Page 175 of Unorthodox
Oliver’s screams are in my head again as I think of Addison getting away. His screams, the sound of his bones breaking, the violence Jameson promised he inflicted on him.
Evora’s head flashes in my mind, too.
Bile runs up the back of my throat as I struggle to keep upright.
“Max, she’s going to be free. She’s going to—”
My phone starts to ring, in my back pocket. With a clenched jaw, as stars seem to pop behind my closed eyelids, I pull the phone out with my good hand, pry my eyes open, focus on the screen.
Goddamn Jameson.
Against my better judgement, I hold the phone to my ear, my eyes locked on Mamie’s.
“I see she’s made a getaway.”
My blood runs cold, and I almost sink to the floor, the sharp pain in my shoulder temporarily numbed by the icy wash of fear.“What?”I manage to say, still staring at Mamie. I watch the color drain from her face as a hand comes up to her mouth.
She heard him.
His sick laugh echoes through the line. “I got out of Texas just yesterday, which is a good thing,” he drawls. “Otherwise, you might’ve never seen your brother again, Max.”
My fingers are trembling against the phone, but I can’t speak.
Jameson sighs. “Your valiant housekeeper,Mamie,she never spoke to Danik London.”
Mamie gasps, taking a step back, grabbing the bannister of the stairs to steady herself.
I can’t even breathe.
I feel nothing but numbness.
“Shame you can’t afford loyal help, but it’s a good thing I was watching your back, right, Max?” He laughs again, and I feel sick, my stomach churning. “Meet me at the airport. We’ll do the exchange early.”
For the first time, the gun on the floor between me and Mamie catches my attention.
The one Addison shot me with.
She didn’t fucking bring it.
It shouldn’t matter. Jameson has forced everyone I know to betray me, and in this case, it worked in my favor, but because of the lengths he’s going to in order to have Addison, I feel a sense of foreboding at what I’m going to find at that airport.
“If you’ve fucked with my brother, Jameson, if you—”
“He’ll be in your arms soon, Max.”
The line goes dead.
I drop my arm by my side, clenching the phone in shaky fingers.
“Did you speak to him?” I ask Mamie quietly, taking a step back, resting my weight against the door, the wood cold against my spine. My shirt is currently being used as a very, very poor tourniquet, and the longer we discuss this, the more likely it is I’m going to die before we get to that airport. My brother.Addison.
But I have to know. “Danik? Did you actuallyspeakto him?”
Mamie blinks, and her fingers tremble against her mouth, her other hand clenched still around the bannister. She knows that I know. We both know there’s no reason to hide it now, but I know that’s not why she’s scared.
Not yet.
“Of course, we—”
