Chapter 2 - The Silent Call in the Frost
The garage was unheated, the biting November wind whistling through the gaps in the old wooden siding. My shoulder throbbed with a dull, burning agony where the heavy brass buckle had torn through my blouse and split my skin. Warm blood trickled down my back, mixing with the cold sweat of an impending contraction. Yet, standing in the gloom, I felt no weakness. Only a terrifying, crystal-clear focus.
"Listen to me, Jax," I whispered into the encrypted receiver, keeping my voice steady despite the jagged pain in my ribs. "I am eight months pregnant. Richard brought his mistress to Thanksgiving dinner, and they just tried to break me. Literally."
On the other end of the line, the silence was absolute. It was the terrifying silence of a predator locking onto its target. When Jax spoke again, his voice temperature dropped below zero.
"Where is Kael?" Jax asked, his tone flat, calm, and utterly lethal.
"He’s on maneuvers in the North Pacific, but he's four hours out by chopper," I replied, gripping the edge of the workbench for support as another Braxton Hicks contraction squeezed my belly. "Jax, Richard’s family thinks I have nobody. They’ve locked the perimeter gates. They plan to dump me on the highway before midnight so Richard can marry his precious Jessica with zero legal baggage."
"They won't be dumping anyone tonight, Sarah," Jax murmured. I could hear the distinct, rhythmic click of tactical gear being loaded in the background—the metallic symphony of the elite shadow-ops unit Jax commanded. "Kael and I are pivoting our deployment right now. Our bird touches down on your coordinates in eight minutes. Barricade the main house doors from the outside if you can, or get behind the reinforced storm shelter in the east wing."
"No," I whispered, a dark, bitter smile touching my lips as I looked out through the small dusty window toward the warm, glowing dining room windows where Richard was pouring another glass of vintage champagne. "Don't barricade the storm shelter, Jax. Barricade the mansion doors from the outside. Lock them in. Let them taste the frost."
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"Consider it done, little sister," Jax said softly. "Keep your phone on. We're coming home."
The line clicked dead. I slipped the burner phone back into my pocket, wiped the blood from my chin with the back of my hand, and turned back toward the house. The real game had just begun.
