44. Echo
ECHO
I sat across from Eliel, waiting for him to get the point of this after-hours meeting. His office felt different tonight, less hostile. Maybe it was the late hour, or maybe it was the fact that this time, he’d reached out to me first. Either way, I could tell he’d decided to get with the program.
“Here’s all the information on the job I assigned Forever a year ago that resulted in her accident,” he said, sliding a folder across his desk.
“The contract request was anonymous, but stamped by the former high priest as top priority. I submitted a request for the anonymous party’s name and was approved this morning. ”
I didn’t reach for it immediately, making him wait as I held his gaze. His jaw tightened, just slightly, but enough for me to notice. Eventually, I took the folder, opened it, and scanned the contents. The two names staring back at me, my mother’s alias and another I hadn’t expected at all.
Amal Samuels.
A photo was paper-clipped to the page of my ma, but I couldn’t be sure how long ago it’d been taken, just that it had to be after she left us behind. But it was the detail about Amal that really stood out. He was her son and almost ten years older than me.
This information hadn’t been in the file that landed on Forever’s desk after the ritual, the one that came directly from Lucien.
What the fuck was up with that?
“What are you saying?” I queried, wanting to make sure I had the details correct.
“It was her son who wanted her dead.”
I continued flipping through the pages, letting none of my surprise register on my face as I processed what this meant. The pieces were shifting again, rearranging themselves in my mind. My mother’s lies ran deeper than I’d imagined, and she still hadn’t shown face.
“You should know your wife asked for this contract when it was presented, and I obliged,” Eliel continued, a hint of pride creeping into his voice. “My daughter is an immaculate killer, better than any I’ve seen in my time.”
That was jarring, coming from a father who only ever berated and put his hands on her over the years. It felt calculated, like everything else about this meeting.
I looked up from the file, meeting his eyes directly.
“Is this all you got?” I asked. “If so, it isn’t enough to get on my good side.”
A small smile played at the corners of his mouth as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a brass coin, bigger than a quarter but smaller than a half dollar.
He slid it across the desk with two fingers.
“There’s a private day auction happening tomorrow afternoon,” he explained. “Only those with a token can enter. The location is written on the last page in that file.”
I stared but didn’t reach for it. Instead, I waited, forcing him to fill the silence, to reveal more of his hand. This was a dance, and I wasn’t about to miss a step. Not when he wouldn’t leave here alive.
“My wife and I had a long talk this morning,” he finally said, leaning back in his desk chair. “I admit to knowing about Forever’s dissociative amnesia. And yes, I buried what Quinn did to her all those years ago.”
His nonchalance irritated me, the way he talked about my wife like she wasn’t bigger than his program. Like her life didn’t mean shit to him one way or another as long as he had a little bit of power in his grasp.
“Most of the older society members know Solomon Fairchild is deep into the skin trade,” he continued, as if imparting great wisdom.
“But look at the place we call home. And think about if there’s anything you can really do but resist and continue to do so when the next person decides they can take his place. ”
I didn’t give a fuck about Eliel’s attempt to give me advice. He was stalling, trying to position himself as some kind of ally or mentor. As if I hadn’t seen through him from the start.
“That token is the key to your first move against the trade,” he said, nodding toward the brass piece still sitting on the desk between us. “How you set the tone with it is all on you now, son.”
Son.
This man wasn’t my family and never would be.
I chuckled and stood, sliding the token off the table. I rolled it through my fingers, considering its value. Then, without much thought, I reached for my gun and pointed it directly at his forehead.
The triumphant expression on his face evaporated instantly, replaced by something between disbelief and fear. The realization that he’d miscalculated was just beginning to register in his eyes.
“Still not enough,” I said. “But this’ll do.”
I pulled the trigger, and the sound echoed in the confined space. Eliel’s head snapped back, a spray of blood misting the air behind him. His body slumped; I tucked my gun away, picked up the file, and slid it into my jacket as I moved toward the door and flicked the lights off.
The truth was, no matter what Eliel had done to get on my good side, the result would’ve been the same.
His death had been decided the moment I saw Forever’s lip at the charity gala.
But waiting to kill him had borne fruit.
This token was an open door into an operation I’d been itching to take down.
I stepped out of the Fairfield Building and stretched my arms, looking directly into a camera above my head and smiling. Killing Eliel hadn’t brought true satisfaction, but it was enough to get the blood flowing.
Oliver was behind the wheel of the black sedan parked at the curb, with Finnegan visible in the passenger seat. I slid into the back without a word, my mind already moving to the next piece on the board.
Oliver pulled away from the curb, his eyes finding mine in the rearview mirror. “All good?”
“Yeah…” I reached for my phone and checked Forever’s location out of pure instinct, a habit I’d developed since getting her back. The blue dot on my screen made me frown. “Fuck is she doing over there?” I mumbled, more to myself than to either man in the front seat.
I zoomed in on the map, making sure I wasn’t misreading her location. My wife was deep in territory I’d rather she not be in, at a bar listed on Amal’s profile.
“Let’s head to The Vault,” I said, tucking my phone away. “It’s a bar right between Fairchild territory and the dead zone.”
Oliver’s eyes found mine in the mirror again; he was waiting for me to break down my meeting with Eliel, already knowing the man was dead.
“There’s a private, smaller auction tomorrow afternoon,” I said, deciding to start with the most relevant piece of information.
“Before I put a bullet in his head, he gave me this.” I pulled out the brass token, holding it up so it caught the passing street lights. “Apparently, it’s our only way in.”
I tucked the token away and continued, “He also gave me the file from Forever’s last job before she lost her memories.
” I paused, letting the next part settle in my mind before saying it aloud.
“Turns out we have a brother. He’s almost ten years older than me, and the reason there was a hit out on ma’s alias. ”
Oliver didn’t physically react, but I knew he was thinking long and hard about that new piece of information.
“That’s some convenient timing,” he finally said. “The Collective knows we’re Aurelia’s children, just that she isn’t Soleme, right?”
I nodded, but pushed that tidbit to the side. It didn’t matter anymore who knew what and who didn’t.
“Nothing about Amal was in the file Lucien sent Forever after the ritual,” I told him, getting down to the real issue here.
“So the high priest is hiding shit. What does that mean for us?”
I shrugged, knowing all I gave a fuck about was Forever.
“Not sure yet.”
We rode in silence for a few minutes before Oliver spoke again.
“That’s cool and all, but why the fuck we headed to a bar?” he asked, turning onto a less populated street that would take us directly to The Vault. “I could be with my girl.”
Finnegan, who had been silent since I entered the car, turned to look back at me with a knowing smirk.
“Cause his wife is there with mine,” he said, filling in the blanks. “And according to my baby, we should really see what they’re seeing.”
Oliver pulled up behind Forever’s car, parked at the end of the block from The Vault. I immediately noted the line stretching from the entrance. Security wasn’t letting anyone in, but they were all waiting.
“Back of the line,” the bouncer said as we approached, barely looking up from his phone.
I glanced at Oliver, a silent communication passing between us. Without having to say a word, he pulled his gun and pistol-whipped the man three times until he dropped to his knees, blood streaming from his temple.
“Fuck yo line, nigga,” Oliver said, ignoring the screams and commotion as people scrambled away from us.
We stepped around the fallen bouncer and pushed through the heavy door into the club. The bass hit me first, vibrating through my chest as we entered. The place was packed, bodies pressed together on the dance floor while others clustered around the bar or in elevated seating areas.
Finn tapped my shoulder and pointed upward. Following his gesture, I spotted Violet leaning against a railing on the second level, surveying the crowd below. Her eyes met ours, and she nodded toward a stairwell to our right.
We made our way through the crowd, ignoring the stares and whispers that followed us. People moved out of our way instinctively, creating a path that led us where we needed to be.
As we climbed to the second level, my eyes immediately found Forever. She was standing near the railing, engaged in conversation with Lucia, Kai, and someone else—someone whose back was to me.
Forever noticed me first, and she started moving toward me with an eyebrow raised. But for the first time since we’d reconnected, my attention wasn’t solely on my wife.
It was on the man who had turned to face me, whose features mirrored aspects of my own in a way that could only mean one thing. Our eyes met, and a flash of recognition passed in his eyes before he schooled it.
He’d been waiting for this moment, I realized.
Waiting for me.
“This family affair feels strategic, no?” Amal asked, his gaze moving between me and Oliver, who was watching him closely.
“You two should know our mother has been dead for over a year. I’m the one who sent her shit to you in the mail…
” His gaze shifted from me to Forever, then back to Oliver.
“She isn’t fighting to bring Everwood together with that sick ass nigga she shared a womb with.
However, her last wish was to bring all of us together…
” He looked around again, his brow furrowing slightly. “Where’s Solei?”
The question and the revelation that our mother was dead hung in the air for a beat before it was answered by the unmistakable crack of gunfire. One shot, then another, then a rapid succession that sent people screaming and diving for cover.
My hand was already reaching for Forever as more shots rang and then stopped abruptly. It was clear they’d come from outside, but through the chaos, I caught Amal’s eyes and noticed he hadn’t moved from his spot.
Kill that, nigga.
It was my last thought before I fired two shots in his direction, only for my fucking wife to push my hand just enough for me to miss him.
“You protecting him?” I asked, barely able to see through the rage building inside of me.
She looked me dead in my eyes, her pretty lips pulled into a deep frown.
“No, baby…” She shook her head and smoothly took my gun, turning it on Amal again. “I just want you to hear him out before taking the only answers any of us will get…” My eyes were on her, but she was looking at him. “Save your life and tell him what you told me.”