Forsaken Repose: The Restless Dead Read Online Free Page B

her feet.
    Taken completely by surprise, Ian asks, “What?”
    “You and I can destroy the house,” Jenna says,
grinning down at Ian. “That would eliminate Derick, right?”
    “Uh...” Ian stammers, “...yeah, that's right. I
just didn't expect you to -”
    “...Want to save my son?” Jenna's grin shifts to a
warm smile. “Want to save our son?”
    Ian slowly shakes his head. “You don't know what you're up
against.” Pulling his phone from his pocket, Ian waves it in
the air a little. “I stay in contact with all the other members
of the family, trying to figure out what they're next move might be.
Let me be clear: They hate me. The only reason I inherited the house
is because I'm the only child who grew up to be a lawyer, so managing
the house fell to me by default. Nobody in the family trusts me
anymore, which is why it was demanded that the house be turned over
to you. I'm pretty sure they suspect that I'm not only interested in
leaving the 'family,' but that I'd like to destroy it once and for
all. They'll kill me for that.” Ian inhales deeply. “They'll
kill you, too.”
    “Not if we take down the house first,” Jenna says,
smiling broadly. “I have a co-worker whose husband does a lot
of construction work. We could have him bring in some heavy equipment
to help level the house.”
    Ian returns his phone to his pocket. “I don't know. Derick
won't stand still while the house is destroyed.”
    “No matter what plan we settle on, this thing is going to be
risky,” Jenna says. Extending a hand toward Ian, she adds, “The
sooner we move, the less time Derick will have to come up with a way
to stop us.”
    Taking Jenna's hand, Ian slides out of the booth. “Okay.
What do we do first?”
    “Go back to the house,” Jenna says, turning and
walking toward the playground. “I have the number I need to
call written in my address book. We'll get the number, leave the
house and make the call. Once everything is scheduled and the big day
arrives, we'll go back to the house and do what we can to stop Derick
from interfering with the demolition.”
    Jenna leads Bryce from the playground and into Ian's car. Polite
and friendly conversation is made on the ride back to the house, and
Jenna can't help but notice the small smile that appears on Ian's
face whenever he looks at Bryce.
    Pulling into the driveway, Jenna finds that both the police car
and the moving van are gone. As Ian rolls along, stopping directly in
front of the house, Jenna can find nothing of the two slain officers
– no blood, clothes or even bones remain.
    Jenna turns in her seat to look at Bryce. “I need to run
into the house for a minute. You'll be okay out here, alright?”
    Bryce casts his gaze up as he looks out his window into the night
sky. He then turns to face his mother. He nods once, but the way he's
biting his lower lip indicates he's not so sure.
    “Do you want me to go with you?” Ian asks.
    A moment of silence passes before Jenna forces a smile, wrinkles
her nose and shakes her head. “No. I'm fine.”
    Unfastening his seat belt, Ian tells her, “I'm going with
you.”
    Jenna lets loose a sigh of relief. “Thanks.”
    Ian turns to face Bryce and says, “Your mom and I are only
going to be gone for a minute. Do you want to listen to the radio
while we're gone?”
    Bryce shakes his head, bites his lip a bit harder and stares out
the window. Ian and Jenna exchange concerned glances before stepping
out of the car.
    Jenna shuts the door, looks at Ian and props her elbows on the
roof of the car. “Can you put a number in your phone for me?
Just in case things in here don't go well, I want you to be able to
call -”
    “Nothing is going to go wrong,” Ian says reassuringly.
“We're still related to Derick, after all. He's not going to
kill us unless his back is against the wall.”
    A slight smile forms on Jenna's lips. “Still, I'd feel
better.”
    Ian nods and pulls his phone from his pocket. Looking up, he