Page 133 of Remnants
I freeze, my chest growing tight.
No…
“Maybe that’s a bit presumptuous of me, expecting you to careabout one of your precious members,” he goes on, and the silence at the table is deafening.
“Who?” Aiden asks, his voice tight.
“You don’t know?” The asshole feigns surprise and concern, thentsks. “In your own home, too. Didn’t you realize you’re not the only one with invisible allies?”
Jackson and I stand in unison, our chairs screeching back. A breeze sweeps through the room, and the scattered origami animals Jack leaves everywhere fly on it like invisible detectors. I instantly move to Raegan’s side, helping her out of her seat and putting her behind me.
“Dane, take my hand,” she says, reaching for him. He accepts it and stands beside her while I press a hand against her hip behind me.
We watch the paper animals sailing through the Loft, waiting to see if one of them will bump into something midair.
Aiden grabs the phone as Charles continues to talk. “Or,were, I should say.”
“Harvey,” Raegan gasps behind me.
“Loft’s clear,” Jackson reports after checking the other rooms.
“Dane,” Aiden commands after tapping his phone to mute it.
Dane nods, rushing to his computer and pulling up the cameras we’d installed in Harvey’s locked down apartment. Raegan follows him, moving her hand to his shoulder so she keeps contact with him and I do the same with her at her back. The apartment appears on the screen. Everything looks normal at first, and then the feed flips. I grip Raegan’s hip when I feel her body tremble.
There’s blood all over the living room as if there’d been a struggle. It’s sprayed on one wall, then a bloody trail on the carpet leads to the kitchen. And a pool of blood.
But no body.
“Where is he?” Aiden demands.
“Dead, as all traitors should be, don’t you agree? Harvey lied to me. He shared Royce’s location after daring to eavesdrop on me. I gave him the opportunity to prove to me he could be trusted with that information; of course, I knew he and my other son were in the room. I’ve been around invisible gifted enough times to spot the signs. I prepared Royce just in case, and unfortunately, I was right not to trust him. Now, he’ll be handed over to Royce for a second chance at redemption.”
He pauses, but we’re all too stunned to say anything. “Let this be a warning, Guild Master, of what I’m capable of. You’d do well to reconsider my offer before I lose my patience.”
A television screen mounted to the wall in Aiden’s office displays twenty-one boxes of different views and angles of the beach house from the area around it to various rooms on the first floor.
“When was the last time you saw Royce?” Aiden asks Dane.
“Just before I made lunch. The old geezer went upstairs to take a nap.”
Which means we’ve lost any eyes on him. The stairs creak louderthan a haunted house in winter. Aiden and the others hadn’t been able to place any cameras up there.
“So, we’re killing him in his sleep?” Reid inquires, his tone flat. As soon as Charles hung up, Aiden called Reid to tell him about Harvey, had us get ready for a fight, and we gathered in his office.
Jackson shrugs, flipping a throwing star between his knuckles. “I’ll do it.”
“What about the others?” Aiden prompts, his gaze glued to the screen.
Dane crosses his arms, his own stare skipping between the different camera angles. “Holt left on an errand just before we came down here. He’s usually not gone long whenever he does leave. The portal girl—”
“Bea,” Reid supplies as a reminder, and Dane nods in acknowledgment.
“She left this morning and hasn’t been back since. A portal appeared for Holt outside when he left, but it vanished as soon as he walked through it.”
“After Royce, she’s our biggest problem.” Aiden turns around to face us. “She can bring in other agents at will, shifting the numbers against us. Or she could disappear and force us to take time hunting her down. If you see her, take her out as quickly as possible.”
“I’ll do a fast sweep of the house and everyone’s positions when we arrive,” Reid offers. “If she’s there somewhere, I’ll fight her. Our gifts are similar, so it’ll be better if it’s me.”
