Teddy listened for a few moments before giving a grim nod. “I knew I should have pushed back when he said he wanted to get himself out of Arcstead. He was an idiot, but he didn’t deserve that.”
“How did they know so fast?” Wren asked.
“They must have been watching the place. And it explains why this warehouse was nuked before we even got here. It wasn’t abandoned, it was purposefully destroyed. They’re a step ahead of us.”
Trace seemed to say something else before Teddy nodded and said “Watch your back, Trace” before he hung up. He ran a hand over his face, no doubt blaming himself.
“It’s not your fault,” Wren said.
“I let him go off on his own.”
“You gave him the option.”
“But I knew the risks. I manipulated him. And now he’s lying dead on a stretcher in the middle of a golf course.” He scoffed to himself. “They wanted him to be found. And they wanted us to know it, too.”
“They’re sending a message.”
“One that’s backed by money and power,” Teddy said grimly.
“What do you mean?” Wren asked.
“It was the Rollings Golf Course. Worthingham’s biggest competitor. What’s better than sending us a message to back the hell off or get punished in the same way while also driving down the business of their rivals? Killing two birds with one stone.”
“I hate that phrase,” Wren said reflexively as his mind raced along the twisted paths Teddy had seen so clearly.
Teddy gave him an apologetic smile. “Sorry.”
He seemed to look at where Wren was for the first time in that moment, worry replacing the guilt. He marched forward. “You’re too close, Little Bird. Step back.”
Wren held his ground. “I found a survivor.”
Teddy’s eyes widened. “In the machine?”
Wren nodded. “I need to get them out.”
Panic bloomed on Teddy’s face. “You can’t go in there. Avery said—”
“Teddy.”
“Wren.”
There were only rare occasions when Teddy did this. When he was so firm in his refusal of anything Wren wanted.
“What’s going on?” Saint asked, back down on the main floor.
“Our main lead is dead and there’s a snake in the machine,” Wren said without taking his eyes off Teddy’s.
“Oh, so nothing important, then. What the fuck?!”
Teddy pressed his lips flat. “Wren wants to go into the machine and get it.”
“In the death sucker? Are you crazy?”
“Probably.”
“You’re not going. I’ll do it,” Teddy said.
“You’ll get the loose, most likely poisonous snake?” Wren cocked a brow.
