Page 19 of Echoes of Fear

“Nothing could ever make me hate her,” Taylor frowns.

Let’s hope.

“Emily is being used as a pawn to lure in lonely children she finds online into the hands of the Celtic Cartel,” I say. “She’s being forced to play the part of a runaway teenager wanting to help others like her. After she gains their trust, she has them meet someone at an undisclosed location. Someone working for this Irish Cartel then kidnaps them and trains them before putting them on the market.”

Silence.

Every pair of unbelieving eyes is on me as they process what I’ve said.

“What the actual fuck?” Reynolds yells, breaking the silence. “Why the fuck would she agree to do something so horrible?”

“She doesn’t have a choice,” I say. “She refused to do as they asked at first. As punishment, they raped a ten-year-old boy right in front of her with the threat to do so again every time she didn’t do as she was told. The second time she refused, they raped another young child. What would you have her do, Reynolds? She can’t walk away; they’ll kill her and all of you.”

“How long have you been in communication with her?” Taylor asks calmly.

What would it feel like to be that in control of my emotions? I can see it in his eyes that he’s worried and angry, but his voice and face don’t show it.

“A few days,” I admit. “We’re communicating using the Ceasar Cypher. She only sent the video as a distraction if someone found out and came looking. Our emails have multiple layers of encryption piled on top of the Ceasar method that it’s near impossible to decipher it. But we don’t want to take any chances, so I told her I would reach out again in a few days.”

“What she said in the video, is it true? Do they already know who you are and that you’re trying to find Emily?” Ghost asks.

“Yep,” I say. “And they know exactly where I am.”

I sure hope my face isn’t showing how absolutely terrified I am at the thought of some man just waiting for me to leave this building so they can snatch me away. I mean, it’s not like there aren’t people out there who keep their eyes on my online activity. But knowing someone is watching me in person is freaking me the heck out.

Why can’t I breathe?

Chapter Four

Taylor

Fuck.

Rushing forward, I barely catch Knox before he falls to the floor.

“It’s okay, baby boy,” I whisper against his head. “Everything is going to be okay.”

Instead of laying him on the empty couch next to Ghost’s desk, I sit down with him cradled against my chest, ignoring the raised brows of the men around me.

“He needs to go someplace safe,” I tell Ghost.

“He’s not going to want to go anywhere, Taylor,” Steel tells me. “That shit that went down last year really messed with his head. He refuses to leave this building.”

“He won’t even go outside in the yard,” Blaze adds. “There’s no way in hell we’re getting him to go anywhere until he’s good and ready.”

“We could always drug him,” I suggest. I’m not a child who doesn’t understand the feelings swirling around my head about the man in my arms, but I push them aside for the moment and focus on finding a way to keep him safe so that I can go after my sister.

I won’t put this man at risk.

“Only if it’s something he consented to,” Ghost warns.

“He won’t agree to it, man,” Jax tells me. “He needs to be in a place that he knows. A place where he feels he can easily escape if he needs to. He knows this building like the back of his hand. That’s why he gave up his apartment after his attack and moved in here. He feels safe here. We can’t take that away from him.”

“But he isn’t safe here, is he?” I add. “Each night, you all go home, and he’s left on his own. How the hell is that safe?”

“Someone is always here,” Steel growls. “You know better than most how protective we are when it comes to our family. What the fuck, Taylor?”

Damnit. He’s right, of course. I’ve only known most of these men for a little while. But I’ve known King, Steel, and Blaze for years. They would do everything in their power to keep their loved ones safe.

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