Page 93 of Desecrated Saints
“Anything?” Hudson prompts, hands braced on his knees.
“Just static,” Theo confirms. “We’re running a malware program to take their systems down, but they’ve prepared for us. I can’t skip over the code before it rewrites itself.”
The sounds of increasing shouts and another explosion of fiery glass reach us. Looks like Incendia more than has its hands full. Our plan should be working, but we’re still not hearing a damn thing and the clock is ticking. They’re beyond late.
“Fuck this,” I decide. “I’m going in.”
Hudson grabs my arm. “Not a chance.”
“Take your hand off me before I break it. Our family is inside that hell hole. Either come with me or stay here, but I’m going in.”
Fisting his wild hair, Hudson looks ready to knock me out with his bare hands. I’m prepared to leave him behind when there’s a low hissing from our earpieces, followed by the sound of laughter. Unlike Bancroft’s pompous drone, the voice is rough and gravelly, like an abused throat after too much screaming.
“Who is this?” I ask shakily.
The rasping chuckle ceases, leaving uneasy silence.
“Where is Phoenix?”
My eyes connect with Eli’s wide, emerald orbs. He’s clutching the penknife in his white-knuckled grip, waiting for the same thing we both want to hear.
“Where is he?!” I repeat.
Heavy breathing. No words.
“Who the fuck are you?”
There’s a sharp slapping sound of a fist meeting flesh, followed by yelping. It’s light and feminine, beneath the tinge of pain. Far-off shouting filters through the earpiece, still punctuated by the silent, anticipatory breathing of the attacker.
Something wraps around my throat and squeezes. A tendril of sickness, the weight of family history sinking deep into my bones. I can’t escape this drowning pool of blood. It’s pulling me down… deeper and deeper.
“Mum?” I whisper softly. “Is that you?”
“Brooke…” Hudson mutters.
I wave him off, my breath still held.
Please don’t be real.
You’re dead.
My whole life hasn’t been a lie.
“Come,” the dead voice whispers.
There’s a crunch as the line goes dead, like the earpiece has been crushed. My question hangs in the air, unanswered. With the iron grip on my lungs refusing to abate, I’m left staring at Hudson’s face.
“Are you with me or without me?”
His eyes harden with determination. “Always with you.”
I turn to look at Kade and Eli. “With me?”
Nodding, Eli pockets his penknife and quickly stands. His lips mouth the silent words with you. Kade ditches his laptop and joins us outside the van, leaving Theo to continue beating his keyboard into submission.
“Let’s go get our boy,” he declares.
Theo snatches two guns from the weapons box and slides them across the van’s floor without looking up from his laptop.