Page 148 of Don't Say a Word

I asked, “Did you know that Kayla Bradford was the anonymous caller?”

Silence.

Jack smiled. “You did say my sister was brilliant.”

“No proof,” I said, “but I’m positive.”

“She turned in her own father,” Cal said, almost in awe. “I’ll say, I’ve seen it before. A family member coming to us. But I didn’t expect this.”

“We might not be able to prove it,” I said, “but the recording fits.”

“She might know more,” Cal said.

“You could also put her in danger,” Jack said.

“Consider her feelings,” Tess added. “She might not have thought it through. The anonymous call, then finding out hermother was just as involved as her father. Maybe she doesn’t even know about her half brother. You could destroy her.”

“More than her parents did?” Cal said quietly. “I’ll table it for now, listen to the recording again. It won’t be my call, has to come from on high.”

My phone rang. It had to be family—who else called at quarter to midnight? But I didn’t recognize the number.

“This is Margo,” I answered.

“Margo Angelhart? This is Edith Ann Mackey. I think something bad is happening across the street.”

“Edith, call 911. I’m on my way.”

I ran out, the three men on my heels.

Chapter Forty-Six

Angie Williams

Angie stood frozen outside the back door of the Cactus Stop, her pulse pounding in her ears. The night air was suffocating. Or was that just in her mind? She rolled her shoulders, trying to loosen the tension, then she heard something.

She glanced around, scanning every corner of the alley, every shadow, as if she could feel eyes on her, watching her, watching everything she did.

She saw no one. Every instinct screamed that she wasn’t alone, even though no one was there.

Yeah, she was scared—hell, she wasterrified. Benny’s text had promised something big, said he knew what happened to Elijah and she had to come to the store when he got off at midnight. But now that she was here, dread crawled up her spine with each passing second. She was early, her mind racing with dark thoughts she couldn’t shake.

The promise she’d made to Margo hung heavy on her soul like a lead weight. She wasn’t supposed to be here—out in the open, in plain sight, at the Cactus Stop. Margo told her to stay away...that someone might get suspicious... but Benny needed her. She couldn’t let Benny die like Elijah.

She pulled out her phone, fingers trembling, and shot him a message:

I’m here, out back, I’m not coming in.

Her heart skipped a beat when his response came too quickly.

What? You’re in my backyard?

Angie scanned the parking lot again, but Benny’s truck was nowhere in sight. Her breath caught in her throat. This didn’t make sense. Her gut churned with the sinking certainty that something was terribly wrong.

Did you text me an hour ago and ask me to come to the Stop tonight?

She stared at the screen, waiting for him to respond. But her skin prickled, every fiber of her being screaming for her to run—right now. The seconds stretched. Her pulse thumped, waiting.

One, two, three, four...