“Retrieve both brothers,” the voice commanded. “I need both of them.”
Eric turned so Lyle couldn’t see his expression. He stared out over the glittering city beneath the overcast sky. His reflection shimmered in the glass—sharp suit, firm jaw, shielded eyes.
A mask crafted to protect the truth beneath. His image blurred for a second, replaced by another. It was just a flicker. A shadow that wasn’t a shadow.
A figure where there should be none.
His brow furrowed as he tried to capture what he was seeing. Across the glass skyline, in the mirrored sheen of a high-rise window, he saw a young woman with defiant eyes.
An exotic face framed by a tangle of wild, dark curls, skin the same color as his, and striking, almond-shaped eyes that spoke of a distant land. Her face turned toward him, her arms outstretched, as if reaching through the storm.
A pulse rippled through his chest—foreign. Familiar.
Lightning flashed in the distance.
It was her—Kiki—only older.
His breath caught, and he gripped the phone in his hand. He stared harder, trying to recapture the image, but it was gone—as if it had never truly been there.
Behind him, the tablet’s glow flickered. The screen glitched for half a second, spitting static. Then returned to normal.
A low hum buzzed in the base of his skull, like a tuning fork struck off-key. Eric’s fingers twitched.
A warning.
Of a memory he wasn’t supposed to have.
He didn’t know why the vision rattled him more than Jeffries’s call—but it did.
Vague images surfaced, almost as if they had been buried. Memories of frantic whispers, desperate pleas, before an intense sorrow struck him, then—nothing. It was as if a memory had been erased yet refused to stay hidden.
Come with us,the haunting voices pleaded.
“Eric, do you understand your mission?” Jeffries asked.
He gritted his teeth before he responded.
“They won’t be easy to capture,” he said carefully, refocusing on his conversation. “Both men are well known, wealthy, with a large, trained securityforce.”
“They are assets,” Jeffries replied coldly. “You will secure them. They are key to bringing Brie home.”
The voice lowered.
A whisper laced with poison.
“Don’t you want to bring your sister home, Eric?”
Eric’s grip tightened on the phone. Pain lanced through him. His voice, when it came, was quiet.
“Yes, I’ll find them. And I’ll bring her home.”
The call ended with a soft click.
Silence rushed in, followed by a nauseating wave of residual energy—something cold and invasive, crawling beneath his skin like static.
He tossed the phone to Lyle without a word.
“Where the hell are you going?” Lyle asked, his brow furrowed.
