Page 5 of Blood

Rolling my eyes, I huff a chuckle. “Whatever.”

“Have you explained to Charlie and Daniel why your dad and I aren’t there yet?”

“It’s fine, Mom. They understand. Given what’s been happening in town lately, they wouldn’t have it any other way,” Michael reassures her.

“I know, I know. I’m just worried and really want to be there. How’s Belle?”

“Asleep,” Lara says. “The little lady has been happy to hang with me in the waiting room. We colored our hearts out until she fell asleep.”

“You’re only an hour and a half away, so as soon as Kaleb gets here, your dad and I will be on our way. We’ll get a couple of hotel rooms before coming to get Belle,” Mom relays the plan.

“And by that, she means I’ll watch Belle while she frets over Charlie and the new baby,” Dad corrects.

“Sounds like a plan.” Michael makes a sound of confusion. “I’m surprised Kaleb hasn’t contacted you yet. Protocol is to call. He should have at least text to confirm he’s on his way.”

“Maybe he was asleep,” Dad defends.

“Doesn’t matter,” Michael disagrees. “He should have responded anyway. Are you sure he hasn’t called?”

Mom, Dad, and I look between us for a second before Mom shrugs.

“It wouldn’t matter if he called me. I have all numbers on Do Not Disturb so that this call wasn’t affected.”

Dad settles his hand on her shoulder. “My phone hasn’t rung.”

“Are you sure?” Michael asks.

“Pretty sure,” he mumbles, but he’s already up and moving.

“I don’t even know where my phone is.” I shrug.

Michael sighs. “You need to stop doing that. What happens if you have an emergency?”

“I’m always with one of you. What kind of emergency am I going to have?” I argue.

“Oops.” Dad walks back into the living room, his phone held high and the screen black. “It died,” he confirms as he crosses behind the sofa where Shelby is sleeping.

“Oh fuck!” Michael curses through the phone.

CHAPTER FOUR

Kaleb

The front door swings open, and bright lights from the living room blind me for a second, but I don’t wait for my eyes to adjust. Instead, I just react.

Lunging forward through the entryway, I grab the man standing behind the sofa. His back hits my chest as I wrap my arm around his neck. I have him in a chokehold before he can even react.

Our bodies have a similar build, and he’s a little over six feet. We’re evenly matched on size, but I’m younger and running on pure adrenaline.

Screams ring out, piercing the quiet night. The blade of my knife touches his neck at the same time a woman shoots up into a sitting position on the sofa, her scream joining the others.

“Kaleb! Kaleb!” several voices scream, but only one stands out.

Blinking, I look around for my brother. The circles of light slowly leave my vision, giving me a clear image of my mother’s terrified face. My head snaps to the left. Dad!Shit.

Immediately releasing him, I step back, the knife dropping from my hand as if it burned me. Silently, it hits the rug.

“Fuck, I’m sorry,” I rush, watching my dad raise a trembling hand to his neck.