If he knows who I am, he certainly hasn’t implied it, so I get the show on the road. “Where can I find Anton Mathers?”
His eyes open wider and I relax a little when he starts talking. “I can’t,” he says in a panicked tone. “He’ll kill me.”
I press down harder on the wand, feeling like a complete idiot as I threaten the guy with a cheap piece of wood. “I’ll fucking kill you. Now, I won’t ask you again; where the fuck can I find Anton Mathers?”
Rocko cringes and I see the indecision in his eyes before he sighs. “He lives in Broken Hill but you’re asking for fucking trouble if you’re looking for him.”
“Where?” I demand.
I let up on his throat just a bit as a sign of good faith, if he gives me what I want then I’ll leave him the fuck alone. “He lives just over the tracks. Right by the gas station. You can’t fucking miss it. It’s a massive white house with dogs and a big metal gate. His initials are wielded into the gate. A.M.”
Like lightning, I get the fuck out of there.
I run and within two seconds, I hear Rocko coming after me, no longer pinned to his bed and with anger pulsing through him after getting bested by a girl. Hell, maybe he realized that I was threatening him with a wand and it’s still in my hand.
I burst through the back door and instantly hide among the trees in his yard. He stops by the backdoor, only in a pair of tighty whites. Unlucky for him, he looks to the left of his yard while I make a break through the right. I slip out into the front yard and hear Violet from within my home only now just realizing that I’m not there.
“Henley?” she calls. “Honey, where are you?”
Guilt pours through me at deceiving her but I had to do it. This is my little sister hanging in the balance and I’m quickly realizing that there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her.
With Rocko out back searching for me and Violet on the lookout, I make a run for it, once again ignoring the way my hip screams at me to just give in. Within moments, I’m diving into my car and tearing out of my driveway, cringing at the way the roar of my engine gives me away.
I pull out onto the street and moments before I disappear from view, Tully’s Jeep appears in my rearview mirror. I suck in a desperate breath as I watch her headlights for three painfully long seconds before she turns into my driveway and cuts her engine.
I let out a shaky breath. Step one complete, now all I have to do is find my father.
Chapter 3
“Holy shit.” Well, this is going to be the stupidest thing I’ll ever do.
My car idles at the top of Anton’s driveway, staring at the massive gates before me with the initials A.M carved into the intricate design. Rocko wasn’t lying; I couldn’t miss this house even if I tried. It screams of money and I don’t doubt that every cent of it was made from Anton’s dirty schemes.
A camera sits to the right of the gate and something tells me there’s currently a very expensive security company who has a guy sitting behind a desk, currently running my license plates and figuring out who the hell is sitting out front of his bosses’ home at 2:30 in the morning.
I don’t miss the massive Dobermans who have been walking around the perimeter of Anton’s home, each one bigger than the last and looking even more vicious. I swear, Anton must only feed those things steroids, and I wouldn’t put it past him to train them to attack with just the slightest click of his fingers.
My phone blasts through the silent car for the twentieth time in the last fifteen minutes and I glance down at the screen. Noah again. It’s been a mix of Noah, Tully, Violet, and Aiden.
I wait for the call to ring out and then wait for the inevitable beep, telling me he’s left another voicemail. It comes two seconds later and I pick up the phone before listening to the message and pressing speaker.
“Spitfire, baby. Please, just call me back. I don’t know where the fuck you are or if you’re even ok. You can’t be doing this shit. I know you’re worried about Ari, but I told you, we’ll get her back no matter what. Please just come home. I can’t be searching for Ari when I’m too fucking stressed thinking about you. Please, Spitfire. I fucking love you. We’ll find her.”
I let out a sigh and close my eyes for a brief second. That message tore my heart right down the center. I hate knowing that he’s worried, but only a little while longer and I’ll give him a call and let him know that I’m alright. Everything going to be alright and one day, hopefully, he’ll be able to see that I’m making the right call.