Deadly Silence (complete) Chapter 110

Gabriel stared at the blond for a long moment. His father had called her? There was no way. “He called your phone and asked who you were?”

“He called Vivian’s phone,” she retorted, rolling her eyes.

This now made even less sense. Vivian’s phone was returned to her that afternoon, not to mention it was security locked for another six or seven hours; there’s no way Abigail would have been able to answer the phone even if she still had it. “And, pray tell, *how* did you answer her phone?” Was she just pulling his leg? Playing some game to make him second guess everything? There’s no way she was this devious.

Another eye roll. “I picked it up and answered it. Duh.”

Sense was nowhere to be found in this conversation anymore. “Vivian’s phone was returned to her already, so how were you able to answer it?”

“The second phone?” She offered with a look that asked if he was really this stupid.

*Second phone? … Vivian has a second phone?* Gabriel wasn’t sure if he could wrap his head around this new information. Maybe Abigail was toying with him; what other explanation was there? “Give it to me,” he ordered, holding out his free hand. “Now.”

“No need to be rude,” she muttered as the girl reached for her bedside table. On it was a small, black phone, that she picked up and dropped into his waiting hand.

It was a flip phone from a least fifteen years ago, but in good condition. Opening it, Gabriel spent a minute looking through it. A single contact, no texts, three calls had come in, but only one had gone out — this one had happened mid morning according to the call log’s time stamp. That meant Abigail had used it while his sister was trapped in the locker.

Why did Vivian have a phone she never called out on? Something wasn’t adding up.

“Where did you get this?” He finally asked after he finished perusing the phone’s contents.

“From Vivian,” Abigail replied, sounding annoyed.

“Did she give it to you or did you take it from her?”

This question caused the girl to pause before answering. “It was in her bag with her clothes and books, and her other phone. Is she, like, part of this shit, too?”

Gabriel stared at her without speaking until Abigail finally looked away. There was no chance he was going to answer any of her questions about his sister; firstly because it wasn’t anyone’s business, and secondly he wasn’t sure if he knew the right answers anymore. Having a second, secret phone told him Vivian was hiding much more than they’d originally thought.

How was their father going to react when he found out?

His own burner phone began to buzz, drawing his attention. Pulling it out, Gabriel glanced at it and froze. When he’d reset the security system he’d also linked it to his phone — to prevent anyone from setting it off without him knowing — and it had started the countdown for when someone entered the home. In ten seconds it would go off.

But who’d tripped the countdown, he wondered as he switched to watch the live surveillance feed from the cameras mounted throughout the home and property. Selecting the one that flashed, signalling movement was being captured on screen, Gabriel switched to it and watched five armed men sneak in through the same door he and Sebastian had used and disarm the system with a passcode.

*What is going on?* “Are you expecting company?” He asked the girl as he watched his phone. There was no way Sebastian would have allowed the parents to make a call for help; and if they did, who would they call but Samuel Devreaux? Their father was the person everyone called when something went wrong, after all.

“Huh? No? Why would I? It’s like the middle of the night.”

Gabriel was already texting his brother, letting him know about the new arrivals. *Five against two isn’t going to be easy. If I knew what they wanted we might be able to avoid a fight, but I have no idea what that’d be.*

Pocketing the flip phone that, supposedly, belonged to Vivian, Gabriel stood up. Things were probably going to get messy, and with the message delivered it was time to leave.

On his way out, Gabriel grabbed Abigail’s phone from the bedside table. “Hey!” She yelled as he walked away with it.

“You’ll get it back eventually,” he told her with a smirk. “This way you won’t do anything stupid.” *Like call the cops*. “By the way, things might get a bit… messy in a few minutes, so you’ll want to find someplace to hide.”

He didn’t wait to see her reaction and simply left the room, making sure the door was shut afterwards. The last thing they needed was collateral damage from the fight that was about to break out.

The house was still dark, and if he hadn’t watched them enter on his phone Gabriel would be none the wiser of their presence. Silence permeated the place as he carefully made his way down the hall. Every few seconds he checked the camera feeds, taking note when the group split up; two groups of two and one going solo. Another text sent to Sebastian with this new development and Gabriel put the device away before drawing his gun.

It was time to focus. There was no way he could keep an eye on all of them after they split up, and trying to would leave him vulnerable.

Now came the fun part; figuring out who they were and what they wanted.

The Demoine family worked for the Devreauxs, which meant if anything happened to them it was on his father to give aid. Gabriel couldn’t just leave the house knowing there were intruders, at least not before confirming they weren’t friendly. If he did and something happened to the Demoines it would be his father who paid the price. Reputation was everything in their world; if his word meant nothing then he was worth just as much.

Nearing the stairs, Gabriel stopped and glanced down, passed the railing to the floor below and noted two dark shapes making their way over. It wouldn’t be long before they reached the second floor where he was waiting.

Taking a calming breath, Gabriel waited for them to start up the stairs. Their footsteps were soft but not quiet; he counted them as he had the stairs on his way up, and when they were near the top he stepped out from around the corner and pulled the trigger.