Act Like You Love Me (Jessica) novel Chapter 172

Chapter 172

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Aaron stood up straight, his index finger pressed to his lips as he paced the length of the rug. He was a predator in a cage, his mind working through the variables.

Eventually, he stopped and looked at David.

“Call home,” Aaron commanded.

David nodded, pulling out his phone. He hit the speaker button and the rhythmic, hollow ring echoed through the

apartment.

It rang four times before a warm: familiar voice picked up.

“Oh, David! My boy!” Wendy’s voice was like a ghost from a peaceful life we no longer possessed.

“It is so good to hear from you. I’ve missed you and Aaron terribly. I felt so bad about missing the tournament, but the preparations here have been simply exhausting.”

David and Aaron exchanged a quick, sharp glance. David cleared his throat, his brow furrowing.

“Preparations? What are you talking about, Grandma?”

“The summer gala, of course!” Wendy chirped, oblivious to the rage on the other end of the line,

“Your grandfather has outdone himself this year. He’s organized Bavarian Heritage’ festival for the elites. It’s at the farm in Germany. Everyone is flying in.”

David opened his mouth to speak, but the words seemed to stick in his throat. He looked at Aaron, his eyes wide with th realization of the trap.

Aaron didn’t wait. He snatched the phone from David’s hand. “Candma, it’s Aaron. Where exactly is he? Is he at the farm house right now?”

“Aaron! My champion!” she cheered, her voice bright. “You sound so serious. Are you calling to finally tell me you’re coming home? Is it time for the big reconciliation?”

“Grandma, please,” Aaron said, his voice cracking with a desperat urgency. “Just answer me. Has he been in Germany this whole time?”

“Well, yes, dear. He left nearly ten days ago. He said he had ‘unfinished business’ to attend to before the guests arrived. He’s been out of the country since before your big game.”

Aaron’s face went pale. He didn’t say goodbye. He just cut the line and handed the phone back to David.

The silence that followed was suffocating. If Kennedy had been Germany for ten days, it meant he hadn’t been tailing ust himself. It meant he had a network so deep and so silent that we had never even seen the shadows.

And worse-if Adrian had been taken in Los Angeles, he was beg moved across an ocean.

My six-year-old son was on a plane with masked men, travelinghousands of miles away from us.

The thought broke me. I let out a jagged sob, pulling my knees up to my chest.

Meiling reached out a bruised hand to touch my arm, but I couldn’t feel the comfort of her touch. I was drowning.

Aaron was at my side in an instant. He dropped to the floor, pulling me against his chest.

“I’ve got you,” Aaron muttered into my hair, his arms locking around me like iron bands. I could feel the thud of his heart against my back, fast and heavy.

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Chapter 172

He looked over my shoulder at David, his eyes gone cold.

“David, tell the pilot to fuel up,” Aaron’s voice was like ice. He didn’t look at him, his eyes were fixed on the bruised, unconscious shape of Meiling on the sofa.

“I want us in the air by three am. That gives us four hours to get Meiling stable and get to the hangar?

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David didn’t argue. He just nodded, his face tight with a grim sort of focus, and stepped onto the balcony to make the calls.

Night fell over the city, but the lights of Los Angeles felt like mocking stars.

I had spent the last hour getting Meiling settled into a guest room, making sure she had enough pain medication to sleep through the night.

Now, I was standing at the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room, staring out at the horizon.

I was counting the hours. Los Angeles to Frankfurt was an eleven hour flight.

Eleven hours of my son being terrified. Eleven hours of him calling for a mother who wasn’t there.

I heard footsteps behind me. I didn’t have to turn to know it was Aaron. I could feel the heat radiating from him before he

even touched me.

He stepped into my space, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind and pulling my back against his chest.

I turned in his arms and buried my face in his neck, the tears coming again.

He didn’t offer any empty words. He didn’t tell me it would be okay, because he knew as well as I did that Kennedy Tyrone didn’t do things that ended ‘okay.”

“We would be leaving soon,” Aaron whispered, his chin resting on the top of my head. I could feel the vi against my skull.

He pulled back slightly, his hands sliding down to my shoulders. He looked at me, his eyes searching my face light.

“When was the last time you had anything to eat, Jess? You look like you’re about to faint.*

“I’m not hungry,” I murmured, shaking my head. The very thought of food felt like swallowing chains.

“You have to,” he insisted, his grip tightening just enough to ground me. “Adrian is going to need you to be strong when we get there. You can’t help him if you’re running on empty.”

Still, I didn’t budge. He let out a heavy breath, his gaze drifting toward the window.

“My grandfather… he’s a lot of things, Jess. He’s cruel and he’s a tyrant. But he values the legacy above everything else. He won’t hurt the boy-not yet. He’s using him as a bridge to get to me. He needs him healthy for the leverage to work.”

I looked up at him, wanting to believe it, wanting to cling to any shred of hope he was offering.

We stayed like that for what felt like an hour, two people clinging to each other in a dark room while the clock ticked toward a confrontation that would likely end in blood.

The sky was a deep, bruised purple, the stars hidden by the city’s glow.

Suddenly, a sharp, electronic trill pierced the silence, and we both drifted apart.

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Chapter 172

Aaron reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone. The fight the acy washed her far in a globy wh

m faux

I watched his expression shift from confusion to a terrifying by deep willness. His jaw clenched as hunt & heard ther former

pop.

“Who is it?” I whispered, stepping closer until I could see the sorten.

The caller ID was a single word that made my heart stop

Grandpa

“Arower it” I urged, my hand trembling as I reached for his arm Aaron, answer it?”

He swiped the screen and put it on speaker. He opened his mouth to yell, to scream every curse word he knew, but he never got the chance.

“Momma

The voice was small, muffled, and thick with the sound of crying

Adrian!” I screamed, lunging for the phone. “Adrian, baby, are there? Are you okay”

“I want to go home,” the tiny voice whimpered, followed by thred of a heavy door closing in the background. “Momina It’s cold here”

Then, the line went quiet for a second before a dry, aristocratic suckle filled the room.

“He has your eyes, Aaron,” Kennedy’s voice said, sounding as cal as if he were discussing the weather. “But he has my chun. Truly a Tyrone, I’ll see you at the farm house for the party Dose lane. I hate cold eggs

The line went dead.

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