Page 14 of Darkness Falls

Just like all the times before, the chat closes out and deletes itself. I look between Seb and Ky, unsure of how to relay this news to them. Kyler isn't going to be happy, so I might as well just rip off the band-aid.

"He wants to wait until closer to the wedding."

"NO!" Kyler stands up and throws the chair he was sitting in across the room. "You want to let her stay there longer? This is fucking bullshit, and you know it!!"

"Let him speak, Ky," Seb says while looking at me.

"Say what you have to say," Kyler spits out.

"It'stoo risky. They have eyes on her nonstop, and we have to do this right. Do you really want to risk never seeing her again?"

"I don't want her to suffer," Kyler throws back at me. "I thought you would feel the same, considering you claim to love her. I’m not waiting. I’ll go get her out myself if I have to."

"I'm giving you a pass because you're upset right now, but do not ever question the love I have for her. I'm a hacker, not a fucking magician." I narrow my eyes at him and curl my hands into fists.

"You two need to take a breather and stop letting your feelings blind you. I won't allow either of you to make stupid decisions," Seb says before looking over at Kyler. "You risking your life puts hers at risk. Is that what you want?"

"No," he admits through gritted teeth.

"Then it's settled; we will stick with Soren's timeline unless a better plan arises beforehand. The wedding is about a month away. If we can’t get her out by then, we can do it your way and go in guns blazing," Seb says while looking at Ky.

"You better be prepared to pick up the pieces when we get her back. If they break her, that's on the two of you." Ky shakes his head to me before storming out of the room.

I sigh and lower my head. I can't think about what she's going through. It makes me want to go along with Ky's plan and get her now, but it's too risky. There are only three of us, and way too many of them with an unpredictable schedule. I really hope my girl can stay strong enough to deal with whatever they throw at her.

Chapter 7

Callie

Escaping the traditional way isn't going to work this time. I need to get more creative with how I go about it, but they won't give me a moment alone. The only time I have a little bit of privacy is when I'm locked in the house with my father and Damien, like right now. The two of them are down in his office having some secret meeting.

We stayed at the compound again last night. I tried to find my mother to try and sneak a conversation with her while they were distracted, but my piece of shit father keeps her locked in her room when he doesn't want her socializing. I knocked on her door a few times but was met with nothing but silence.

I grow some courage, sneaking out of my bedroom and quietly slipping down the stairs. It’s a lucky reprieve that they don’t have someone to guard my room, too. If there's anything I can do to give myself a bit of an advantage, I'm going to. The door to my father’s office is cracked far enough for me to hear what they are saying, but they can't see me standing out here.

"... said that he has a new lead on the CEO and can most likely have the information to me tomorrow."

"It wouldbe good to have them in our pocket, too. That’s a good score, Damien."

"Should we call a council meeting to go over everyone's findings? Maybe one of the others was also able to secure a lead."

"For now, let's let things settle. We made a big move by placing Joseph in the Senate race. We don't want to risk them connecting any dots.”

Joseph? Senate race? What is he talking about? What could my father and Rogue possibly have to do with the Senate race? I know there are people in our community with more prevalent positions in the outside world, but I didn’t know it was intentional.

"Next week, Joseph's opponent will be dropping out. It seems he had an incredibly misfortunate event with another woman, and it was all caught on tape."

"Did he really?" Damien laughs.

"Does it matter if it really happened? We have it on tape, and it looks like he cheated on his wife. He won't risk it getting out. He will drop out of the race just like we expect him to. Joseph will win."

"Fair enough," Damien states.

Are they really going to blackmail someone running for state Senator? If they are capable of this, what else do they have involvement in? How much pull and influence does Rogue actually have, and how the hell did it grow that much to gain this much power and influence?

"You need to focus on getting my daughter in line. She is becoming a problem that we don't need right now."

"I'll deal with her."

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