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d to take the call in the bathroom. His tone was even, “Calder where's Justin?”
In a huge white stucco and glass house scant feet from the lapping waves of the Pacific Ocean, Calder stood shaking and frightened, the cold press of steel against his temple, but he kept his voice steady, “Dad you have to come and get us. Justin's tied up. Liz says she wants the necklace back and then she'll-”
Dylan heard his little boy cry out and the sound of crashing. “Calder? Calder?”
“I'm sorry he can't come to the phone right now. He and Justin are napping,” Liz's voice was mocking, bitter and cold.
Dylan looked in the mirror above the basin seeing the flinty set of his jaw and the brilliance of heat lightning in his eyes. “What do you want?”
Her voice was hard-edged, “You know what I want, and the necklace back of course. Those diamonds should have always been mine. Your hillbilly mother never appreciated its value. Where, the hell was she going to go in a rare diamond necklace? A collector once offered me a hundred million for the single teardrop stone. With that kind of money, I could have bought that shit-kicking little town you grew up in and a few more. But to me, it’s priceless and I will not be parted from what should have always been mine. Do you understand?”
“Yes Liz,” he acquiesced, tasting bile.
“Now that's the sweet little boy I married, so agreeable.”
“Is there anything else?”
“I want a very public announcement that you plan to remarry me and not that whore you've been shacked up with.”
“We'll fly to Vegas this afternoon and notify the press once we're there.”
“Dylan?”
“Yeah Liz?”
“I've always loved you. That's the reason I killed your parents. They were going to take you away from me, from the life I was creating. Then you stopped wanting it anyway. That's why I divorced you but I'd hoped you'd start craving what we had. I need to know you want that lifestyle again or don't bother coming.”
He had to dig deep to access the accommodating, co-dependent tone she preferred, that was uncharacteristic of him aside for his association with her, “I want what you want, and if you guarantee the boys are unhurt, I’ll bring along something to kick off our celebration.”
Churlishly she stated, “I told you they're napping.”
“Fine, I'm on my way.” He hoped he sounded meek enough.
“How long will it be until you get here?”
“Give me an hour.”
“You've got thirty minutes. Come alone and don't call the police. If I think you're trying to trick me I'll kill that bitch's brat,” she finished forcefully.
His hand tightened on the phone. “You know me Liz I'm a man of my word.”
“That's the problem Dylan; you use to say we'd always be together. Now look at me, left alone to fend for myself. This is all your fault,” she yelled.
Dylan heard the sounds of a scuffle then a single gunshot before the call was disconnected. He wasted no time getting dressed, blue t-shirt, tattered jeans and worn white running shoes. Calmly he walked over to the bed and kissed Carolina until she stirred, looking up at him with a dreamy expression. “Honey, I've got to run an errand. I'll only be gone for a little bit. You go back to sleep.”
“Where are Patrick and the boys?”
He caressed her cheek, “Patrick hasn't gotten back yet. The boys are out practicing, like they always are. They'll be up here later with you and the babes.”
Her fingers moved to touch the cool smoothness of the large diamond teardrop at her throat. “Please put this in the safe.”
Dylan moved her fingers away from the necklace. “No honey. Now get some rest.” He kissed her one last time before leaving the room and hurrying over to the nursery. Pushing the door open, he saw Callum sitting on the loveseat with his guitar. Approaching the boy he asked, “Son can you call Patrick the way Calder does?”
“No, sir,” he lied, feeling bad about the untruth but he and his brothers had agreed and he'd follow through with his role however bad he felt about deceiving Dylan.
“Can you hear your brothers right now?” The child