Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 79749 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79749 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Before I can think of a way to explain it better, my phone vibrates in my pocket. She moves off my lap quickly, her hand automatically going to her mouth as I pull my phone out.
"Yeah," I snap into the phone, my eyes locked on her.
She looks like a caged animal, ready to either hightail it out of here or claw the eyes out of anyone who gets in her way.
"We found something," Hemlock says. "Come back downstairs."
The phone call ends without another word, but I can tell by the tone of his voice that whatever it is isn't good news. The only thing I can breathe a breath of relief over is the fact that he didn't come up here and speak to us in person. That tells me that it may be bad news he has to deliver, but it isn't the worst news it could be.
"They need us back downstairs," I say, standing and reaching out for her hand.
She looks down at the thing as if it will only cause her pain. I can't blame her for the reaction, but living with her head in the sand and refusing to know the truth won't ease anything inside of her either.
After a long moment, she places her hand in mine, and I take one more second to pull her to my body and wrap her in a hug.
We head downstairs and right back into the conference room.
No one speaks until we're inside with the doors closed at our backs, and I know part of that is because of Zara and Cora. Hemlock and Ace want to protect them from this dark part of life as much as they can, while also telling them enough to keep them aware of their surroundings. There's no sense in anyone losing sleep over the shit they can't get out of their heads if it can be helped.
"We found this on the dark web," Casper says. "He must've known we would be looking for it."
The massive television at the front of the room comes to life, and a whimper escapes Aspen's lips at the sight of Eli sitting there tied to a chair as if he's a prisoner of war. I guess, in a way, he sort of is.
This is the first time I'm seeing my son other than a few pictures the guys were able to scrape up online. It's not uncommon for people in certain illegal enterprises to keep all their kids off social media. It's one of the things that keeps them safe. I honestly wish so many others would do the same. It's insane how many regular pictures of children are scraped from the internet and put on the dark web for some of the vilest of reasons.
"He looks terrified," Aspen says with a sob, and I pull my hand from hers and wrap my arm fully around her shoulder.
"But he's alive," I assure her as relief washes over me.
The sight of him scared answers that question I had in the back of my mind, but I don't know how old the video is.
"We've determined that this video was taken just over two hours ago," Casper says as if he can read my mind.
"Is this what you want?" Damien asks as he stumbles toward our son with a gun in his hand.
"Hemlock," I warn.
"We've screened the video," my boss assures me.
I'd punish myself by watching the whole thing, but I'd never make Aspen suffer something like that if it ended that way.
The boy whimpers as the gun is pressed to the side of his head. I can see that he's doing his best to be brave, and I can't help but wonder if he has been punished in the past for showing fear like any normal child would.
"You fucking whore," the evil bastard says, pressing so hard, I can see the strain in Eli's neck as it's pushed to the side. "You leave your son to run off with that traitorous bastard? I have no fucking clue where you are, and I'm done looking for you. I'll give you twenty-four hours to meet me at the summer house. If you're not there in time, all you'll find is his brains on the fucking floor."
The video goes black, and the last thing I hear is Eli asking, "Daddy, why?"
Chapter 28
Aspen
I'm sobbing so hard I can hardly breathe, and this time Nolan's touch isn't enough.
What kind of man puts a gun to a child's head?
I knew Damien was capable of many heinous things, but could he possibly hurt a child?
The reminder of the grave Nolan mentioned sneaks up, and I have to gasp for air. I still don't manage enough to keep my eyes from swimming from lack of oxygen.
"She's having a panic attack," one of the guys in the room says.