Chapter 39
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Avoice had reverberated through the woods. Noah and Jasper had followed the sound.
On the road fifty yards away, a police cruiser’s taillights disappeared around the bend.
Noah hadn’t dared follow it, fearing Violet would see them.
Instead, he hid behind a massive oak tree, his breath catching in his throat as he watched Violet herd Delaney and Charlotte toward an abandoned house.
The gun in Violet’s hand gleamed in the moonlight, pressed far too close to Delaney’s back.
“We have to move.” He was desperate to do something.
Jasper clamped a hand on his shoulder. “She’ll hear us.”
He shrugged away. “We have to do something.” It was killing him, seeing Charlotte clutched against Delaney’s chest, his niece’s hair tangled from the night wind.
“We need a plan.” Jasper sounded confident, like he did this every day. “We can’t just charge in. She’s armed.”
As if Noah hadn’t noticed. He closed his eyes, fighting the urge to sprint across the clearing. Every cell in his body screamed at him to go. But Jasper was right. One wrong move, and Violet might panic.
The trio disappeared behind the dilapidated house.
Noah fumbled for his phone, but the screen showed what he already knew. Not a single bar.
“Do you have service?” he asked Jaz. “We need to call the police.”
“No, and even if I did…”
Noah glared at him in the darkness. “What?”
“It’s just… I’m trying to imagine what would happen if we alerted the cops.”
“If? If!”
“They’d move in, sirens blaring, lights spinning.” Jasper continued, ignoring Noah. “They’d surround the house and demand that Violet let them go.”
“Right, and then…” He followed his brother’s logic forward.
“That’s the thing about hostage negotiators,” Jasper said. “They try to rationalize with captors. But Violet is not rational. So how will it end?” Jasper watched him in the darkness, patiently waiting for Noah’s thoughts to catch up with his.
“Do you think she’d hurt them, really?”
Jasper peered back at the house, where a faint light now showed through one of the windows. “The woman I knew would never have done any of this. At least, I didn’t think she would.”
“You didn’t know her, though. Just…” He clamped his lips shut. Jasper didn’t need to be reminded of his one-night stand. As awful as what he’d done was, that night had given them Charlotte.
“I didn’t know her well, you’re right. But after Charlotte was born, we spent some time together.
I got to know her. I believed…” He shook his head quickly, like he could shake off his thoughts.
“She loves Charlotte, in her own way. And she had feelings for me once too. She’s just gotten in over her head.
Hayes gave her hope she’d get her daughter back, and when she realized his plan wouldn’t work, she took matters into her own hands.
Now, she’s backed herself into a corner. ”
“Right. And taken the two people I love most in the world with her. And a gun. Which is why the police—”
“The police are plan B.”
Noah was terrified, but Jasper sounded so confident. It was…weird. “What do you want to do, then? Just sit here and hope for the best?”
“No.” The word was drawn out like he was considering something. “I think…I think we need a two-pronged approach. One of us distracts Violet while the other gets in through the back.”
“Don’t you think the doors will be locked?”
“I can pick a lock, no problem.”
Noah didn’t want to think about why his brother had learned that particular skill. Was he some kind of thief?
Now wasn’t the time to ask. “Fine. I’ll try to talk her down while you—”
“No.” Jasper turned to face him fully. “We’ll look through the windows, figure out where they are. I’ll pick the locks, then go inside. I’ll talk to her, at least distract her. When you hear me, you go in the other door and—”
“You’re not getting anywhere near that gun. Forget it.”
His brother’s lips tipped up at the corners. “Still trying to protect me, brother?”
“Yes.” He didn’t bother to deny it. “Delaney and Charlotte are already in danger. I can’t risk losing you too. I’ll go, and you—”
“No.”
“Jaz, don’t be—”
“She knows me. She used to care for me. Maybe she still does, but even if she doesn’t, she’ll think twice about killing me. From her perspective, you’re the man keeping Charlotte from her.”
“And you’re the man who abandoned her.”
Jasper didn’t back down. “All the more reason it should be me. Charlotte loves you. She needs you.”
“You’re her father.”
Jaz looked back at the house. He said nothing for a few long seconds. “You’re the one who’s earned her trust. You and Delaney. I don’t want either one of us to die, but you need to survive. You need to take care of my daughter.”
A wave of terror and affection filled Noah’s eyes with moisture. He gripped his brother’s arm. “Please, let me.”
“I’ll be okay, Noah. She won’t shoot me.”
“You don’t know that.”
He quirked a smile. “Trust me. I’ll charm her. It’ll be fine.”
His brother’s cavalier attitude didn’t help. But they needed to act—now.