I can’t tell you where I’m going or why. It’s not safe. All I can say is that everything I’ve done has been to protect everyone else. You, Cade, The Firm. I might’ve fucked up, but I’m not letting any of you pay the price for my mistakes.
You’re the brother I never had. I’m so sorry that it has to end like this.
Ansel
I look straight at Wylder. “The guards?”
There’s fury and sadness on his face as he shakes his head. “He gave them the slip a few moments ago. I’m trying to find out more.”
If it weren’t for Samson and Matthias holding me up, I don’t think I’d still be standing.
“He wentwhere?” Wylder wheels around suddenly, snapping his fingers at Harley. “The drop site feeds. Now.”
The ice that filled me earlier is turning to fire now. It’s threatening to consume me. Burn me alive. I fight it back. I’m not giving in until there’s no hope left. Until all the questions have been answered.
Starting with why Ansel went to the church associated with The Firm instead of just calling me.
Harley’s fingers are moving fast, his lips set in a tight line. When he’s located what he’s looking for, he spins the laptop to face us.
There, on the screen, is my butterfly. Ansel looks exhausted but determined as he approaches the drop site.
I grab the screen and lean in, instinctively trying to get closer to him. I brush my thumbs over his face as though I can smooth away the dark circles under his eyes. He looks crushed, like some fucker has plucked off his wings and left him to die.
When I find them, I’ll remove each of their limbs in return.
Ansel counts the bricks. Once. Twice. Three times. Then he pulls out the one we’re all so familiar with and pulls a thick packetfrom his bag. An envelope follows, finished off with a tiny scrap of paper.
I zoom in to try and read the words, but the image is too grainy. “When was this?”
“Less than five minutes ago,” Harley says.
Someone moves up close behind me.
Wylder.
“I’ve got the guards scouring for him, Cade. He left his car, so he couldn’t have gone far on foot.”
“We need to get down there.” I drop the laptop on the table. “We need to see what he left.”
“It’s on its way,” Wylder says calmly. He’s always been the best of us in an emergency. “I got the guard to retrieve it before Harley finished pulling up the feed.”
My jaw drops. No one is supposed to retrieve drops. Our staff have an inkling about what we are, but letting them approach the drop site is breaking a cardinal rule. “But…but we never let them do that.”
Wylder’s mouth is grim. “Time is of the essence. I won’t risk Ansel.”
Neo pipes up at that. “Funny, you were ready to condemn him when I came in.”
My brother dismisses him with a wave. “I can admit when I’ve made a mistake. It’s what grown-ups do.”
Neo’s chest puffs out, and I know he’s about to launch into an argument. I can’t wait for that. “Do you know anything, Neo? Where he might have gone or why?”
He deflates, shaking his head sadly. “No. He refused to tell me anything. He’s been living at his computer, hacking into something. Printing lots of shit too. If I had to guess, though…I’d assume it’s the fuckers he got tangled up with last time.”
My gut says the same. “Do you know who they are?”
Neo’s face drops. “No. I was hoping you did.”
Fuck.Why did Ansel keep us both in the dark?
