Page 54 of Jericho

"Hemlock," I warn.

"We've screened the video," my boss assures me.

I'd punish myself by watching the whole thing, but I'd never make Aspen suffer something like that if it ended that way.

The boy whimpers as the gun is pressed to the side of his head. I can see that he's doing his best to be brave, and I can't help but wonder if he has been punished in the past for showing fear like any normal child would.

"You fucking whore," the evil bastard says, pressing so hard, I can see the strain in Eli's neck as it's pushed to the side. "You leave your son to run off with that traitorous bastard? I have no fucking clue where you are, and I'm done looking for you. I'll give you twenty-four hours to meet me at the summerhouse. If you're not there in time, all you'll find is his brains on the fucking floor."

The video goes black, and the last thing I hear is Eli asking, "Daddy, why?"

Chapter 28

Aspen

I'm sobbing so hard I can hardly breathe, and this time Nolan's touch isn't enough.

What kind of man puts a gun to a child's head?

I knew Damien was capable of many heinous things, but could he possibly hurt a child?

The reminder of the grave Nolan mentioned sneaks up, and I have to gasp for air. I still don't manage enough to keep my eyes from swimming from lack of oxygen.

"She's having a panic attack," one of the guys in the room says.

"Aspen. Aspen! ASPEN!"

I don't know whose voice it is, but blackness coats the outer rim of my vision and I can't see a damn thing with my eyes wide open.

"Peach! You have to breathe, baby. Deep breath in, slow breath out."

My entire body trembles, but somehow I'm warm. To keep from floating, I cling to whatever I can manage to grip in my hands. I hold tightly, my mind counting along with whoever is counting near me.

"That's it, baby. Deep breath in. Slow breath out."

My vision begins to return, but the tears don't stop. I don't know that they ever will so long as my son is at the mercy of that evil bastard.

"He's going to kill him if I don't go to him," I manage. "I have to go."

"We already have a team gearing up. He gave us twenty-four hours, Peach."

I look up realizing that not only am I in Nolan's arms, but he's sitting at the conference table and all but fully wrapped around me.

"The summer house, that's the one in Virginia, right? Peach?"

I look up at him, his eyes filled with as much fear as I feel.

"The summer house, Peach?" he asks. "It's the one in Virginia, right?"

I have a huge decision to make. It's not that I don't trust that these men will do their damnedest. I honestly think they'd lay down their lives to protect a child, but that sacrifice might not even be possible because Damien doesn't lose.

I can tell by the rage in his eyes that no one walks away from this alive.

It's possible that I can distract Damien long enough, taking enough of his anger onto my own shoulders, for Eli to slip away. It's the only shot I have.

"Virginia," I say, nodding.

I knew the second Damien mentioned the summer house, he was talking about the place we planned to buy after we first got married. We stayed there twice as a rental property before I went into labor with Eli. We visited when he didn't hate me as much as he does now, and he was still trying to impress my father. We had long conversations about staying there in the summer because it was less crowded than Boston.

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