipped over onto my stomach, and had my hands tied before I even knew that the fuck was happening.

“What the hell are you doing?” I spit out blood pouring from my nose into my mouth.

“This is not a job for you,” Cain said as Abel walked around the truck.

“Like fuck, it’s not. Untie me.”

“No.” Cain and Abel picked me up, and I struggled in their arms. They weren’t keeping me from helping Kallie. “You’re wasting time. Do you want her to get killed because of you?”

“Because of me? I’m her fiancé. I love her.”

“Yes, but there are some things that only a father can do.”

He sat me upright in the back of the truck, and I glared at him, rage filling my body. He tricked me, and now I was useless. I didn’t think I could hate anyone until this moment. Cain gripped the door, but paused before closing it.

“We both know you’re not cut out for what might happen in there or what might have already happened.” I swallowed hard. “I’m doing this to protect you as much as to save my daughter. For the two of you to have the future you want, your hands must always remain clean.”

And just like that, he said something that stunned me into silence.

He closed the door, and I watched them leap over the fence and disappear among the shadows while I sat with dark thoughts of what could be happening inside those walls.

Chapter Forty-Four

KALLIE

I felt death in the air the moment I stepped on the property. There was a sensation around places where many have died. My dad didn’t believe in ghosts, an afterlife, heaven, or hell. He thought we were born and died, and that was it. I didn’t really know, and it wasn’t like I’d seen any of those things to know for sure. What I did know was that a stillness accompanied death. It hung in the air and blanketed everything like a warning to the living that something terrible happened there.

I’d prepped the car before we left with my go bag. My extra knives, black clothing, and a burner phone so my dad couldn’t track me. I glanced down at my empty wrist and felt terrible for taking my bracelet off and leaving it behind, but I knew Carter had a tracer in it.

Most girls would’ve been mad, but I thought it was sweet, if not misguided. He wasn’t the killer I was, but I knew his worry ran as deep as a cavern and just as wide.

Pulling my hood up, I slipped under the fence and ran across the open to the shadow of the first barn. My feet never made a sound, another lesson my dad taught me. I stopped to listen as I neared the barn door, but nothing moved or even creaked. It was like the buildings were scared to make noise.

Rounding the corner, I looked up at the next barn, and it was also dark, so I slipped along the end to the third one. There was nothing. Not a stray cat or rustle of leaves, and all my senses were on high alert for any sign of Darryl Burton, the man who took my mom from me.

A soft thud of metal hitting metal made me jump along with my adrenaline. Crouching low, I stalked closer as I heard a scraping sound. Peeking around the corner to the house, I spotted my prey, and the sounds made sense. He was standing at a barbeque, using a brush to clean the metal grate. The glow from the window bathed him in light.

The moment felt surreal as I watched him work. I couldn’t see his face, but I still had it committed to memory from the pictures on my dad’s wall. Tonight, I would put an X through his face once and for all. He closed the lid and walked inside. When the screen door banged shut, I ran for the front of the house.

I made it to my new hiding spot just as the door opened again. The hinges were quiet, which told me all I needed to know. He didn’t want to be seen or heard and definitely didn’t want to be found. It was why he parked behind the house. It was why no obvious lights could be seen from the road and why a massive padlock on the gate at the end of the driveway looked like it hadn’t been opened in years. He had to have another way onto the property, but I wasn’t worried about him escaping. He was never leaving here alive again.

Sizzling reached my ears, along with the smell of grilled steak. It was late for dinner, so either Darryl worked a job where he didn’t get home until late, or it was so people didn’t see him outside. Turning my camera on, I slipped the lens around the side of the house. He was sitting on the single porch step, drinking a beer.

I needed another way in. Wandering quietly from one window to the next, I tugged at them to see if they were unlocked or rotten enough that the lock would slide, but no dice. There was a storm cellar door, and it was a fifty-fifty shot if it also had access from the inside. As I got closer, I saw it was chained with a numeric lock. Annoyed, I pulled my knife and rounded the back of the house. Closing in the corner, I stepped away enough to see the little bit of light shining, but there was no shadow of someone sitting on the ground. Something wasn’t right, and the hair stood on the back of my neck, but I couldn’t see anything move in the darkness.

Cocking my head, I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing and the sounds around me. The barbecue was off, but nothing cooked that fast. I heard the soft rustle of feet and let my training guide me. Dropping low, I rolled away and heard something smash against the side of the house.

Darryl was shaking out his fist, which was the size of my face. “Bitch,” he snarled, his head turning my way. “Who are you, and what the fuck do you want?”

I pulled my second knife, and Darryl eyed them as they spun in my hands. “What? You on some vigilante mission? You one of the girls I fucked and back for revenge? I have news for you, you liked it. Probably, begged for more.” He grabbed his crotch, but I kept my eyes on his face.

I wouldn’t let him goad me, a priceless lesson my dad taught me. He wanted me to make the first move. The challenging look in his narrowed eyes and snarl lifting his lip told me everything I needed to know.

“Speak up bitch, why are you on my property?”