Calvin dialed the phone number with shaky fingers. He felt Maria's hand resting on his shoulder and breathed deeply as the signal carried on.
One, two, three... More signals passed, but no one answered.
And just when he was on his way to hang up, he heard someone answer. "Hello?" said a feminine voice, and Calvin didn't recognize it.
"I'm calling for Mrs. Wraith. Who am I speaking with?" Asked Calvin, lowering his voice.
"She's unavailable for the moment!"
"It's urgent," Calvin replied. "I'm sorry, sir, but she can't take any phone calls." The woman said, and Calvin was upset.
"What is she doing then?" The woman was quiet for a moment.
"I'm sorry, but she's not well enough to take a call. May I give her a message?" She asks, and Calvin feels tears forming in his eyes.
"Just tell her C called."
"I will. Have a good day."
The phone line went dead, and Calvin was confused.
"She's not well enough... To take a call!"
"Okay. But at least she's alive? That's good?" Maria mumbled, and Calvin nodded.
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Blade parked on the driveway before the house, and he and Hunter started unloading the bags and put them outside the front door while Mallory slept in the car.
"Hey. Isn't that boss car?" Blade asked and nodded towards a black Mustang.
Hunter frowned and nodded. "Yeah." He replied. Then the front door opened, and Duncan stepped outside. "Hunter, Blade." Duncan nodded,
"I just checked the house out for you, Hunter. You seemed a little aloof on the phone. What's up?" Hunter felt a little hesitant.
"What's happening?" Mallory asked and yawned after getting out of the car. The three men turned to her, and Duncan raised his eyebrows.
"Who is that?" he asked, and Blade looked at Hunter,
"It's Mall; she's our close friend," Hunter said, and Blade nodded.
"Yeah, she's like a sister. She's been through a lot recently and stays with us." Duncan frowned. "I've never heard of her?" He said, somewhat wary.
"Why would you? It's not like we're talking about out-of-gang relationships."
"So, Mall is short for?" Duncan asked,
"Mallory," responded Mallory, sensing the tension between the three men.
"I'm sorry if we caused you trouble, sir." She said nervously, "No need to apologize, but what happened to you..."
"Well, Duncan, coffee?" Hunter said abruptly, and Duncan shrugged, "Sure!"
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Mr. Wraith arrived at the house and knocked on the door. But after knocking for a few minutes, he began to walk around and peeked through the windows.
"Weird..." He mumbles when he sees the mess inside.
"Sir. No one's home. They left early this morning,"
Mr. Wraith turned to see a woman standing in the driveway.
"Do you have any idea where they went?" Mr. Wraith asked and walked up to her.
"No, but they packed the car full of baggage, so they look like they're gone for a while."
"All right. Thank you." Mr. Wraith answered and walked up to his car, and drove off. "Damn it!" He yelled and smacked the wheel.
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"Mrs. Wraith?" Hollie said upon entering the room.
"Yes?" Mrs. Wraith replied from the corner of the room.
"I just wanted to let you know a gentleman called you. C." Mrs. Wraith felt the relief in her body. Calvin was all right.
"Thank you, Hollie," She replied, but Hollie had a bad feeling.
She had only worked a few days for the Wraith and felt lousy energy in the house the second she walked into the hall.
And Mrs. Wraith never left the room because Mr. Wraith told her that she was ill. "Are you alright, Mrs. Wraith? asked Hollie, a little concerned.
"Mr. Wraith told me you were Ill?" Hollie glanced in Mrs. Wraith's direction, who she sat with her back against her.
"Don't worry about me," Mrs. Wraith uttered in a gray tone, while staring out the garden. "Okay. Call me if you need me," Hollie mumbled, leaving the room.
Mrs. Wraith had been in the room for over a week. The first week, the door was kept locked, but Mr. Wraith had unlocked the door the other day as he had improved security and hired guards to watch the front. So now Mrs. Wraith was trapped in the house. But Calvin was safe; that's the only thing that mattered.
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Mr. Wraith was furious. They had gone just before he arrived. He decided to fire Mr. Wyatt and call his father for more guidance. Maybe it was better to hire an assassin instead that takes Mallory out.
And who were these people who guarded her? The girl at the bar never said a word about them, and the address was on behalf of Lara Brown.
Mr. Wraith needed more information and asked Aurora, his assistant, to look into it.
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Hunter followed Duncan outside after the coffee.
"Something is happening, Hunter. Talk to me. Who is this girl?" Asked Duncan when he was lighting a cigarette.
Hunter knew he was due for confession sooner or later. Duncan had always had his back as time went by.
"We found her wrapped in a rug, dumped in a container..."
"How awful is that?" Why would someone do that?" Duncan asked,
"We don't know the details, but we do know she was abducted when she was five years old by the Wraith family."
"The import family?" Duncan frowned.
"Yeah. We know the father is involved, and he found out that she was alive and is now after her."
" How did he find out?"
"Maddie went to my place and found Mallory. She thought we were involved and got jealous. She started singing about her at a bar when the man, Mr. Wraith, overheard her."
Duncan sighed, "I thought you had Maddie under control?" Duncan rolled his eyes.
"I thought so too, but she's determined to get together with me again." Duncan laughs.
"You always had girls prowling around you."
" Yes, but some girls are troubled for getting involved with an outlaw!" Duncan shrugged his shoulders.
"Maybe. But control Maddie. You know how she can get." Hunter sighed. "I know. She was my biggest mistake."
"Mistakes are something we all do, Hunter. But this one is dangerous.
A jealous woman who knows too many things may be very vicious. She doesn't just pose a threat to you, Hunter. She can take every one of us down!" Hunter nodded. Fuck. He had screwed up this time.