Page 90 of The Eleventh Hour
“How did it go with the cops? You know, with Cherise?”
River is silent for a long moment, long enough that my anxiety returns, making my throat tight.
“Dad handled it. It’s fine. He’s paying for her funeral, and he’s found a really good family to take in Zair.” He sighs. “Come home soon. Dad’s really worried.”
“I’ll try to get there today. I promise.”
“Do that. Look, I got to go, something’s going on, but promise me you’ll text once a day. Please.”
“I promise, Riv.”
“Good, talk to you later.”
“Bye, baby brother.”
I pull the phone away and wander to the kitchen. Rafe looks at my face and stands up.
“What’s up?”
“Keylore is looking for me.”
Dane disappears, and when he comes stomping back, hands me a business card. I take it and dial in the numbers. The phone barely rings before Keylore answers the phone.
“Hello?”
He sounds frantic, almost hysterical. That gaping pit inside me opens up.
“Jacob? It’s Jax, uh, Jackie.”
He sobs on the other end of the phone, and I close my eyes as the world tilts to the left sharply.
“He took her. He took her, Jackie. Oh, god. Please, god, please.”
“Jacob,” I try to keep the tears out of my voice, but I can’t. She’s dead, and we all know it. There’s nothing I can do.
“He sent a video. I’m sending it now. Martha, oh, please. I have to get off the phone in case…”
He hangs up, and I don’t offer up the information that he won’t ring for a ransom. That’s not part of his MO.
I click the link of the video, and it opens on a black room. A tiny flame illuminates two hands. Male hands. He twirls my ring around and around. I heave. I left that in the apartment.
“You’ve been a very bad girl, Jojo.”
My blood turns to ice, and my hairs raise up. I gasp, hold it, then gasp again. I can’t tell if it’s him or not. His voice is disguised, but it’s close enough to Louis that I instantly feel violently sick.
“Very, very bad girl. I don’t like this side of you, darling. You remember what happens when you do the wrong thing?”
My mouth moves with the word, even if I don’t quite say it aloud.
“Punishment?” Dane asks in a low, deep voice quivering with rage. I shake my head. Not punishment, not to me, never to me.
“You have been so busy, busy with those guys,” I lift my gaze and unerringly find Dane and Rafe. They have targets on them now. I did that.
“You have been seeing our old friends. Poor, dear Jacob, he wasn’t good for much, but he had the words I needed.”
I wince.
“You found Lee.” He pauses in his monologue. “Now that surprised me. I thought I’d made sure all the ties were cut. I guess I’ll have to make another sweep of making sure Lee Banewood stays dead and buried.”