Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 91467 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91467 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Mike’s question broke the silence. Zandi was looking straight ahead with a determined look on her face, still not saying a word. I doubt she even heard the phone ring.
“I’ll tell you about it later, looks like we’re here.” I’m not sure if I was surprised that we were in a nicer part of town than I expected for an operation like this. I wasn’t sure what I was feeling in that moment.
I came out of my fugue when Zandi pulled her hand out of mine and opened the door to jump down from the truck. “Wait Zandi, no…” I could see from the look in her eyes when she turned to me that she was no longer there.
I can’t say that I blame her I wasn’t feeling myself either. This was a fucked up situation any way you look at it. “How do you want to do this?” My brother asked after I talked her into staying put.
We hadn’t exactly hatched a plan before we left the house. “I’m just going to knock. If there’s no answer I’ll break the damn door down.” Either way my kids are going home with me today.
He brought the truck to a halt a few buildings down from the address. I was banking on the hope that whoever this is wasn’t able to watch the street from some sophisticated security system in their home.
After hearing what the Doc had to say and now seeing the expensive home this person owned, I’m convinced this is no fly by the seat of their pants criminal. This asshole had resources and had obviously thought this shit out very well for it to have lasted as long as it had.
With that said, there’s no telling what this sick fuck would do if she feels cornered. With Zandi’s escape and the cops flooding the woods, no doubt this Melanie person must be sweating. Wouldn’t her first thought be to get rid of any baggage? Anything that can tie her to the crime?
She hadn’t run though, which gave me hope that the others Mike had spoken to were right. Still, I’m not willing to put my trust in a fucking psychopath who’d kidnapped a woman and stolen her kids.
“Hey Mike, those two people back at the cabin, call them.” He had to call one of his boys and have them hand over the phone. I gave the old woman who came on the phone strict instructions before hanging up.
“That was smart Cade, good thinking.” Those were the first words she’d said in a while. “Yeah, I’m afraid if we rush the door it might give her time to harm the kids before we make it inside. This way she’d be expecting the knock at the door.”
It was still a little risky since I didn’t know the setup of the place or if this person would be able to see us coming. But it was too late to worry about that now.
The one good thing was that the ‘house’ was a condo in a building with others on either side, so no big front door with glass windows.
We headed back towards the building and my anger the anger I’d been holding at bay because it wouldn’t help shit reared its head. I could easily kill this Melanie person whoever she is and that was the reason I’d decided not to call in the cops. Not yet!
I wasn’t sure and hadn’t had enough time to think shit through. First, I needed to get my kids to safety. Once I have them I can let my thoughts go to her and how I’m going to deal with her ass later.
The plan was for the old woman to call and say they were coming in. She said Melanie had warned them not to return, but once she called with the news that the cops were closing in, I took a chance that Melanie would accept.
Our first hurdle was getting past the entrance to the building. If she was the cautious type and asked who it was through the buzzer, I had nothing. Shit!
I was about to ring someone else’s bell but luck was on our side because the door was pulled open from the other side before I even reached the buzzer. The man and woman who walked out didn’t spare us a glance as they went about their business.
We made our way up the stairs instead of taking the elevator, my heart now moving steadily towards my lungs. Now that we were here I started imagining everything that could possibly go wrong.
I wasn’t afraid for myself, but the thought of my children getting hurt was almost crippling. There was no turning back now though, so I got my shit together and knocked.
Zandi was vibrating beneath the hand I had around her wrist keeping her out of sight behind me. I made sure to stay out of line of the peephole and only then realized that I maybe should’ve thought this shit through.