Page 124 of Body and Soul

Why was I lying on the couch instead of my bed? And where was Eli?

My cell phone buzzed insistently in my hand, the vibrations sending an unpleasant tingle up my arm. I glanced down at the screen but didn't recognize the number. Probably one of my brother’s burner phones. Swiping to answer, I held it up to my ear.

“Hello?” My voice came out hoarse, my throat dry.

“Shepherd? It's River. We have a problem.”

I frowned. River never called me unless he wanted something, but what could he want on Christmas morning? “What is it? What's happened?”

“I have someone here claiming to belong to you,” River said gruffly.

The phone creaked and then a more familiar voice came on. “Shepherd?” Eli sounded terrified.

I bolted out of the chair to stand and immediately regretted it as my head spun. What the hell was he doing with River?

River came back to the phone. “Your boy toy here set off the silent alarm last night poking around where he doesn’t belong, Shepherd. At thefactory.”

“The factory?” My hand went to my head. Why would Eli be at the factory? My brothers and I used it to torture and kill our victims and then to process their bodies afterward. Eli knew already about the work I did with my brothers. He had no reason to go sneaking around there.

Unless…

I swallowed. Oh no.

No, no, no! Keres, you fucking idiot!

With trembling fingers, I held the phone to my ear. “Where in the factory did you find him?”

“Your freezer. He’s seen everything, Shepherd. You’d better fucking get down here and deal with your shit.”

My heart plummeted into my stomach as the full realization of what River said hit me like a sledgehammer. Eli had been in the freezer. He'd seen the bodies, or rather, what was left of them after Keres finished with his grisly work. Bile rose in my throat as I pictured the neat stacks of human meat, meticulously butchered and wrapped in white paper like something out of a horror movie. The glazed eyes of the decapitated heads staring out from the industrial metal shelves.

Oh God. He knew. Eli knew my darkest, most depraved secrets, the ones I'd tried so desperately to shield him from. He'd stumbled upon it alone, without me there to explain or comfort him... My legs nearly gave out from under me.

I thought of Eli, his delicate features marred by terror as he took in the full monstrosity of what lay before him. He must feel so betrayed, so violated by the knowledge of who the man he loved truly was.

I gripped the phone tighter, my knuckles aching. “Is he...is Eli okay?”

River snorted. “Okay? He's fucking hysterical, Shepherd. War had to sedate him just to get him to shut up. You need to get your ass down here and handle this.”

I took a deep, shuddering breath. “I'm on my way. Don't hurt him, River. Please. I'll fix this.”

“You'd better,” River growled. “Because if you don't, I will. Permanently.” The line went dead.

I stood frozen for a moment, the dial tone droning in my ear as River's threat echoed in my mind. Then I sprang into action, grabbing my keys and bolting out the door.

As I peeled out of the driveway, tires screeching, only one thought consumed me: I had to get to Eli. I had to save him from the monster I'd become. From the monsters we all were.

The factory loomed ahead, a hulking beast of rusted metal and broken windows. I barely remembered the drive, my mind reeling.

I slammed on the brakes, sending up a spray of gravel as I skidded to a halt outside the factory's barbed wire fence. Leaping from the SUV, I sprinted to the gate, my heart pounding against my ribs like a caged animal desperate to break free. I punched in the access code and shoved through the instant the lock disengaged.

My boots pounded against the cracked concrete as I raced across the weed-choked yard. I burst through the side door and screamed for my brother. “River! Where is he?”

Footsteps approached and my brother emerged from the shadows, his face an impassive mask. He jerked his head toward the back. “He's in the office with War.”

I pushed past him and stalked down the narrow hall, dreading what I would find. The office door stood slightly ajar. My hand trembled as I pushed it open.

Eli sat on the battered leather couch, his wrists and ankles bound with zip ties, a gag in his mouth. My brother Warrick stood nearby, monitoring him with his arms crossed.

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