Classified ☑

[ chapter 32 ]

The drive back to town was long and silent and we still had an hour or so to go.

In the back, Shelly was asleep laying against Mark who had his head rested against the window. Dante and I had decided that they would come to Thomas' house for awhile and we could figure out our next move there.

I'm sure Luther had people watching my uncle's and Joseph's every move, so whatever we did had to be quick.

One thing that stuck out to me last night was when Dante told me that Angel had placed that clue in the washer with Lucille's number. It made sense because she'd written the word dial while my dad had written the word call on the piece of paper hidden in the necklace.

The more Dante told me, the more I could tell I trusted him and he trusted me. I still was hesitant to and after finding out Cole was working with their dad all this time it didn't help. But the more Dante and I got to know each other, the harder it was to not trust him.

I knew Thomas and Joseph wouldn't be happy that Dante had been with me the last several days or the one who helped me leave town, but he was the reason I was alive. He'd kept me safe. He even left his brother behind to make sure Mark, Shelly, and I were safe.

He was pure in a way I hadn't seen before. By the way he talked about being a TIA agent, I knew he'd done some things he wasn't proud of. He hasn't told me what he's done or not done, but it was clear he wanted to make a difference. He was pure in a way that differentiated itself from evil.

Maybe my dad could tell that when he trained Dante, but it was sad to think that my dad had seen Dante as his killer in his last moments. That's probably why when we were in the car, in his final moments, he hadn't mention the clues. He didn't want me to find Dante.

The clues after all were for Thomas, but I don't think Thomas could've figured it out unless we were missing something. The only reason I'd solved what the clues meant was because of Dante's tattoo and the necklace he showed me.

There was no way Thomas would've figured that out unless he found another clue that he'd hid from me. It wouldn't surprise me if that was the truth though. Thomas didn't want me near any of this mess and I understood why, but it still frustrated me at the possibility that he had hid something from me all this time.

Dante turned on the blinker and he reached over the console to tap me on the thigh. He kept his eyes on the road, but spoke to me. "We're getting close. You want to call them and let them know we're almost there?"

I nodded my head and pulled out my phone, scrolling to Thomas' name. My thumb hovered over the call button. I hadn't spoken to him in over a month. What if he didn't want me to come back.

"Nina, call him." Dante glanced at me and I could see the urgency in his eyes.

"Okay," I whispered.

The phone rang once before Thomas picked up. "Nina?" he breathed through the phone.

"Hey, Uncle Thomas."

"Where have you been? I've texted you this whole last month and you haven't responded at all." I thought he would've been angry, but he sounded worn out and tired instead.

"I'll tell you soon, I promise, but I'm headed home and we think there might be people watching you and Joseph. Plus the house," I explained.

The whole me coming home must've gone over his head because he asked, "We who? Who's with you?"

I turned around in my seat to look at Shelly and Mark still passed out. "It's a long story, but I need you to help us get home without being detected."