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No. No, no, no, no, no….
“What…no…this…I can’t…” I didn’t even know what I was trying to say, sentences unable to form in my mind, the room tilting around me.
“Kasha, what’s wrong?” Nolan’s voice sounded dull and lifeless, barely making it through the anxious haze racking through my body and mind.
I finally made it to the last page, my grip barely strong enough to hold onto the folder. I looked up at him, his bright green eyes full of distress, pleading for answers—both to if I was alright and what in this file was making me panic.
But that was the problem, it wasn’t what was in the file.
It was what was missing from it.
I didn’t even think; all I could do was run out of Nolan’s office, the Faction File still gripped in my hand, his shouts of concern following me down the hall as I raced out of the building.
Chapter Eighteen
Somehow, I made it out of the office building without tripping down the stairs, the cool fall air biting my cheeks as I rushed across the circle and down the path back toward the townhouses. I opened my mind to the Hierarchy, finally able to let out a breath when I connected to all of their presences on Compound.
“I need to talk to all of you, now!”I yelled within the privacy of our minds.“Tay and Lucas, can we meet at your place?”
“Sure,”Lucas was the first to answer.“We’re just cleaning up after training this morning.”
“Kas, what’s wrong?”Emric asked.
“There’s too much to explain. Just meet at Taylor and Lucas’s.”I cut everyone off, not ready to face an onslaught of questions before we were all face-to-face. I couldn’t explain this quickly, and they needed to see the file or else they wouldn’t believe me.
The door to Taylor and Lucas’s house was already wide open, Lucas sitting at their dining table with a cup of coffee, Taylor emerging from the kitchen a moment later with Emric on his heels. Taylor immediately pulled a chair out for me, my body falling limply into it without a word. I clutched the file to my chest, my gut twisting so quickly I felt sick.
How was I going to tell everyone the truth?
Beckett, Liv, Greyson, and Eden all arrived within minutes, eyes wild and bodies tense with concern. The other seconds weren’t here, but truth be told, this didn’t concern them; Colton and Milly had only been in their posts for ten months, their promotions happening just before I was hospitalized. Emric was also down a second, his last one transferring with Logan to Dalchus. Emric had been so concerned with my return that he had procrastinated promoting one of the Dairchtas.
The silence was thick with tension, unsaid questions written all over everyone’s faces. All eyes were on me, but no one spoke or moved an inch. They were waiting for me to open up, to give them the reason I had called them in a blind panic.
I released the folder, placing it on the table in front of me. “The High Faction redacted almost everything that happened over the past year.”
I could’ve given a lengthy explanation, but I didn’t have the energy. So, I said the words, plain and simple, hoping that was all anyone needed.
Of course, it absolutely wasn’t.
“What in the God’s name are you talking about?” Emric was the first to bellow, his tawny skin mottling with bright red dots, wire-rimmed glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose.
“How could they have redacted everything?” Liv shook her head, leaning into Beckett, who had his arm around her shoulder. “That’s impossible. After everything we did, they couldn’t have redacted it.”
“But they did.” I opened the folder, spreading out the handful of reports and papers inside. “This is all Nolan was given. It’s mostly filled with some statistics, training reports, and different budgets. But when it comes to our personal dossiers, almost everything was taken out.” I handed out everyone’s personnel file, most of them still silently gaping at me with disbelief. “The only part that was mentioned was my…the hospitalization and the sign-off from my physicians and the High Faction that I could return to active duty. They didn’t even mention the reason why I was in the hospital for so long.”
“That’s it?” Liv asked.
I nodded. “Yes.”
“But what about…” Beckett bit his lip, his fangs peeking out. “What about what happened last year? The investigation?”
Tears pricked the edge of my eyes, one rolling down my flushed cheek. “All removed.”
“But…but…” Taylor’s file sat in front of him, his elbows braced on the table, his fingers scratching at his scalp. “No, this…why would they even do this?”
I wiped away the tears, trying to pull myself together, focusing on the facts in front of me. The High Faction had done this on purpose, and although they might try to claim that they’d redacted all of this information for our benefit, I knew that was a lie.
“I have no idea,” I shook my head, looking around the room at my friends. “I have guesses. I’m sure the investigation was removed by Cole. The last thing he needs are rumors spreading about Logan.”
