Chapter 6 - A Voice in the Dark
It was 3:14 a.m. when my phone rang.
In the weeks since Emily's rescue, I slept with one eye open, the phone permanently glued to my palm. I snapped awake instantly, looking at the screen. It was an unknown, restricted number.
My thumb slid across the screen. "Who is this?"
Silence. Only the heavy, rhythmic sound of someone breathing on the other end of the line.
"Michael," a voice rasped. It was low, gritty, and instantly recognizable. Jason.
My blood ran cold, then turned into pure, molten fire. "Where are you, you son of a bitch?"
"You think you won, don't you?" Jason chuckled, a sickening, unhinged sound. "You think you're the hero because you broke a cheap lock? You didn't save her, Michael. You just took her out of her room. I'm still watching. I know where you live. I know which school you're trying to enroll her in."
"If you come near my daughter, I will kill you," I whispered, my voice shaking with a primal rage.
"She’s a liar, Michael. Just like her mother," Jason hissed. "She told you I hurt her? I was just teaching her discipline. And now, she’s going to learn what happens when she breaks the rules. Tell her I'll see her soon."
The line went dead.
May you like
I didn't waste a single second. I threw off my blankets, rushed into Emily's room, and found her sleeping peacefully. I locked her window, pulled the blinds shut, and then dialed Detective Vance.
"He called me," I told the detective, my voice a frantic whisper. "He knows where we are. You need to trace the number. You need to find him before he finds us."
