Page 85 of Sweet Poison

“Okay, okay,” I said, but my limbs were frozen.

“Go!” he yelled. “Go find your dad and leave! Right now! Go to the ranch where you will be safe.”

I was finally able to move my frozen limbs.

“Quickly,” he urged.

I ran.

Chapter 51

Cole

How things had escalated so suddenly, I had no idea.

“Is she safe?” I barked.

“Yeah, for now,” Leila said.

“For now? Fuck that. Keep your guys on Montana and her father. Don’t take your eyes off them for an instant until I tell you otherwise.”

“What about Anya?” she asked.

“I’ve got her. Focus on Montana right now; she might be more in danger. Anya is as safe as she can be.”

“Okay, We can send more men to guard the ranch.”

“Good. Assign as many as you can find to guard Montana and her father. Bring in extra reinforcements if you need to. I don’t care how much it costs, keep her safe.”

“Gotcha.”

“Let me know if anything goes amiss.”

“Alright,” she replied.

I ended the call. I turned on the security cameras on the monitor and kept my eyes on it as I searched for things I wanted. Two more guns, one silent, my special shoes, and of course, two portable devices - my hard drive and USB stock.

Then I headed towards the panic room. I opened the door and Anya was standing in the middle of it. She looked terrified. I left the duffel bag on the floor and headed over to her. Crouching down before her, the first thing I did was give her a hug. It was a very, very long hug, and I tried to give her the strength and assurance that she would need. Truthfully, I didn’t know if I would ever see her again, but I ensured to push that thought out of my mind. As I pulled away and looked into her eyes, I loved her so much it physically hurt, and so even when I tried to speak thereafter, there was a very visible strain in my throat.

“Oh, Daddy, what’s happening?” Tears streamed down her cheeks.

I rushed to hug her. “Oh honey, don’t cry. Everything is fine.”

“It’s all my fault, isn’t it?” she sobbed.

“No, it’s not. They would have found us anyway. It would have been a few days more, but they would have found us.”

“I … I only sent the card out because I was scared she would die.”

“I know. It’s not your fault. It’s okay, honey. It’s okay.”

“I thought she was dying. She was sleeping on a big black bed. I’ve been dreaming about her. She’s not well, Daddy. Something is wrong …” her voice trailed off.

“Your nightmares were about your mom?”

She nodded. “I'm sorry, Daddy. I just … I wanted to make sure she was okay.”

I paused and took a deep breath. It wasn’t the child’s fault but mine, because I never should have run. I should have gone for the nuclear option, but I was afraid of the blowback on Anya and my mother if anything went wrong. But now that I had protected them both, it was time to fight. The jackal had come to the lion’s den and the lion must respond.

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