Page 71 of Haunted Prey

“We don’t know. He disappeared years ago. But his son has restarted Project Redbird under a new cover, probably thinking he can finish and succeed where his father couldn’t.”

Guess it was a damn good thing I got out when I did.

“Little Evee looks sick,” Cassidy said. “Better get her to the bathroom.”

Emery went to pull me up, but I refused.

“No…No, I’m fine, I just need a minute.” I couldn’t stop thinking of the girls, the ones I left behind. I did feel like I might throw up, but I forced the air in my lungs, forced myself to keep it down. “You're going to stop it,” I said through heaving breaths. “You're going to stop him, right?”

“That’s the plan,” Micheal said.

Emery squeezed my hands. “Look at me, Eve.” When I did, he said, “You don’t have to be involved in this. You can stay here and you’ll be safe, just like I promised. Severfalls and Kennedy won’t find you.”

“But you’re going, aren’t you? You’re going back there to stop it too? To finally take them down for what they did.”

His expression told me enough. “Yes,” he said. “I said I would.”

I looked at our joined hands. Determined, I said, “Then I’m going to help you. In any way I can.” I addressed Micheal, “But in return, I want Lena’s freedom.”

Lez snorted, mumbling something, and Lena glared at him.

“No, I’m staying here,” she said.

“Lena…”

She looked at me. “Forget it, Eve, I’m staying with you.” Her gaze flicked to Micheal. “I know I won’t be much of any help, but I want to see Tyler and those fuckers at Severfalls pay for what they did to Eve and what they are doing to others, so I’ll give my support. If I can at least let my family know I’m okay, I promise to keep your secret.”

“She’s lying,” Cassidy said.

“I think we should let her,” Andrea countered.

Dom tapped on the desk and signed something. Micheal exhaled. “I’ll let her call her family while Dom listens in. But if at any time she breaks, the calls stop, got it?”

“Yeah,” Lena said. “I get it.”

Cassidy threw up her hands. “This is bullshit, Micheal,” she said. “You can’t trust them. If you give her an inch, she’s going to slip something by accident at best or betray us at worst.”

“I’m with Cassidy on this one,” Lez said. “We can’t trust she won’t slip up.”

“I won’t,” Lena said.

“We will keep you supervised. Same with Eve, though, I imagine Emery has that covered.” Micheal straightened off the desk. “Sadly, we will have to take precautions. If either of you give out any information, try to sneak out, or give any indication that we can no longer trust you, then you’ll be moved somewhere else with no contact until our plans are done. I think that’s fair, would you all agree?”

No one seemed to like that but none of us disagreed.

Dom signed again.

“Dom says he can put an anti-tracker on the phone, but for extra security, Lena should make her calls elsewhere,” Micheal translated.

“I’ll take her out,” Andrea offered, stepping up. “There’s a little park far enough, mostly empty. We can make the calls there.”

“Wait till sundown,” Micheal ordered. “Just in case. In the meantime, I think we’d all love for Eve to tell us everything she can about Severfalls, so we can know what to prepare for.”

I took a deep breath and nodded, gripping Emery’s hand. “I’m ready.”

He studied me for a moment, like he used to back at St. Agnes. Then he smiled. “That’s my girl.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

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