His Red Carnation (Forbidden Blooms #1)

30. Callan

30

Callan

I just ended the call with Nick, my sponsor. He always managed to talk me down whenever I called him to vent or when I was just feeling like shit—which was often. He was like a therapist, but also a friend. And I didn’t have to pay him. I hadn’t wanted to admit to relapsing, but I needed to take accountability. I needed him to know how close I was to slipping again. As always, he helped me calm down.

Then Sloane called. I stared at my phone, my heart sinking—was she calling with good news or bad? I answered and put her on speaker, sinking to my knees and clasping my hands together on the bed like I was praying. I hadn’t prayed in a long time, but I sure as fuck was doing it now.

“Sloane, baby,” I managed to choke out.

“Callan.” Her voice was just as shaky as mine was. “Callan, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I doubted you,” she cried.

Relief washed over me, and the tears I’d been holding back came pouring out. I didn’t do it. I didn’t fucking do it. I couldn’t understand why I had doubted myself so much in the first place—I knew I’d never do something like that. Sarah was fucking crazy, but for once, she’d told the truth. Of course, it was only after she’d already ruined my life.

”Baby, it’s okay. Just get back here. I need to fucking hold you. You need me to get you?” I was already up on my feet before I waited for her answer.

“Yeah, I’m outside a coffee shop down the road from Sarah’s work. I’ll send you the address. But Callan, something weird happened—not with Sarah, but right after I left,” she explained, and I could hear the sounds of traffic passing by on her end.

I was already hopping on my bike, but I paused as I waited for her to continue. “What, baby? What happened?”

“Someone texted me. They said I’m keeping dirty little secrets just like my dad. And that… that he needs to confess, or they’ll ruin our family.”

Instantly, my vision clouded with rage. Who the fuck is threatening my girl? And what the hell did Jake do?

“You know something I don’t, baby?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.

“No! I have no idea what this means! Who is this person, and how did they get my number?!” Her voice was full of frustration.

I slipped my helmet on and swung my leg over the seat. “I don’t know. But I’m gonna find out, baby. Anyone threatening my girl has some fucking hell to pay.”

* * *

Sloane was obviously shaken up; we sat on the bed in our hotel room, and her hands trembled as she stared down at them. I stared at the text for what felt like an eternity, wracking my brain for answers. I knew the only way we were going to find out anything was by getting help from someone with a lot of resources and power. And we both knew someone in that position.

“We gotta tell Jake,” I muttered, knowing exactly how Sloane would react.

She looked up at me with a frown, her brows drawn together in frustration. “You really think he’s gonna take it seriously? I’m sure we get threats all the time, and they obviously lead nowhere.”

“Well they’ve never been sent to you directly, Sloane. This feels serious. You know it’s serious too, baby,” I said softly.

She sighed and shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. She looked back down at her hands and shrugged. “He’s the last person I wanna talk to right now,” she whispered.

I know the feeling . “I know. But maybe, I don’t know…your mom could help. Once she hears about this, I know all hell will break loose,” I teased.

She laughed as she took her phone from my hand, then looked down at it for a few moments, seemingly deep in thought. “Oh, I almost forgot…” She grabbed her purse from the floor, dug into a pocket, and handed me a piece of paper. “It’s from Sarah.”

Fuck . My heart pounded against my ribcage as I took the paper and studied Sloane’s face, waiting for her to continue.

“She said it’s an apology,” she said with a shrug. “Read it.”

I loved when she was so fucking bossy.

I hesitantly glanced down at the note and slowly opened it.

Callan,

I’ve thought a lot about the past—what I did, what I said. I wish things had been different. Life has a strange way of making us face what we’ve done, doesn’t it?

I’m sorry, if that means anything now. I hope you’ve found what you deserve.

Sarah

I re-read it over and over, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was full of shit. But it was done with, Sloane knew the truth, and we could move on— I could move on. I had spent so many years hating myself, convincing myself that maybe I was the monster she claimed I was. But now, I could finally see it for what it was—a twisted game of manipulation. The weight I’d been carrying, all the fucking guilt and shame, began to lift. I was innocent all along.

“Good fucking riddance,” I said, tossing the note aside on the bed.

Sloane grabbed it and read it, then looked up at me with her eyebrows pulled together. “I expected a better apology letter than this,” she muttered, tossing it aside like I had.

I didn’t want to think about Sarah anymore. I wanted to take care of my girl, and we needed to figure shit out right away.

“You gonna call Ana, or should I?”

She lifted her phone and tapped it a few times before putting it on speaker as it rang. Ana answered almost immediately.

“ Hola, cari?o, ?estás bien ?” Her voice was warm, but there was a slight undertone of worry.

“Hey, Mom. Yeah, I’m okay. Well, actually…” Sloane glanced up at me, as if she needed guidance on how to start explaining.

“Sloane got a weird text, Ana. They were threatening your family,” I chimed in.

“I’m screenshotting and sending it to you, Mom. I think you should show Dad,” Sloane continued.

“What?!” Ana’s voice was deep and laced with anger. “? Qué co?o ?! What do they mean Daddy has secrets?”

I stood up and began to pace. “We were hoping you could find out,” I offered. “And maybe call what’s his face, the security advisor. And homeland security. Get their fucking tech people on it.” I realized there was panic in my voice and I stopped pacing, looking over at Sloane. She was watching me intently, and I think it started to sink in how serious this was.

“Jacob!” Ana yelled after a moment, a door slamming in the background. “Someone is threatening Sloane. They’re saying you have dirty little secrets. Do you know what the fuck they would be talking about?”

Sloane and I glanced at each other worriedly. There was muffled chatter before the call ended.

“We should go back to the house. You’ll be the safest there. We can figure out what to do from there,” I said as I picked up Sloane’s purse, reaching for her hand.

She sat still on the bed, her worried eyes staring into mine. “I’m not going unless you’re there too,” she said quietly, and tears started to fill her eyes.

Fuck, my heart . I had no idea if Jake would let me be there or not, but I wasn’t going to just drop Sloane off and say, “Alright, see ya!” But if me not being there meant Sloane was safe, I’d have to leave. Although, there was no doubt in my mind that Sloane wouldn’t let that happen—she always got what she wanted, after all.