Unwanted Blood (Harper) novel Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Harper’s POV

It was 3:02 a.m and I couldn’t sleep.

The room was dark. Lily lay beside me, her breathing even and slow, but her hand hadn’t loosened around mine even once. She wasn’t asleep either. We both knew it.

I pulled my phone from under the pillow and opened the message again. The photo stared back…me sitting on the bed, knees pulled up, Lily beside

I set the phone face-down on the mattress. Picked it up again. My thumb hovered over the screen for a long time before I dialed.

Ryder picked up on the first ring.

“Are you okay?” His voice was rough, hoarse. Like he hadn’t slept at all.

“What’s his name?” I asked.

A heavy silence stretched over the line. I could hear the distant sound of rain tapping against his hotel window.

“Marcus Kane.” Another pause. “Back then… after what he did to Mom, he was charged. But the legal system failed. Due to insufficient evidence, he wasn’t convicted. The bastard walked. Later, he was sent to prison for another crime-armed robbery.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, the sting on my cheek from earlier tonight pulsing in sync with my heartbeat. “How many years was he sentenced

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to?”

Ryder explained. “He was given a good amount of years. Back then, we thought he would stay in prison forever. We thought the problem was solved.”

“He’s out of prison,” I said, stating the obvious, my eyes drifting/back to the text message on my screen. “And then? How is he here, Ryder? How did he find me?”

“Someone took him under their wing. It wasn’t just a standard release on bail, Harper. Someone with serious power gave him a new identity, a clean record, and a new place to live after he got out. They allowed him to vanish completely from our sight. I’ve been looking for him for three years, ever since I took over the company and found the discrepancies in the old police files. I still haven’t found him.”

My hand tightened around the phone, trembling. The plastic casing clicked against my teeth as I drew in a shaky breath.

“So the reason he dares to show his face to you now isn’t because he’s stupid,” Ryder said, enunciating each word carefully, his tone laced with a dangerous undercurrent of helplessness. “It’s because he’s got someone backing him up. Someone rich. Someone I can’t even locate right now.”

I didn’t say anything. Outside, a car passed on the street below, its headlights sweeping briefly across the ceiling.

“Harper.”

“I heard you.”

The line stayed open for a few seconds after that, neither of us speaking. I just pressed the red button, and hung up.

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I turned the phone over and put it on the nightstand, face-down.

It took me another two hours to fall asleep.

***

The next morning Lily decided we were going to Granville Island.

She pulled me out of bed before I could argue. “We’re going out,” she announced, already dressed. “We can’t let him control everything.”

“I’m not-”

“You are.” She grabbed my hand. “We can’t just sit here and let that person control our lives,” she said, already pulling clothes out of the wardrobe. “That’s exactly what he wants. Come on.”

I looked up at her from where I sat on the bed. My eyes felt dry and heavy. “You slept four hours.”

“I’ve survived on less.” She threw a hoodie at me. “Get up.”

Ethan was already waiting downstairs. When we stepped outside, I noticed the backpack on his shoulder looked different from usual, heavier.

Lily noticed too. “What’s in there?”

He shifted the strap, unzipping the bag. “Water. First aid stuff.” There was a pause as he pulled out a small canister. “Pepper spray.”

Lily stared at him. Then she smiled. “I didn’t know you were that observant.”

Ethan’s ears went red. He jammed the zipper shut and looked away quickly. “Of course. Just… being prepared.”

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“Sure,” she said, already walking ahead.

On the way there they argued about everything.

“You walk too fast,” Lily complained, tugging at the strap of her bag as she tried to keep up with his long strides. “This isn’t a marathon.”

“And you talk too much,” Ethan shot back, though he immediately slowed his pace, his steps matching hers perfectly.

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