Page 75 of Wilder
Beckham’s head snaps toward the noise. “Oh, hell. It’s coming from the speakers.”
Wilder drops the first aid kit onto the table. His gaze darts to Davis, who shakes his head, waving him off. “Go. I’m coming, too.”
We hurry into the den in time to see the static-filled screen go black. My jaw clenches. At this point, we know who that has to be, even if we’ve never had a Sin Keeper visit anywhere other than at SIN. This is unexpected, to say the least.
“How the hell?” Echo frowns as we stop in front of the TV, staring at the screen. There’s a flicker of light in the backgroundand movement. Not one, butfivehooded figures appear, gradually drifting toward the camera. They line up and stop. Silence.
I swear there’s not a single person in this room breathing. My mind races, and I catch Beckham’s gaze, then Wilder’s, subliminally shooting them my question, hoping they pick up on it.Have they ever seen more than one Sin Keeper appear?Because I definitely haven’t.
They both jerk their heads in the negative as we wait.No, never.
Davis limps in, resting a hand on the back of the couch. “What the fuck?” he breathes out. Echo turns toward him, her posture stiff. Fear rolls off her. She’s terrified, I know it. My chest tightens, clamping down on my lungs so I can hardly breathe. I’d be lying if I said I wasn't terrified, too. I’m worried for Kara and River. But our baby is missing.Taken.And he’s got to be so fucking scared and confused. It tears my heart to shreds even thinking about it.
Under his breath, Beckham asks, “Does this mean they’re in the house? How are they doing this?” I shake my head. I have no fucking clue. It makes no sense.
Backlit, once again, we can see nothing to identify any of the hooded figures on the screen. It’s jarring when one of them steps forward and begins to speak. It’s that awful robotic-sounding voice again, courtesy of some sort of voice-changing device. “We rewrite all the wrongs…”
Another comes forward. “Have given you a place to belong.”
“You assume we’re to blame…” A slight head tilt accompanies this, then the next in line shakes their head.
“But we’re not responsible forthisgame.”
“Your tormentor has more than one face.” A nod.
And then, all together, they deliver the last part of their riddle or whatever the hell it is. “We will help you find the place.”
The screen goes back to static. “What in the actual fuck,” I growl.
Echo’s breath heaves out. “What do we do now?”
Her question is answered only a second later when a map pops up on the television.
“There’s some sort of screen sharing happening here, I think,” Davis mutters.
I step forward to get a better look. There’s a vehicle moving on a road on that motherfucking map.
Wilder cocks his head to the side, squinting. “Could be a tracker on the vehicle that has them. Or something to do with one of their phones, though that would mean someone had gotten ahold of it in advance of this.”
“Either way, holy shit.” Echo whispers. “What do we do?”
I grimace, “So… the Sin Keepers, emphasis on plural, are leading us to these fuckers?”
“Wouldn’t be the first time they’ve stepped in to help, would it?” Beckham raises his brows, eyeing both me and Wilder. He’s right. They got me out of prison. Helped Beckham learn what he needed to in order to report Megan. And, he hasn’t said as much, but I think they gave Wilder whatever was used to get rid of his dad. As for Echo and Davis, it seems like they’re part of the mess. Brought in to make sure wrongs are righted. It’s a crazy-as-fuck assumption, but I don’t think I’m too far off base.
Echo follows the path of the vehicle on the screen with her finger, frowning. “I don’t know exactly where they’re going, but we need to leave. Now. Before they get too far ahead of us.” Her eyes pinch shut, and it’s clear she’s attempting to stem the flow of tears. “Chase is going to be so scared.”
I want to wrap her in my arms and let her know it’ll all be okay, but we don’t have time for that. I exhale hard. “Okay, if the map is here, how the fuck do we do this? Someone has to stay behind.”
Davis raises a hand. “You all should go. I’ll stay here and relay directions to you.” When no one gives an immediate response, he blows out a breath. “I know you think I’m a horrible person, but this is something I can do for you. It’s my nephew and sister. Please. Let me help.”
I aim a hateful stare at him. “And why the fuck would we trust you to do anything right now?”
Echo wets her lips, giving her head a wary shake. “Because we have no choice.” She stalks over, poking her finger into Davis’s chest. “If you make me regret this, I will have plenty of volunteers to help end you. Don’t you dare fuck this up.”
THIRTY-SIX
BECKHAM
