Page 78 of Unfulfilled Promises
“Regan thinks Edgar biting me in the middle of the night is fricking hilarious,” I explained and lifted my covered wound so she could see it. “Little bastard is moving in on my woman.”
That got Regan laughing again, and she was leaning on the stool as she enjoyed my adversarial relationship with the creature I saved. Ungrateful little shit.
I stood and made them both a cup of coffee as they continued to giggle and as I passed the cups to the ladies, Rhys walked into the room accompanied by James. They gave me a look that said something went down and I glanced at Regan and Hannah who hadn’t noticed them yet. James shook his head, and I knew whatever it was, it wasn’t good.
Regan turned her head and smiled. “Good morning. I didn’t know you were going to be here today.”
James pushed a smile as he said, “We need to talk.”
The smile on her face dissolved and she turned to him. “What?”
Hannah went to stand, but Rhys approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Please stay. This . . . this involves you too.”
“What’s going on?” Hannah asked, and I walked to the table and sat down next to Regan.
Rhys took the seat beside Hannah, and James sat at the end. Regan gave me a worried look, so I took her hand and turned to Rhys. “Whatever it is, just say it.”
“Last night, I got an email on the private server for Callahan. It’s not unusual, so when I got the alert, I didn’t rush to open it. When I woke up this morning, I went to the server floor in the building and . . .” He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, I saw remorse staring back. “We received an email from Waylon.”
Hannah perked up. “Where is he?”
“Hannah, baby,” Rhys began, and Regan squeezed my hand, “Waylon sent us a confession video about the part he played in everything.”
“So, he was involved in the Syndicate?” she asked dejected, and James glanced at me. “I guess I shouldn’t have given him the benefit of the doubt.” She looked at Regan and said, “I’m so sorry my family caused all this pain.”
James interrupted and that’s when I realized the gravity of the situation. “Waylon wasn’t involved like you think, but . . .”
“Whatever it is, please just say it and stop beating around the bush,” Hannah demanded.
“In the video, he outlined what he was involved in, but when he finished telling that part, he began to ramble about his life and all the crap that was heaped on him. Something about it was off, and then he admitted that he’d taken a handful of pills. He signed off and said he was sorry for all the problems he caused and he wouldn’t be a bother to anyone again.”
Regan was shocked silent as Hannah began to cry as she asked, “Is he dead?”
“I don’t know to be honest, but Devlin and Lucian are on the way to the location he said he would be at. I came down hereand we’re waiting for the phone call. I think it will be within the hour,” James explained.
“I want to see the video,” Hannah declared as she wiped the tears from her cheeks.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea, baby. He was . . . emotional, and I don’t want it to upset you,” Rhys reasoned.
“I don’t care. He was my brother, and I want to know what he said.”
“Seth?” Regan asked, and I turned to look at her. “Please let her see it.”
I knew Regan had been eager to find Waylon, but none of us thought it would be this way. We suspected he was involved, but not really involved, and were planning to hear him out before we decided on what to do with him. I wanted to see the video, and I agree it may be upsetting for Hannah, but she had the right to watch it.
Just like Regan did.
James looked down the table at us and replied, “I’ll show it to you, but I’ll turn it off if I see it’s becoming too much. You don’t need that mental image in your head.”
Rhys seemed unsure, but I was glad he kept his opinion to himself as he, Hannah, and James stood from the table. Hannah looked at Regan and asked, “Are you coming?”
Regan glanced at me, and I nodded, telling her I’d be with her and when she stood, I followed her lead. The five of us walked down the hallway and into the war room before taking seats at the large conference table. The same screen that we video chatted with Waylon almost three months ago was already lowered across the wall and it was ironic we were watching his confession on the same screen.
James opened his laptop and typed something into it before the screen illuminated in front of us. Regan scooted closer to me as James pulled the video up on the screen and pressed play. Hetook a seat on the other side of Regan, and with all of us on the same side of the table, we began to watch.
The background was black with no distinguishing features. Waylon stepped in front of the camera and took a seat. He looked tired, his hair was greasy and slicked back away from his face, and when he began to speak, his voice was filled with pain.
“I know you’ve been looking for me for months, but I’ve had a good reason to remain hidden. I’m the one who’s been controlling the purse strings for the remaining members of the Syndicate, but not for the reasons you think. I’ll try to be concise, but there will be some tangents I need to go down to make sure you know everything.” He exhaled deeply before he spoke again.
