Page 52 of Darling Wildfire
Good. It was time to pull them all out of the shadows and show them the real hell.
“Show her,” I said to West.
He’d been trying to slowly slink out of the room but froze at my command before moving over and taking the seat Kaelin had vacated. He pulled up a few invoices andAtroxbusiness information with a photo of Vetticus.
“Atrox Gaming Inc. is an underground company that kidnaps individuals with military and law enforcement background and forces them to play in live action capture the flag games with live ammo—”
“What—like a video game?”
“Yes—Vetticus is a recruiter. Teams are owned and sponsored by rich men and the games are broadcasted for people to bet on the outcome of the players. Me, Nyx and Atlas were on one of Vetticus’ personalAtroxteams. He held us captive for nearly three years.”
I’d stunned her to silence.
She was staring at me, lips parted and eyes wide with shock as she took in everything I said. After a moment, she shook her head.
“What doesPhoxhave to do with this?” But her eyes went to one of the invoices and I saw her face fall in the glow of the screens. “Oh shit…”
“Military drones. We have invoices going back years. There’s something else too.”
I hesitated. This was the part I had the most trepidation around.
“What’s the other thing then? Tell me, Theron. It’s time,” she demanded.
“Show her the other thing,” I said to West.
West hesitated. “Are you sure?”
“Do it.”
He clicked a few buttons and another photograph filled the screen.
Kaelin leaned forward to get a better look.
“Oh my god…” She turned to me, eyes wide.
I heard Graham make a sound behind me as he pieced it together at the same time. The resemblance was all in the eyes. The person I thought was dead—only to discover a few years ago that she was in fact very much alive.
“Her name is Emersyn,” I said. “Emersyn North. She’s my daughter.”
“I-I don’t understand,” Kaelin said breathlessly.
“I know,” I said. “But you will.”
It was time to go back to the beginning.
Vengeance and retribution require a long time; it is the rule.
C DICKENS
16 YEARS AGO
25
THERON
“Do you believein God?” Cole asked.
His feet were kicking back and forth above the water where we sat on the dock. I had no idea what was going on in his little ten-year-old brain to provoke such a question.
