Page 70 of Golden Atonement

“Why are the Wraith Warriors here? I get Disturbed, but not them.”

Ink smirked. “Gonna let Sunny and Sandman explain that one. Let’s just say they are now family.”

Looking for an answer, I stared at Bullseye, who grinned. “Wraith is Soleil’s uncle.”

“Didn’t see that one coming,” I uttered with a smirk. “How is Sunny taking that revelation?”

“She seems okay with it.” Phantom sighed. “Soleil adores Wraith. Found out that Soleil’s mom, Fleur, was part of the church cult in Oregon. Wraith called the FBI hotline and sent in documents. His sister was one of the dead.”

“Jesus Christ,” I muttered. “Maybe I should have let Ghost burn that place down when he wanted to.”

“Should have done a lot of stuff but didn’t,” Bullseye growled, adding, “Before you ask, Ghost is gone. Handed in his cut and fucking left. He’s out. Took Ari and the kids and moved to Oklahoma to be closer to Shadow and his sisters. Last we heard, he’s happy.”

I grinned at that.

At least someone was happy.

May 4, 2024

Remi

It had been weeks since I left New York, and things had finally begun to settle down. It was odd getting regular updates from Sypher, but I dealt with it. I still didn’t know what to make of everything and the more I thought about it all, the more questions I had.

The problem was the only one with answers was back in Purgatory with our kids. Apparently, he decided to finally do the right thing and refused to leave them. While I was happy he made the right decision, I worried if I was doing the right thing.

All the secrets were out in the open now. There was nothing between us anymore. Sypher made sure of that. I just didn’t know what to do with the information overload. Sure, I could formulate my own ideas, but I was so fucking tired of it all. This life cost me the one thing I held dear and I wasn’t sure I would ever get it back.

Life was hard enough without all the lies and deception, but to lose faith in the one man I loved with all my heart, well, that was something I was having a hard time reconciling.

I didn’t know how to get past it all.

I still grappled with conflicting emotions, dreams, and desires. One minute, I never wanted to see him again; the next, I couldn’t wait to hear his voice. It was all so confusing.

And now I was second-guessing my current situation. In the mounds of ghost files Sypher gave me access to, something kept jumping out at me. I didn’t notice it at first, but when Idid, it was like a flashing neon sign almost compelling me to investigate.

So, I did, and I found myself right back where my nightmare began.

“Remi, are you sure this is the right address?” my father asked while I stared at the house that used to be mine.

I don’t know what made me come back here. I never wanted to see this place again. But something told me if I was ever going to make the right decision, I needed to go back to the beginning, and for me, that was in Nebraska, where I grew up.

The house hadn’t changed much in the years since I’d lived here. In fact, from what I could tell, the house was in relatively good shape. Whoever lived here now, cared about the house. Flowers that weren’t here before, now lined the sidewalk and the front of the house. Planters hung from every window. The house looked like an idyllic family home.

Not a place of nightmares that I remembered.

“Yes,” I said, opening the car door, stepping out onto the sidewalk.

Nothing had changed, but everything looked different.

Felt different.

I couldn’t explain it.

It was almost as if I’d walked into some third dimension.

Nothing made sense.

“What is it?”

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