Page 26 of Secret Wolf Baby

“If you aren’t, then tell me. I want you to enjoy your time here. How can I help?”

The music halted, replaced by a vibrating and ringing. Audrey looked at her phone and instantly paled, going even whiter than she had been moments earlier.

“I have to take this,” she muttered. “Um, could you look after the sauce?” Then, before I could even ask her who was calling or why she was picking up when the caller clearly terrified her, she snatched her phone and scurried away, heading in the direction of her room.

Standing beside the gently bubbling pot of tomato sauce, I stared after her, wondering what the hell was really going on here.

Chapter 8 - Audrey

I ran into my room and closed the door before taking a deep breath and pressing the answer button.

“Hi,” I said.

“That took a while,” an unpleasantly familiar voice sneered. “You weren’t considering letting me go to voicemail, were you?”

“No, of course not,” I said quickly.

“Good. Just because you don’t live with me anymore doesn’t give you the right to disrespect me.”

You’re making that very clear, Dad,I thought. That was what this whole phone call was about. A power game. He was just trying to show he could still throw his weight around. Could still keep a hold over me despite how far away he was.

“Why are you calling?” I asked, trying to keep my voice level.

“I’m not allowed to check in on my daughter?” he asked. I didn’t miss the mocking tone in his voice.

Any other father, maybe. You? Not without an ulterior motive,I thought. My fingers tightened around the phone. Out of anger or fear, I wasn’t entirely sure. Just hearing his voice was enough to make my heart thunder and my mind race with terror.

“I’m fine,” I said. “Claire is, too.”

“That’s good. And have you forgotten our deal?”

“No, sir,” I said, fully aware that this was the entire reason he was calling. It wasn’t to check on me. I might have been angry had I not been so unsurprised. If anything, I just felt tired and resigned.

“So you haven’t told him or anyone else anything?” he pressed.

“No, sir,” I said. “Not a word.”

“Good. Keep it that way.”

I bit my lip, running my fingers through my hair as I paced back and forth. I didn’t have anything else to say to him, but I knew if I hung up before he was finished, I’d be in a heap of trouble, even if I didn’t live with him anymore. He would still find a way to make things miserable.

“And just remember,” he continued, “any word of any of it to that boy or any of the other Gold Wolves, or anyone else in that nothing town, and both you and Claire will regret it.”

I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. I could understand him threatening me; I was used to it. But I couldn’t understand a man who would threaten his own granddaughter. It just seemed despicable.

I wanted to tell him as much. The words pressed against my lips, yearning to spill out. But they lodged in my throat, just like they always did.

Instead of saying any of the myriad of things I wanted to say, the only two words that came out of my mouth when I opened it again were, “Yes, sir.”

“That’s what I want to hear,” Dad said. “Now, be a good girl and remember to give that Gold Wolf whatever he wants to keep him happy. And I mean anything.”

Before I could respond, he hung up. My fingers tightened around the phone as anger threatened to overwhelm me. After a moment, I let out a frustrated, inarticulate cry and threw the phone across the room. It thumped into a pillow before landing on the comforter, entirely unharmed.

I closed my eyes as I leaned against the wall, trying to sort out my emotions. The whole point of that damn call hadn’t been to check on me or to see how I was doing or even Claire. It had been to remind me that he could still reach me, that I was still under the Blood Moon pack’s thumb no matter how far I ran. If I did anything to disobey them, they would find a way to make me pay for it. Or worse, Claire. Which meant I had to comply.

I had hoped that maybe being this far away, I might finally be out of Reacher’s grasp. That maybe I could finally live my life. But it was clear that I was still his pawn, only here as a bargaining chip and to keep an eye on things so that the Gold Wolves didn’t interfere with his plans. The thought that I was still trapped, still in a prison of sorts, made it hard to breathe. I closed my eyes, willing for the sensation to go away.

A knock on the door made me jump. Taking a deep breath, I cracked it open to find Jackson on the other side. I swung it all the way open.

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