"If you hang up you'll never see your family again."
"The police are already on the case. I don't have to participate in these stupid games to get what I want. I'm not getting involved in whatever you have to offer."
A dark chuckle made my...
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I ignored the stinging rain as I sprinted to the car. I yanked the door open so hard that I thought I would pull it off its hinges.
Henry was getting off the phone with somebody as I fell into my seat.
"Henry, we have to get to the hospital."
"Jacklynn-"
"Someone attacked my father. He needs me. I have to make sure he's okay, and I have many unanswered questions. Why are we still in the Target parking lot? Let's go! This opportunity could be our window to question him."
"Jacklynn!" Henry's outburst pulled me out of my ramblings long enough to take in his distressed demeanor. I took notice of his tense shoulders and whitening knuckles that held the steering wheel in a death grip.
"Henry, what's wrong?" The pit of my stomach brewed something wicked, something that clawed sourly at the back of my throat.
"Your father wasn't attacked." Henry's voice was barely audible over the pounding rain.
"What do you mean? He called me in the bathroom-"
"He wasn't attacked. He attacked someone."
The whole world seemed to move in slow motion. Henry's words were sharp and heavy.
No.
It was not possible.
"How do you know? What did he do? Who did he-" I stopped.
"Who?" I asked.
The cold rain was soaking through my new pants and chilling my skin.
"Your dad attacked Alex. He was targeting Lacey, but she broke free from his grasp. Ma told me they were in a guns-drawn stand-off. After Lacey escaped your father's grasp, shots were fired. Alex wanted to bring Vincent down and question him. But your father shot Alex before fleeing the scene. My Pa was able to wound Vincent, but he still escaped."
I felt my hands go numb.
"How is Alex?" I asked in a faint whisper.
Shock flooded my system. I was barely able to process the new information. I never thought my father was capable of harming someone.
But this was a month of surprises of the horrifying variety.
"They're okay. Alex's condition isn't critical. They just sustained some damage to their left hand, which is fixable with surgery. Did Vincent tell you about his condition?"
My father's name sounded like venom on Henry's tongue, bitter, and he acted as if it might kill him.
"He didn't say. I am so sorry about Alex. I had no idea-"
