Page 87 of Wilder
Wilder grimaces. “By that you mean no dirty cops?”
“Correct,” Officer Minnick nods with a careful smile. “Wouldn’t do much good to send in the bad seeds.”
“I’m sorry. I’m gonna be sick.” Savannah leaps up from her seat, spins around and heaves into a trash can near the door.One of the unnamed Sin Keepers goes to her, offering tissues and a bottle of water. Savannah takes a minute to calm herself, then as she comes back to her seat, she glances at us. “I was sexually assaulted after one of those poker games my senior year of high school.”
“I was there, too,” Ireland states, pulling no punches. “We waited for the place to clear of the rich fuckers that night. Fortunately, the asshole who raped her came out last. Sounds like a damn good thing I did what I did and we got away from there, or we’d have ended up like those other girls.” For a moment, she seems sad, but then her lips curve, and she lets out a snort. “Now, I totally don’t regret killing that motherfucker.” She folds her arms across her chest, shooting us a bold look. “I guess since we know your shit it’s okay if you know ours, too. I took off one of my heels and jammed the pointy end into his temple. We hid him.” She jerks a quick thumb toward the officers. “That’s when these two made sure we didn’t get caught. Apparently, we suck at the part about getting rid of the body.”
Savannah sniffles, leaning her head against Ireland’s shoulder.
My mind is officially blown.
She locks eyes with me. “By the way, we received a card that informed us it was our job to make sure not an ounce of that drink at the party passed your lips. Good thing we got that right, huh?”
I blink, overwhelmed by the kind, though sassy, smile she’s shooting at me. “Thank you.” I swallow hard. “I really mean that.” The idea that I could have died that night… never to see Chase, Royal, Beckham, and Wilder ever again flashes before my eyes. She shrugs like it’s no big deal, but I bite my lip, tears brimming in my eyes. “No really.Thankyou.”
Savannah lets loose a sigh. “We want you to know we were only acting bitchy toward you because most of our tasks weredesigned to make you miserable so you wouldn’t stay at TZE. I think Cassie was going to kill us. Poor thing, she doesn’t have a clue what was really going on.” Her gaze flicks to Professor Silverton. “But it was all to get her away from Freya, right?”
“Yes. That’s correct.”
There’s so much spinning around in my head right now I can hardly digest any of it. But now I have to know. I have to ask. I let go of Royal and Beckham, lifting my hands in front of me to set them on the table, but they’re shaking.
“Echo,” Professor Silverton gently asks, “are you okay?”
“I just—” I stop to rub my hands over my face. “Who killed my parents?”
She looks over her shoulder at Katrina, who presses her lips together. “A couple of the girls who we helped to escape from the nightmare they’d been thrown into… they somehow discovered your parents were instrumental in how they’d wound up in the hands of a sex trafficking ring. We believe they murdered them because of it.”
My heart feels like it’s being crushed. My parents were not good people. But?—
From behind me, Wilder quietly asks, “And the fact that Freya had photos from the crime scene?” His hands gently squeeze my shoulders.
“We were tracking the girls after we helped them to escape. We didn’t know what they intended until it was already done. Brent’s breach of my files is the reason why everything we have is now encrypted. Unfortunately, he must have read through my notes to understand what he had in his possession, then gave physical copies to Freya to taunt you with.”
“Jesus. Everything was connected. Fucking insanity,” Royal grits out, running a hand over his face.
Beckham eyes me. “Royal mentioned earlier that he was ready to be done with this meeting or mindfuck or whatever youintended it to be.” He clasps my hand. “I’m sure you’ll appreciate it when we say we take care of our own. And these two have been through enough for today.”
“Certainly.” After giving a quick bob of her head, Professor Silverton’s gaze meets each of ours in turn. “The reason we brought you in is because we wanted you to have answers. We also keep our eyes peeled for anyone we think would be a good fit within this organization. You have been selected to join us, if you so choose. Or if you can elect to walk away, that’s okay, too. You’re released from SIN. The choice is yours.”
The soundof Chase’s laughter is good for my soul. His eyes shine in the sunlight, and his smile spreads wide as Royal and Beckham take turns pushing him in the toddler swing. We’d asked our little guy what he wanted to do this morning after breakfast, so surprise, surprise, here we are at the park. I’m loving every second of it, though. My heart flutters in my chest. I don’t quite know how to handle the feeling of finally being at peace. I’m so happy I could burst.
Last night, before we left, the Sin Keepers had assured us there was no need for further worry. I trust them when they say Brian won’t be speaking out about Mr. Emory’s death, nor will Megan ever see the light of day again. And Brent? That fucker will be going down for Freya and Zane’s deaths, among about a million other things.
Smith? I just kinda feel sorry for him. He lost his girlfriend and now his twin. His involvement was minimal, and I can onlyimagine the pressure he felt from Brent and Brian. He’s faced too much loss. I hope he can find a way to be happy.
Katrina was very specific with Royal that he should think about Davis and decide what to do. I honestly don’t know what he’ll choose. Davis is my brother, but he made some horrific choices. I won’t blame Royal for any decision he makes.
Wilder stretches his arm out behind me on the back of the bench, and I scoot closer, tucking myself into his side, letting the comforting scent of him surround me. Tracing theletterson his Superman logo T-shirt, I tip my face up to his. “Do you think Savannah and Ireland knew they were part of the SIN house all along?”
One brow raises, and I feel the chuckle rumbling up from his chest before it erupts from him. He tilts his head, considering. “I’d imagine so. They sure as fuck had me fooled into thinking they were the meanest of the mean girls.”
“Is your ego bruised that Ireland demanded to be your cage girl so she could keep an eye on me and not because she was interested in you?”
He throws his head back, another laugh escaping. “Nah. Either way, I only had eyes for you.”
There’s a squeal from the swings, and Chase’s little toddler voice rings out. “No, Daddy! No, Becky! No tickle me! I hab Widah’s pancakes in my belly!”
I cover my mouth, my chest heaving with amusement. “I hope he doesn’t throw up. He’s not very good at warning about that.”
