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“Echo?”

It takes seconds for me to realize she isn’t here.

Only a few more to realize the bomb isn’t either.

Calm down. Call her.

I pull out my phone and look down at the screen.

“Fucking kidding me!” I shout as I realize it’s dead. Fury and fear wash over me and I stomp to the bedroom to plug in the stupid device. It seems to take hours for the small screen to light up when really, it's no more than a minute.

“Come on, Echo,” I mutter to myself as I bring the phone up to my ear.

“Hi, you’ve reached Echo—”

“Fuck!”

I throw the thing as hard as I can without thinking about it. The slam against the wall is not nearly as satisfying as I would have liked.

“Calm down, Kill,” I tell myself, trying to get my bearings. “It’s probably fine. Just go over to Eternity.”

I don’t believe my own words, but if I don’t say them, I know I’m going to lose it.

Not again.

I don’t know how I get to Eternity. It isn’t until I’m pulling into the parking lot that I realize I've arrived. I look down at the clock and it’s obvious I must have been heavily speeding to get here in such a short time. Funny how autopilot can work when you’re motivated enough.

I only see two cars: one I recognize as Neil’s, the other is unfamiliar. I’m not sure if I’m relieved or not that Echo’s car isn’t here.

I feel calmer than I should when I open my trunk and grab my pistol, keeping it low as I load it. It's been a while since I did any shooting, but after spending so much time as a child learning, it feels familiar as I press the cartridges into the magazine.

I may have failed Katrina, but Iwon’tfucking fail Echo.

The door is locked, but the alarm isn’t set. I step in, closing the door carefully behind me. The lights are off and I can’t see anyone, but I know I’m not alone here. The heavy weight of the pistol in my pocket is reassuring, even if I hope to fuck I won’t have to use it.

It’s been a long time since guns and violence have been a part of my world. It's something I’d hoped never to revisit, but for her, I will.

I keep my steps slow and quiet as I move around, looking quickly behind the bar and backroom. My eyes drift to the stairs. If Neil is here, there’s no way I can get upstairs and check things out without him seeing.

Fuck!

I get to the bottom step and freeze for a moment, listening for female voices. I almost think I can hear footsteps, but in an old building like this, it’s impossible to tell.

Keeping my ears and eyes open, I check the spot we talked about, and sure enough, hidden under the stairs is the fucking bomb.

She was here.

But she didn’t leave, or at least didn’t get home.

Maybe she is still here?

Fuck it.

“Hello?” I call up the stairs.

I move up the stairs, stopping a moment later when Neil emerges at the top. He looks more together than I’d expect, considering the hour. The few times I’ve seen him this early have been when he hasn’t slept, but that doesn’t look like the case now.

My body tenses as I look at him, and it takes everything in me not to pull out my pistol right now and plant one between his eyes.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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