© 2025 J. J. Hanna
There’s a warrant posted for me. I can’t stay at my house. You said to await further instruction. I can’t wait any longer. It’s time to put your plan to get me out of this into action, George. Because if the police bring me in, I’ll tell them everything I know about you. Call me back.
I closed out of the voicemail and immediately called Axel. “We have a squeaky wheel,” I greeted.
“Does this change the plan?”
“How much could he know? I need you to assess the leak as fast as you can. How much of a problem will this kid be?”
“How much of a problem? He’s a skilled hacker. We should have been secure but I’ll check everything. What’s his threat?”
“To tell everything he knows. He shouldn’t know anything unless he went poking around.”
“Give me an hour.”
I hung up and tapped the phone in my hand. I was so focused on dealing with this problem that I almost didn’t hear my daughter come into the office. “Daddy?” Her small voice preceded her tiny hands and innocent face peering up over the armrest on my chair. “Can I have some ice cream?”
A smile forced itself through my concern as I looked at her. “It’s late honey. Sugar this late could keep you from sleeping.”
She shrugged. “You always say that. And then we get ice cream.” The mischievous twinkle in her eye was contagious.
I mussed her hair and got up. “You know me too well. How could I ever pass up the chance to share ice cream with my daughter?”
She giggled as I scooped her up and hugged her close. Some people got out of a life of crime because they found a family. I got further in. The more money I made, the more secure her future would be. The better I was at my part of the operation, the more likely I was to stay out of the line of fire, meaning I was more likely to stay with her, to raise her, to be there for her and her mom.
“Do you want a cone or a sandwich?” I asked her as we got to the kitchen.
“Sandwich.” She was nothing if not decisive. I got the last two ice cream sandwiches out of the box in the freezer and handed one to her. We tapped them together still wrapped, as if we were cheering to a toast, before we dug in.
“Thank you,” she said as she licked the remaining ice cream off of her fingers.
“You’re welcome, sweetheart.” I set her down again. “Now go brush your teeth and go to bed.”
“Will you tuck me in?”
“Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute,” I said.
She smiled and ran off down the hall. I called Axel again. He answered with a quick, “Yes sir?”
“It doesn’t matter what he knows. Our squeaky wheel needs to be silenced.”
“Understood, sir. I’ll send in the maintenance crew.”
“And keep an eye on that apartment. I want to have a chat with her when she gets back from wherever she went.”
“Understood.” Axel hung up. I went to tuck in my daughter and kiss her goodnight.
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Please note: This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real life events is unintended by the author.
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J. J. Hanna is a writer and reader from Colorado. She loves suspense stories above all else, and is currently working on a debut novel. When she’s not writing, you can find her making YouTube videos and Online Courses about the publishing industry. Go find her on social media @authorjjhanna and @jjhannaacademy to keep track of her most recent reads, current adventures, and to get the most up-to-date news on all things publishing. She also runs a freelance marketing business to help authors achieve their own goals. Learn more or hire her at Hanna Book Solutions.
J. J. Hanna, Author 