Chapter 16 Josie
Sixteen
Josie
One Month Later
I should have known better, right?
Getting comfortable is dangerous. Dean has been home for the last month. He doesn’t take any runs and he has moved in with me and Justice. We decided it was best not to uproot him right now as we adjust to living together.
As soon as he came back, the calls at work stopped, he hasn’t seen the car drive by.
The craziest part is Brett gave me the house back.
Signed away all rights to it at the end of this year and said he was relocating.
While giving him a few more months to live there sucks, I’m happy to finally have that chapter of my life closed.
I wish him the best. I hope he gets help for his anger issues. Until he does, I don’t know that any woman is safe with him.
The happiness I have surrounding me is immeasurable.
Danae is going to visit soon as well and I can’t wait for her to meet all the Hellions.
Sometimes I think she thinks I’ve lost my mind and gotten into the Hellions cult because I tell her they are family.
I know if she was here though, she would see it and understand.
I rub my temples, staring at my work computer screen, but I haven’t gotten a damn thing done all afternoon.
Because the phone won’t stop ringing.
And every time I answer—silence. One month of feeling safe and in an instant the fear returns.
Just breathing on the other end before they hang up.
A shiver runs down my spine as I set the receiver down again, my hand clammy. I tell myself it’s probably a wrong number. A prank.
But deep down, I know better. I should tell Dean, but I don’t want to worry him.
I check the clock and push back from my desk. Time to get Justice from school. He has a dentist appointment this afternoon.
The weird calls can wait.
The second the words leave the receptionist’s mouth, my blood turns to ice.
“Sara already picked him up.” She repeats.
I blink. “What?”
She nods like this is normal, like my whole world isn’t suddenly tilting sideways. “She picked him up about thirty minutes ago.”
My stomach drops. My fingers dig into the counter. “Are you sure it was Sara?” This isn’t possible since Sara is still at the office I just left, and she’s been there all damn day stuck on conference calls.
The woman frowns. “Well, I—”
I don’t wait. I grab my phone and call Sara, gripping it so tight my hands shake.
She answers on the second ring. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Tell me you have Justice,” I rasp.
Silence.
Then, “What? Josie, I don’t—I didn’t pick him up.”
My knees almost give out.
The room tilts. The buzzing in my head gets so loud I can barely think.
Sara’s still talking, her voice urgent, but I can’t hear her anymore because I’m already dialing Dean.
I don’t even know if he’ll answer. I just know I need him right this second.
The moment I hear his voice, I completely fall apart.
“Jo?” His tone shifts immediately, sharp and alert. “What’s wrong?”
I can’t breathe. Can’t get the words out.
“He’s gone,” I choke.
The line goes deadly silent.
Then, “I’m on my way.”
I don’t know how much time passes before the roar of motorcycles shakes the pavement beneath me.
One after another, bikes pull into the parking lot, headlights cutting through the dimming daylight, surrounding me.
Dean is off his bike before the engine even dies, striding toward me.
I’m still on the ground where my legs gave out, my arms wrapped around myself, barely holding it together.
He crouches, hands framing my face. “Look at me.”
I do.
His jaw is tight, his eyes burning with something dark and dangerous.
“We’re gonna find him,” he promises, voice rough.
His arms come around me, pulling me into his chest, and for the first time since I heard those words—Sara picked him up—I let myself believe he will be home with me soon.
The silence in my house is suffocating.
Sara sits beside me on the couch, her knee bouncing restlessly. Neither of us speaks, both of us waiting for my phone to ring, for Dean to call and tell me they found Justice.
I grip my phone so tight my knuckles ache. Every second that ticks by is another second my son is gone.
Then it rings.
I nearly drop it in my scramble to answer.
But the second I see the name on the screen, my stomach lurches.
Brett.
I hesitate, heart pounding, before pressing the phone to my ear. “Where is he?”
Brett hums, casual, like we’re talking about the weather. “Relax, Jo. I know where he is.”
My breath catches. “Tell me.”
“We can be a family again.” His voice is smooth, coaxing. Like Hell. When I get to him, he’s going to be another ghost but only because I’m going to kill him.
“I just want my son,” I whisper.
“And I just want you. Come home, Jo. We’ll figure everything out.”
I close my eyes. I know better than to trust him.
But I don’t have a choice.
“Okay,” I say, voice shaking. “I’m coming.”
Sara grabs my arm the second I hang up. “What the hell was that?”
I force myself to keep it together. “He knows where Justice is.”
Her eyes widen. “Jo, you can’t—”
“I have to.”
She shakes her head. “No, you don’t. Call Dean. Call the cops.”
But there’s no time. I can’t risk waiting.
“I’ll be okay,” I lie.
Then I leave before she can stop me.
The house looks the same as when I left it.
Brett’s house. My house. Our old home. A den of bad memories, every single one of them tainted in pain and heartache. Stepping onto the porch feels like walking into a grave.
I push open the front door, my pulse hammering. “Brett?”
He steps out of the kitchen, smiling like this is normal. Like I didn’t leave him months ago.
“See?” he says, opening his arms. “Feels right, doesn’t it?”
“Where’s Justice?” My voice is tight, controlled, but inside, I’m breaking apart.
Brett sighs. “He’s safe.”
“Where?” I demand.
His jaw twitches. “That’s not how this works, Jo.”
Panic claws at my throat. Something is wrong. His face isn’t the same. The darkness in his eyes has changed. I take a step back, but he moves faster. His hand clamps around my wrist, yanking me forward.
“No,” I choke out, shoving at him, but he’s stronger.
The moment I see the rope in his hands, my blood turns to ice.
And then I’m falling—Falling back into my worst nightmare.
My wrists burn where the rope bites into my skin. My breath comes in short, sharp gasps as I struggle against the binds, my heart slamming against my ribs. Brett watches me from across the room, his head tilted, eyes gleaming with sick amusement.
"You should've just listened, Jo," he murmurs, shaking his head as if I'm some disobedient child. "I told you we could be a family again. But you had to make things difficult."
I swallow the bile crawling up my throat. "Where is my son?"
Brett sighs, as if he’s growing bored of the question. He steps aside, gesturing toward the hallway. My breath stills as a door creaks open, and I hear the soft shuffle of feet. My heart leaps into my throat when I see him.
Justice.
My baby.
He’s sitting on a worn-out couch, his little hands folded in his lap, his big brown eyes wide and frightened. Relief slams into me so hard it almost knocks me over. But then I see her.
A woman sits beside him, her long nails painted blood red as she strokes his hair like she has any right to touch him. She’s dressed in a tight black dress, her legs crossed neatly at the knee, her lips curled into something like amusement. She looks at me the way a cat looks at a cornered mouse.
“I told you,” She purrs, looking down at Justice with a sickly-sweet smile. “I’m going to be your new mommy.”
Justice whimpers, his lower lip trembling, and I feel something inside me snap.
“No,” I growl, fighting against my restraints. “You stay away from him.”
Brett chuckles, stepping closer. “See, Jo? This could’ve been easier. But you had to make things hard on yourself.”
I force myself to breathe. I can’t lose control. Justice needs me to be strong.
“It’s going to be okay, baby,” I tell him, my voice as steady as I can make it. I meet his frightened eyes, trying to pour every ounce of love into my gaze. “Mommy’s here. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
He sniffles but nods, trusting me. He always trusts me.
The woman—whoever the hell she is—laughs softly, shaking her head. “Oh, honey, you’re not in charge anymore.” She presses a red-tipped nail beneath Justice’s chin, forcing him to look at her. “You’ll see soon enough. I’ll take care of you much better than she ever did.”
Rage floods me, white-hot and all-consuming. But before I can scream, before I can spit all the venom burning on my tongue, I hear it.
A roar of engines.
My breath catches.
Dean.
Sara must have told him. He must have followed me. Relief surges through my veins, so potent I almost collapse.
Brett’s smug expression falters, his eyes narrowing as he glances toward the window. The woman’s smile fades, her fingers twitching against Justice’s shoulder.
I take my chance. I lean forward, my voice dropping to a whisper.
“Run, baby.”
Justice’s eyes go wide.
“Run to the door and don’t look back,” I tell him, my voice firm, full of a mother’s promise. “Mommy’s right behind you. Run to Dean, baby.”
His little hands clench into fists, his body tensing as he makes his choice.
Then he moves.
And all hell breaks loose.