Within the Shadows by J.D MCG (knowledgeable books to read .txt) 📕

pulling her arm out of Belle's grasp. 'What did you mean? Who are you?'

The man turned his attention off his cup of coffee and on to Kate.

'Did your mother never tell you about me?' he asked.

'Who are you?' she continued demanding he answered.

'If you haven't figured it out already, I'm your father,' he finally answered her questions.

Kate felt a mix of emotions. She wanted to cry, refusing that her parents had lied to her all along, and she also wanted to smash the man's face in with her fist.

'Get out of here,' she calmly asked, pointing to the door.

'Come on...'

'I said get out!' she shouted in his face.

The man rose to his feet slowly, looking Kate directly in the eyes, before having the last word.

'I'll be seeing you soon, Kate.'

Kate watched as the man, who claimed to be her father, strolled out of the cafe. She sighed as she collapsed, gripping the back of a chair. Silence flooded the room before Belle placed her hand on Kate's back.

'Kate, are you...'

Kate brushed Belle's hand off her back and pushed her away.

'You knew, didn't you?' she cut Belle off. 'You kept trying to pull me away from him. It's like you knew what he was going to say.'

'Kate, I'm sorry...'

'Don't you talk to me. I don't want to hear your excuses,' she yelled as she stormed out of the cafe, leaving Belle to lock up on her own.

I can't believe she knew all along! Kate continued on her journey home, making sure he wasn't following her. Her pocket began to buzz and as she removed the phone from her pocket, she saw Belle's name. She ignored the call and continued onward.

Jack Roberts awoke on the floor of his hotel room covered in blood. His t-shirt was stained. He checked himself over, making sure it wasn't his blood. What happened? But deep down he realised what had happened.

'What have you done?' he demanded the voice answer.

But it stayed silent. Panic set in, as Jack frantically ripped off his t-shirt and jumped in the shower to rid himself of the blood he was covered in. As the water poured down his body, the shower floor turned red. His body started to shake, not from being cold, but from fear. He was terrified. Jack knew nothing of what his counterpart had done, who he had killed.

Once he turned her shower off, Jack put on a fresh set of clothes and tried to figure a way of disposing of his blood-drenched clothes. The voice inside his head was still quiet, making him believe he'd gone insane. He tried to provoke it.

'Who's blood is this?'

But still no answer. He grabbed a bin sack and chucked his dirty clothes inside, sealing it by tying the handles together. Jack lifted the bag, opened the hotel door and stuck out his head, peering from left to right, making sure nobody was about. Once he thought the coast was clear, Jack flew out and down the corridor, running towards the exit.

Once he found an industrial bin, he swung the bag over his head and launched it inside. Running back to his room, he packed his belongings into his bag. He needed to get out of Birmingham. Knowing he'd be the police's number one priority, he wanted to skip out of the country but knew he'd be blacklisted as a flight risk.

Jack exited the hotel and tried to catch a bus from the National Exhibition Centre. As he sat at the bus stop, he could hear sirens roaring in the distance. They've come for me.

Barnes' car raced around the roundabout and straight into the car park of the Premier Inn. The three of them shot out of the car, along with the other officers who'd arrived at the same time. The building was surrounded as they made their way inside. There's no way he's getting out of here, Jacob thought.

Barnes entered first, followed by Jacob and Ally. It was nearly impossible for the officers outside to distinguish the appearance of the hotel’s guests. Barnes informed the staff at reception about one of their guests and asked which room he'd been staying in.

'So, I spoke to the lady at reception and nobody under Jack Roberts had booked a room here. I showed her the photo and she told me he'd been staying in room nineteen,' Barnes repeated to Ally and Jacob.

The three of them stealthily made their way across the hallway until they came to room nineteen.

'Mr Roberts, this is DS Wright. Open the door, we need to talk,' Jacob shouted, making his presence known.

But there was no answer, nobody was home. Barnes placed the spare key card into the door’s locking system and opened the door, revealing nothing but a ransacked room.

'Looks like our guy's made a quick getaway,' Barnes observed the mess surrounding them.

Cupboard doors wide open, hangers on the floor. The room was a mess and it looked as if someone was in a hurry to leave.

'He was definitely here,' Jacob said while investigating the room.

'No doubt about that,' Ally agreed.

'We've got officers patrolling the area. He can't have gone far,' said Barnes.

Ally rushed out of the room to give orders to the police officers outside. She widened the search area, hoping they weren't too late and he hadn't gotten away.

'I've called forensics,' Jacob notified her as she returned to the room.

'Good. I've widened the search. He's been gone a while, that gives him enough time to get a bus or find a new hiding spot,' she informed them.

Barnes was still snooping, trying to get a little more information from the scene as he could. Then he entered the en-suite, before realising something.

'He's not long left.'

'What makes you say that?' Jacob asked.

'The steam