The Return of Delilah

Chapter 55

DELILAH

His voice echoed in my ears. What did he want at this time of the night?

Instinctively, my hand went to my bump. The fear of Caleb finding or threatening us was much too real and much too frightening. Even then, I refused to let what I felt show in my voice. I glanced over to Liam who was gesturing for me to put the phone on speaker. 

"What do you want?" I asked, amazed at the steadiness in my voice. 

"Well, I've been trying to get a hold of you for the past days and you're no where to be found," Caleb said. He didn't sound threatening. 

"Why would you think I want to talk to you after you kidnapped my son?" I snarled. The same unsettling feeling of that horrible time settled in my heart. That had been such a fearful moment in our lives. 

Caleb sighed on the other line. "Listen, I don't have much time, it's a public phone... I just wanted to tell you that Carissa is still in town."

Liam let out a breath, an unamused smile forging onto his face. He'd suspected this all along.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked, trying desperately to understand what was going on. 

"Uh, I'm fucking warning you," Caleb said with disbelief. 

"Hey, don't fucking talk like that," Liam said irritated. "What are you getting out of this?"

There was silence on the other end. Liam took the phone from me, taking it off of speaker as he began pacing around the room. He listened to whatever it was Caleb saying. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to tune out the words that Liam was saying. He seemed irritated but was also listening to Caleb. 

I hoped that somehow he was trying to help, or that he was apologizing, anything, so long as he wasn't trying to hurt us.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my face, a thumb gently stroking my cheek in comfort. "It's okay," Liam whispered. My eyes opened and I swallowed hard, relief flooding through me as he leaned in to kiss me. "It's okay," he repeated.

"What did he want?" I asked quietly. 

He looked like he was debating whether or not to say something, but conceded, taking my hand in his and squeezing it.

"He says Carissa is planning something, doesn't know when or how, but that she isn't gone." He sighed, running his hand through his hair before continuing. "He wants to meet up."

"What? Why?"

Liam shook his head. "I'm not sure. He says he has things to tell us. I told him I'd meet him somewhere when we got back."

"Are you fucking insane?" I asked, my high pitched voice along with the curse word catching him off guard. I couldn't bring myself to care; I was much too worried about what could possibly happen during that encounter to pay attention to how I spoke. "He could hurt you. He almost hurt Adrian. I think it's best we call the police."

"Because they've been of much help," Liam mocked, his hands in the air as he made fun of the idea. I pressed my lips together. "Look, Delilah, the way I see it, the cops haven't done much and after talking to him I don't think he's dangerous."

"It could be a trap!" I exclaimed, holding the sheets tight against me. "Do you want to get yourself killed? You don't know if he's armed, you don't know what he's planning. What if he's planning something with Carissa, what-"

"Delilah, goddammit. See? This is why I can't just sit around. Brian is supposed to be helping us and instead he's trying to get to you!" He hissed, his tone laced with exasperation and annoyance. "I'm not going to wait around until he finds something. I don't. Fucking. Trust him."