“Have this.” They walked over to Wren and thrust the glass into his hand, along with the pills. “It’s good for you. You can also join in on our morning yoga sessions to re-center yourself.”
“Thank you,” Wren said, actually taking the juice. He didn’t reach for the pills though. “I’ll pass on those. I promise I’m not sick or contagious in any way.”
Echo blinked at him before shrinking away, double dosing on their vitamins as they went.
Wren lifted the glass, taking a sip under the watchful eyes of Teddy’s entire team. He swallowed a mouthful and then went for a second one.
“This is really nice. Thank you,” he said to Echo, who looked as if they’d seen a ghost. Nobody liked their juices. They tasted foul, and while all of them forced them down to avoid upsettingEcho, seeing someone actually look like they enjoyed them was strange.
Wren had always been unique.
“Psycho.” Heir shook his head, his own glass still full. Heir despised the juices more than anyone else. And he was quite a baby about drinking them, too.
Teddy squashed down the immediate urge to snap back at him with something more cutting, reminding himself that this wasn’t directed at Wren, it was just how Heir talked.
“Okay,” Saint said, “back to the matter at hand. The case.”
“Right,” Teddy said. “Wren came here because he has some new info for us. And we need a plan for how to follow our last lead. All of you can help with that, actually. Eerie especially.”
“Me? Are we…terminating someone?”
“Termi—we’re not killing anyone, Eerie, for fuck’s sake.” Teddy ran his fingers through his hair.
“Pity,” Eerie said, but he leaned back, linking his fingers on his thighs in a universal sign that he was listening.
“What’s the new info?” Saint asked.
Wren pulled his phone out, tapping on it a few times before handing it to Teddy. He took it, suppressing a shiver at the brush of their fingers, and looked down at the screen.
Chills rushed through his body and he felt his stomach turn at what he was seeing. Cage upon cage upon cage, stacked and pushed against each other. Filled with every animal imaginable. Filthy and clearly malnourished.
Trace leaned over his shoulder and growled low in his throat at the sight.
“Shit,” Teddy said, passing the phone to Saint, whose usually calm and serene look turned murderous.
“I say we rethink Eerie’s plan,” he said through gritted teeth, knuckles turning white where he gripped the phone.
Heir, Eerie, and Echo gathered around Saint, looking down at the phone, and Teddy watched their reactions as they took in the photo Wren had given them.
“I have connections,” Eerie said simply. Teddy didn’t miss the look he sent Trace’s way as he said that.
“We might need them,” Wren said and Teddy realized he should most likely keep those two away from each other. He realized they were polar opposites but on the same spectrum. Where Eerie was willing to do anything because he didn’t care, Wren was willing to do anything because he cared too much.
Them having a shared goal could be catastrophic.
“Where did you get that?” Teddy asked, trying to bring their attention back to the matter at hand.
“An unknown number sent it to me,” Wren said.
Trace hummed next to them. “An unknown number? It could be a trap. A ploy.”
“It could be.”
“You don’t think it is?” Teddy asked.
Wren shrugged. “This same person sent us vital info in several past cases.”
Teddy’s eyes went wide. “Is this…?”
