Page 45 of Her Last Secret

"An ambulance is coming for Barnes and Natalie," he added, meeting Rachel's gaze with an unspoken understanding that their work here was far from over. “This will be over in just a few minutes.”

Rachel nodded, about to rise and check on Natalie once more, when her phone rang. She quickly grabbed it out of her pocket, the screen casting an eerie glow in the dim space between the kitchen and living room.

"This is Gift," she answered curtly, her eyes never leaving Barnes, who lay shuddering on the linoleum floor.

"Agent Gift? This is Agent Leery.”

The name registered just faintly at the edges of her mind. She knew the name but couldn’t quite place it.

“Who?”

“Agent Leery,” he said. “One of the four agents on rotation watching your house. Agent Gift… you need to come home.”

The words sent a cold spike of alarm down her spine. Home? Why? And even if something was wrong, why was Leery calling instead of Carson?

"What's happened?" she asked, her tone sharpening with authority and a hint of dread.

When he answered, Rachel felt as if an entire sheet of ice had cut her heart in half. She looked up at Jack, her eyes wide with panic, and for a terrifying moment, she thought she was going to pass out. She was helpless to listen to Leery as he explained what had happened at her house as the world teetered on the brink of madness around her.

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

"We have a situation,” Leery said, his voice thin and trembling. “And you need to listen very carefully."

“Just tell me, damn it!” Rachel yelled.

"Alice Denbrough is here. She's locked herself in the downstairs bathroom with Paige. She's threatening to... to harm her if we attempt to breach. She only wants to speak with you."

The blood in Rachel's veins turned cold. "What?" The word was barely audible, a whisper of disbelief. Her hand clenched the phone so tightly she felt the plastic creak.

“She stabbed Carson. He might be dead. We don’t know. We came running as soon as the alarms started going off. By the time we got in, it had all happened.”

"She…she…" Everything in her body felt as if it were on lockdown, including her ability to form words. Jack had noticed the fear in her voice and was looking at her with grave concern.

"Agent Gift, she's made it clear any aggression from our side will result in her killing your daughter. We've already called Director Anderson and—"

“I’m coming,” Rachel said and ended the call.

She allowed herself just a moment, a mere second to absorb the fear and horror. And then she let in the anger that she’d been suppressing these last six weeks. She felt it step forward, taking the controls. It felt like a nest of bees surging through her heart and stomach.

"Jack." Her voice broke as she turned to him, her hands trembling like autumn leaves in a storm. "Alice has Paige. She's locked them in the bathroom." Each word was a physical effort, pushing through the tightness in her throat.

“At...at your house?” he exclaimed.

“Yes.”

"Jesus, Rachel…" Jack's eyes widened, reflecting the same horror that twisted inside her. He moved closer, his own hands reaching out as if to physically pull the fear from her.

"Nobody can go in," she said quickly, fighting against the tears that threatened to spill over. "She'll only talk to me. If anyone else tries, she says she’ll kill Paige.”

She started for the door, pulling away from Jack.

"Damn it, Rachel, you can't—" Jack started, but Rachel cut him off.

"I have to, Jack. I have to go now!" The urgency in her voice brooked no argument, even as it wavered. This was not a plea; it was a declaration. She knew what Jack was thinking: a plan had to be formed before she ran into a situation that had clearly been designed as a trap of some kind.

But there was no time for plans. And honestly, the rage she felt coursing through her didn’t give a damn about a plan.

"Okay, okay," Jack said, his voice low. "Just... just be careful.”

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