Page 40 of Wilder
“No problem. I hope she’ll be able to give you some information about—” She exhales hard, her shoulders sagging.
“All that ugliness. I know. Whether she knew—” I can’t finish, shaking my head. “Stay here. They probably wouldn’t let you see her, anyway. Hell, I don’t know if they’ll let me see her. If they do, it’ll probably be five minutes, max, that I actually get to speak to her.”
Echo grits her teeth, concern filling her emerald-green eyes. “Yeah. Okay. You know what you’re going to ask her?”
“I do.” I take a couple of deep breaths. “I’m glad you’re with me. It’s a good reminder of why the fuck she doesn’t matter anymore.” I can’t resist, I lunge across the center console, cupping her cheek in my hand, and press my lips to hers in a possessive show that I feel is necessary before going in to revisit my past. Even when I ease back, I don’t let her go; I just stare into her eyes and breathe in her air. The invisible tether that I’ve always felt linking the two of us together strengthens, tightening between us. “I’ll be back soon.”
“I’ll be right here, waiting.” She closes the short distance between us, delivering a heart stopping kiss of her own that I wish I didn’t have to walk away from. Our tongues curl together, and I drink her in, determined to take a part of her with me when I enter that building. This time, she’s the one to pull away. “Go. Get it over with.”
Twenty minutes later,I don’t know how to feel. I’m all worked up, and my strides to join Echo at my car are long and purposeful. She sees me coming, and even from a distance, I can see the way a deep groove forms on her forehead. On one hand, I love how she’s so attuned to me, that she recognizes something is raking its claws over me from the inside out. On the other hand, I really don’t want to tell her this because it’ll wig her out as much as it has me.
Echo scrambles from the car, meeting me in the middle of the parking lot. We stop with less than a foot between us. She’sanxious. For me. Her gaze races over my body from head to toe, and I know she’s observing the physical signs of the darkness that is pressing down on me. The rigidity with which I’m holding myself. The way I can’t quite fucking swallow past the thickness in my throat. And worst, the intermittent quaking of my body. “Beckham. I’m here. Talk to me.” She grasps me by both arms, just above the elbows, and gives me a slight shake.
My jaw locks up tight, and I pull my gaze from hers, staring at a point in the distance over her shoulder. I don’t know how to tell her that what I’ve discovered could affect all of us. When I finally drag in a rocky breath, it’s as if my lungs have forgotten what to do with the air. I work my jaw to the side before dropping my gaze back to her frantic greens. “She’s not there.”
Echo’s eyes bug out and her mouth drops open. “What do you mean?”
“The person at the desk told me Megan Redgrave was released six months ago.”
EIGHTEEN
ROYAL
Sweat pours from me,because the vicious September sun has beat down on our run like an evil asshole who likes to make people suffer. I slow my pace beside Theo as we begin the mutually-agreed-upon walk back to the Madden house. He and I had set it up in advance to meet at a spot down the road from Echo’s house and try a different route today. I tip back my water bottle, taking a huge gulp before dumping some of the ice-cold liquid over my head. It feels so fucking good, I almost groan aloud. “Well, that wasn’t too bad,” I huff out, still trying to catch my breath.
The aghast expression Theo shoots me tells me exactly what he thinks of that. “All runs are torture until October when the temperature drops a hair.”
“Come on, old man. You’ve never let a little heat mess with you before.”
“What can I say? I’m now older and wiser. I try not to do things to make myself suffer on purpose.” He slugs back some water, then gives me the hairy eyeball. “I’m slightly concerned about your mental well-being at the moment, just so you know.”
I laugh, gesturing to my dripping-wet chest. “Don’t worry, I was fucking with you. I think we can agree—that run was miserable.”
“But I came with you because it sounded like you needed it, and I hadn’t heard from you since you walked out of my bar still drunk after you found out you had a kid.” He swings his arms in front of his body, then out to the sides, over and over again as we continue to walk. “And then”—he draws out the word, staring at me through disbelieving eyes—“there was a literal double homicide at SIN Friday night. And no word about that from you. Simply an ‘I need a run ASAP.’” He huffs, “I’m glad you’re okay, but it would’ve been nice if you’d given me some idea what the ever-loving fuck was going on over there.”
“Yeah. Fuck.” I grab the back of my neck with both hands and tug. “I’m sorry. My life—it’s insanity right now. No other word for it.” I ease my arms over my head, reaching for the sky while groaning in response to the soreness in my post-run muscles. “First. Echo and I are doing pretty well. I actually thought maybe you might like to say hi, since we had you park near her house.”
He nods, and when his eyes meet mine, I see they have lit up at the idea of it. “I might like that, yeah. I haven’t seen her in forever. Not since she was a kid.” He freezes, his face falling, and I can only assume he’s realized that the last time he saw her, she was actually old enough to have a baby growing inside her. He clears his throat. “As long as you think she’d be okay with it, that is.”
“She’s actually mentioned she’d love to catch up sometime, so I suppose now’s as good a time as any. She headed out with Beckham earlier today, but I think she’s probably back by now. And, uh. Chase is likely there, too.” My baby.Ourbaby. “You know, if you’d like to set eyes on the little squirt. He’s like a mini me with Echo’s personality.”
He snorts. “Well, that’s unfortunate for him, but I’m sure his personality will more than make up for his terrible looks.”
I chuckle. “Fuck you.”
Theo’s chest rumbles with laughter. “I’m sure the kid is fucking adorable.” He grants me a wink, then his face goes all serious. “Royal, I’m honored that you trust me enough to let me meet him. You seem to be adjusting well to fatherhood.”
“We haven’t officially told him who I am yet… but”—I give him a megawatt grin—“Chase is so fuckin’ cute. A really sweet little guy. He likes to kick a ball around the yard, but he really loves it when I toss him into the air or I let him sit on my shoulders.” I pause for a second as we continue walking. “Oh, and he cracks up when I read bedtime stories to him with funny voices. And the best part is, I love doing all that stuff with him. It’s pretty great so far.” My head bobs, as if I’m agreeing with myself.
The side of his mouth quirks up. “Wow. I didn’t expect that.”
“Which? That Echo and I would be okay or that I’d respond like this to having a kid?”
“Honestly, both.” He chuckles as he plants his hands on his hips. “It’s kinda amazing to see that smile on your face. It’s been a long time coming.”
“Everything would be so fucking good if we didn’t have all this other stuff to deal with.” I throw my hands out from my sides with a massive shrug. I don’t even know how much to tell him.
“You mean the murders?” His brows furrow, but I can tell he understands there might be something more… and his curiosity is piqued.
