Chapter 182
[ 508 words ]
Chapter 182:
She walked over to her locker. The metal door was dented from where the janitor had pried it open with a crowbar days ago, but a heavy, brand-new combination padlock secured it. She spun the dial, popped the lock, and pulled the door open.
She reached for her civilian clothes.
Suddenly, a horrific, ear-piercing electronic screech erupted from the depths of her black leather tote bag sitting at the bottom of the locker.
It sounded like a military air-raid siren.
Caroline’s heart violently slammed against her ribs. Her breath caught in her throat. It was the encrypted satellite phone Jarrod had given her.
She spun around, her eyes scanning the locker room. It was completely empty. The screech was deafening in the enclosed space, but thankfully, the locker room was located in the deep basement, its thick concrete walls muffling the sound from the main corridors.
She dropped to her knees, shoved her hand into the bag, and grabbed the heavy black device. She scrambled into the furthest, most isolated bathroom stall and slammed the metal door shut.
She hit the green answer button and pressed the phone hard against her ear.
𝘙𝗲𝖺𝗱 𝗳𝗋𝗲𝘦 𝗻𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗹ѕ 𝗼n gа𝘭𝘯𝗈𝗏𝘦𝗅𝘀.cо𝘮
A wall of deafening noise blasted through the speaker. She heard the massive, rhythmic thumping of helicopter rotors, the violent howling of wind, and in the background, the sharp, unmistakable crack of automatic gunfire.
“Jarrod?” Caroline yelled over the noise, her hand gripping the plastic casing so hard her fingers ached.
“What the hell is the dog?” Jarrod’s voice ripped through the static.
It was a low, brutal, gravelly bark. There was no greeting. No “hello.” Just pure, aggressive interrogation.
Caroline’s stomach dropped. K. C. Bell. The loyal guard dog had reported everything directly to his master.
“It was dying in an alley,” Caroline shouted back, feeling a sudden rush of defensive anger. “I couldn’t just leave it there to bleed out! I washed it. It’s clean.”
Jarrod let out a dark, metallic scoff that vibrated through the speaker. Even thousands of miles away, surrounded by gunfire, his suffocating, dominant presence filled the tiny bathroom stall.
He didn’t waste another second on the animal.
“What did you talk about with the doctor today?” Jarrod demanded. The tone of his voice dropped into a terrifying, lethal register. It was the voice of a predator locking onto a target.
Caroline stopped breathing. A cold sweat broke out across her forehead. His surveillance was absolute. He knew everything.
“Nothing,” Caroline lied, her voice tight. “I ran into him in the hallway. We talked about work.”
The gunfire in the background of the call suddenly intensified. Jarrod didn’t speak for three agonizing seconds.
“Do not lie to me, Caroline,” Jarrod warned. His voice was eerily calm over the chaos. “I know exactly what that pathetic civilian is trying to do.”
He paused, letting the threat hang in the air.
“You stay the hell away from him,” Jarrod ordered, his words hitting like physical blows. “If I find out you went anywhere with him, I will fly back and personally break both of his legs. Do you understand me?”
The sheer, arrogant possessiveness of his threat ignited Caroline’s temper.
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