I pressed a hand to my chest.
Randall’s ring was beneath my palm.
“Play it,” I said.
Jonah tapped the message.
There was a hiss.
A faint electronic click.
Then Randall breathed.
Just breathed.
The sound struck me harder than words.
Jonah’s face changed instantly. Elise covered her mouth.
Randall’s voice came through thin and rough.
“Jonah. It’s Dad.”
He paused.
In the background I heard a television, low. A door shutting somewhere.
“I know you’re angry. You should be. I need you to do something for me, and I don’t have any right to ask.”
Another pause.
His breathing was wrong.
I knew that now.
“Don’t let your mother come looking for me.”
Jonah closed his eyes.
Randall continued, quieter.
“She will. If she thinks I’m in trouble, she will. She’ll tell herself she can handle both. She can’t. Not now.”
