Page 50 of Like An Animal
“Bronwyn.”
It takes a lot to shock me, but when I’m greeted by my grandfather’s voice, it makes my jaw drop.
Why the fuck is he calling her?
“Mr. B., hi. What’s going on? Is it Jeremy? Is he-he-he okay?” Her voice cracks with worry.
“I don’t know. He’s gone AWOL.”
“AWOL! You said you would keep track of him! How could you just lose him? Are you sure he isn’t just partying or something?”
“Ms. Durst, we can’t find him. All we can assume is either he knows where you are and is coming for you or he’s trying to track you down. If I were you, I’d find a rock to hide under until he gives up.”
I can’t believe my grandfather has been in contact with her and more so, is helping her hide from me. Too bad for him that I already have my eye on her.
I’ll deal with him when I return home.
“How long do you think I have? I’m about to drop my daughter off at school.”
“Could be hours. Could be days. Hell, he could be wherever you are and you not know about it. He was missing from his bed this morning. Godspeed, Bronwyn.”
The recording ends with a click and my jaw ticks.
That’s probably why she’s driving erratically. His call freaked her out. She should be scared. If she wasn’t, she would be an idiot. She’s not going to like a lot of what I have planned for her, but she’ll adjust.
“Thanks, Arny.”
“No problem, boss.”
I hang up the call and feel Xavi’s eyes burning into the side of my face. “You good, bro?”
“No,” I admit. I won’t be until I have her chained up in my room with her screams echoing throughout the compound.
“What are you going to do about the kid? You’re not going to kill her, are you?”
My head snaps around from the shock of his question. What the fuck? I don’t hurt kids, not in any way. Kids are the one place I won’t go. Plus, I don’t believe in punishing a child for the mistakes of their parents.
I’m a product of why that’s a bad idea. I was punished for the fact that my mother didn’t go straight to my grandfather with what she saw. He didn’t mean to punish me, but that’s exactly what happened. It’s not pretty and makes him uncomfortable to think about.
I was punished for a small mistake my mother made when trapped in her grief over what she witnessed. She took me home, held me and cleaned me up when she should’ve taken me anywhere but there.
“No. What makes you think I would kill her kid?”
He shrugs, a frown on his face. “Your grandfather would.”
“Well, I’m not fucking him, am I?”
He frowns. “No, you’re not. The time for you to take over can’t come fast enough. You’re both ruthless, but at least you have morals.”
I have very few things I won’t do, but it’s still more than my grandfather’s list.
CHAPTER 22
THE SHADOW
We follow behind Bronwyn as she drops the child off at school, walking her in with a fake smile across her face and kissing the child on the forehead. Then, we followed her out of the school parking lot and across town.
“Where the fuck is she going?” Xavi asks, looking about as confused as I feel.
