Page 184 of Unravelling The Beast

"Take care, guys!"

Wren calls out to him.

"Bye, Dad!"

I'm lost in thought as we watch him drive away, and then Wren turns to me, tiptoeing to give me a kiss, jolting me out of my reverie.

She smiles as she lowers herself to her feet before speaking.

"Let's get this done, and then we can go get Cree!"

She passes by me as I remain in the same spot, and I hear her open the door behind me.

"Are you coming in?"

I turn around and give her a slight nod before following her in.

When we enter, I look around her living room while she gathers her belongings, and as I speak, I pick up a photo frame that is perched on a tiny table.

"What was that about when you said your family had intruders?"

As she responds, I look down at a family photo of Wren when she was younger, Lily as an infant, and her parents, all of whom appear to be a typical, happy, and normal family.

"Oh, they had intruders the night everything happened; I can only assume it had something to do with your father trying to get Lily."

I give her the side eye as she folds her clothes and packs everything into her suitcase, and I speak up again.

"You didn't tell me?"

She exhales a little sigh before responding.

"I didn't find out until Jasper drove me home that night and Lil called him. I didn't bring it up since you've got enough going on and my dad has dealt with it."

I set the frame carefully on the table before turning to face her, my hands in my pockets.

"Dealt with it, how?"

Her brows furrow as she continues to pack.

"That's the strange thing; Lil said she was hurried into a secret safe room in their house that we've never known about, but before that, my dad was shot-gunning people down."

As I examine her, I raise an eyebrow, my mind racing.

"A secret safe room?"

She looks up briefly, nods, and then glances down.

"Strange, isn't it? I thought that stuff only happened in movies."

She then straightens up and faces me while folding a shirt.

"And that's not even the strangest part. Lil claimed he sent her and my mom to a secured hotel, and when they returned the next day, everything was completely normal, as if nothing had taken place. There was no blood, bullet holes, or dead bodies, and my mom isn't saying anything."

I raise an eyebrow as she glances down at her suitcase and I continueto question her.

"Have you ever seen your dad with a gun before?Especially with a gun that powerful?"

With a little smile, she shakes her head and scrunches her little nose.