“If POP is hosting a gathering, then Fischer will be there.” I slowly shift my gaze to Raymond’s, holding his eyes. I ignore the outbursts around me and keep my attention on my uncle. A strange type of pain blazes up my body in a tornado of fire. Not a physical one. A mental one. Because I know my decision will have consequences.
I also know that this is what I have to do.
It’s the only way to end this.
“Fischer will be there,” Raymond confirms, not breaking eye contact.
“We need to find him.”
Raymond dips his chin, a shadow descending over his features. “We do.”
Back to the hell’s den we go.
6
BECKETT
“Idon’t like this,” Ryker rasps out, pacing. Ice-blue eyes narrow at us from beneath his gray hoodie. “I don’t fucking like this at all.”
Ellie licks her lips and fiddles with the rim of her glasses, the way she often does when she’s nervous. “I know, but I think we can all agree that this is the best course of action. We need to get Fischer on our side, and soon.”
Shortly after the meeting with Raymond, the six of us moved to a half-completed room on the far side of the hotel. Landon and Ellie chose to sit in folding chairs already there, while the rest of us remained standing.
Or in Ryker’s case…pacing.
“Does anyone else think that Raymond is a walking red flag?” Zane asks, waving his hand in the air like a little kid waiting to be called upon by a teacher. “Just me?” He lowers his arm back to his side and blinks innocently down at Ellie. “No offense, El.”
“None taken,” she says, settling back in the plastic seat with an elongated sigh.
“I mean, the man is supposed to be part of the FBI, yet he’s willing to put his niece in harm’s way just to get information,” Zane continues, echoing what we’ve all been thinking. “Not only that, but he’s had the five of us doing his dirty work for years now.”
“What do we think?” Landon drags a hand down his face, the skin around his eyes bunching. He’s unnaturally pale, and a fine sheen of sweat coats his forehead and cheeks. He needs to get to bed. He may be on the mend, but he isn’t at one hundred percent yet. The stress of the last few hours has taken its toll on him. “Do we believe Raymond is truly FBI?”
“I saw his badge,” Ryker growls out, still pacing incessantly. At this rate, his feet will wear a hole in the carpeting.
“I don’t trust him,” Dominic says blandly.
“Me neither,” Landon agrees.
“Ellie?” I turn toward the girl who has captivated me—who owns the entirety of my heart and soul. She nibbles on her lower lip, seemingly lost in thought, and I repeat her name until she finally glances up at me. Her blue eyes appear slightly unfocused behind her glasses. “What do you think?”
She doesn’t answer right away, but none of us rush her. We know she needs time to get her thoughts in order and then find a way to articulate them. I can practically see the wheels churning in that pretty little head of hers.
“I…” Her eyebrows scrunch together. “I honestly don’t know. You’re right. There’s a lot about Raymond that doesn’t add up. But is it because he’s hiding something, or is he just that desperate to take down POP?” She chews on her plump lower lip once again, and I badly want to replace her teeth with my own.
“We can’t trust anyone but each other,” Ryker rasps, flicking his gaze from face to face before settling on Ellie, as it always does. She’s his gravity, after all. The center of his world.
Our world.
“So it’s agreed, then?” Dominic forks his fingers through his platinum-blond locks. “We’ll be cautious around Raymond?”
“We need to get The Divine One’s little black book. Destroy every last member of this sick organization once and for all—with or without Raymond’s help,” Landon spits out.
“Which means we need Fischer,” Ellie concludes.
Something akin to fear—but infinitely more pronounced—surges in my chest, and my pulse misfires. The thought of Ellie returning to that hellhole…
“I’ll be with her,” Dominic reminds us, obviously sensing our mounting panic, the smoke of it seeping into our lungs, laboring our breaths. “I won’t leave her side once.”
