Page 43 of Behind the Shadows

Me:

Who is this?

The little gray dots danced across my screen as I waited for a reply. Since Kip was in my phone as Monster, it wasn’t him.

Unknown:

How you forget me so easily, Samantha. I’ll have to remind you.

Goosebumps peppered my arms. It had to be Draco or Cooper.

Me:

Who is this?

The response was almost immediate.

Unknown:

How did you do it? You were skinny, disgusting, and pathetic. Not to mention weak from nearly starving.

It was Draco!

Me:

Stop texting me and rot in hell. If you come near me again, I’ll call the cops.

A laughing emoji filled my screen.

Unknown:

You do that because if I go down, you’re going down with me.

The hair on the back of my neck rose, my skin prickling with the threat. He had nothing on me, and he knew it. He was just trying to scare me. It wasn’t working.

Me:

You have nothing.

Unknown:

I don’t need anything on you. I have other ways. Btw, your mother doesn’t look anything like you. Oh, wait. She’s not your real mom.

Despite my best efforts, my entire body shook with the knowledge that he was watching my parents. I needed to get them out of here and to safety. Now.

I refused to give him the satisfaction of an answer. Draco was deranged and twisted. It wouldn’t matter what I said, he would laugh it off.

I brought up my contacts, and instead of messaging, I tapped the call button. Gripping the phone so tightly my fingers turned white, I raised the cell to my ear as it began to ring. Four rings later, I was greeted with a generic voicemail. I disconnected the call and slapped my hand over my mouth, muffling my scream. Why the fuck had Kip offered to help when he wasn’t available?

“Fine, I’ll deal with matters on my own.” When had I started depending on others to take care of my messes anyway? I was an adult, a grown-ass woman. I’d dealt with Draco and Cooper before. I could handle it.

Scrolling through my phone contacts, I located the information for the luxury getaway I’d visited a few times. Celebrities visited often, so the security was tight, and the place was private. No one ever used their real name, and although they had group activities, it was also a retreat with pools, drinks, amazing food, massages, facials, and so on. It was a slice of heaven.

I made a quick call to see if they had availability for my parents, then booked their stay for a few weeks. The next stepwas to figure out how to get them there without Draco realizing what we were up to. Maybe Dad could help with that.

With a quick tap of the screen, I pulled up FaceTime and called Dad. Seconds later, he answered, all smiles as he moved around the kitchen.

“Hi, hon.”