I pondered on what he said, and slowly, I found myself releasing the duvet I clung to. My body relaxed after stiffening in agitation for so long.
"I know," I whispered. Mama made sure I knew.
Oh, Mama! I miss you so much!
XAZIX
My peaceful slumber was abruptly interrupted by a piercing scream that reverberated throughout the room. Startled, I sprang up from the sofa and my eyes darted around the room, trying to locate the source of the disturbance. It was then that I noticed her, writhing in the bed.
Another scream pierced the silence of the night. Anya was thrashing about, caught in the throes of a terrible nightmare. The sounds of her distress were so vivid and heart-wrenching that it was impossible to ignore.
"Please, no! It hurts!" she cried out in agony, her words carrying a depth of pain that shook me. I was deeply saddened as watched her, wondering what to do.
As I rose from the couch and stood there, my anger grew with each passing moment. My mind drifted to my reason for being in Texas in the first place. There was similarities between Jasamina McCully and this girl. Two innocent victims caught in a web of darkness and despair.
As I was lost in thought, my cellphone rang, jolting me back to reality. I glanced at the screen and saw that it was the Baron calling.
I gritted my teeth in frustration. The man had been calling me incessantly.
Then, I grimaced. Mark might already be awake and he most certainly not like this at all. Not that anything can be done about it. Out of earshot, I placed the call to my ear.
"Hello, sir." I answered the phone gruffly, trying to keep the frustration out of my voice.
"You have not been taking my calls!" His voice boomed through the phone, and I had to move the phone away from my ear to avoid going deaf.
After a moment, I brought the cell phone closer again. "I apologize for that, sir. I encountered some difficulty in my search for your wife and son. It was a complicated situation, and I had to stop using my cellphone to avoid being tracked." I tried to explain calmly, but the frustration was evident in my voice.
I could hear him breathing heavily from the other end of the line, trying to control his anger. The thought suddenly struck me-is this the same level of rage he unleashes on his wife from time to time?
The mere thought of that small woman being on the receiving end of an anger like this made bile to rise in my throat. Tanner said that Jasamina barely made it the last time he'd attacked her.
"What about the complication? Is everything sorted out?" His voice came again.
"Yes, sir. It's all taken care of."
"How's the search for my wife going?" he grunted, his voice laced with impatience.
"It was a false trail the last time. But this time, I'm on her trail, and I've found her. I'll be bringing her back to you soon enough," I replied curtly.
Silence filled the air as the man on the other end processed the information. Finally, he spoke, his voice dripping with barely controlled sick joy, "When?"
"Two to three days."
"Alright. I'll hold you to that, Mr. Dantes," he replied before hanging up the phone.
I glared at the phone. The sick joy in his voice made it clear that his intentions were far from pure. The man had no idea what was coming his way.
TANNER
The piercing cry of a newborn baby disrupted my sleep, abruptly jolting me awake in the middle of the night. I sat up in bed, groggily rubbing my bleary eyes as the cries continued to reverberate through the quiet house.
I knew immediately that Jasamina was most likely sedated from the medication she had taken, rendering her oblivious to the baby's cries. The girl slept so lightly that she would have been up to attend to the baby in a heartbeat, but the sedatives must have taken their toll.
I threw on a pair of pajama pants and made my way to Jasamina's room. As expected, she was sound asleep, completely unaware of the baby's cries beside her. The baby was restless, crying inconsolably in his little crib.
Without hesitation, I moved closer to the crib and scooped up the crying infant. "Shuu shuuu..." I whispered softly to him, trying to soothe him. Gradually, he calmed down and gazed up at me with his midnight blue eyes.
"That's more like it," I murmured, sinking onto the bed with the baby cradled in my arms. I removed his soiled diaper, deftly replacing it with a clean one. He seemed sleepy but fidgety, as if he was about to start crying again.
I lifted him up to my shoulders and bounced him gently. A quick glance at the nightstand told me that his formula was finished.
I rose from the bed, carrying Jaimie with me. I shook Jasamina repeatedly until she stirred, opening her eyes a fraction.
"He's hungry," I informed her in a soft tone, before placing the baby in her arms. Still sleeping, she bared a full breast, and the baby's tiny mouth found it immediately, eagerly latching on.