CHAPTER 49
The deputyoutside Room 318 straightened when he saw Wyatt coming.
He glanced at Kori. “Are you Kori?”
Kori nodded. “I am.”
“She’s been asking for you.”
“She has?” Kori froze. “For me specifically?”
“By name.” He shifted his weight. “Been asking since about six this morning.”
Kori looked at Wyatt. He looked equally as surprised.
“Has anyone else come to see her?” Wyatt asked.
The deputy shook his head. “No.”
Wyatt nodded. “We have clearance to speak with her.”
“I heard.” The deputy nodded and stepped aside. “I’ll be out here if you need anything.”
Kori pushed open the door.
The room was dim, the blinds angled against the early light. The woman in the bed was awake, propped against the pillows with her hands folded over the blanket.
She looked better than she had in the woods. Her face now had color, and the wild fear was gone from her eyes.
She watched them come in but didn’t speak.
Kori stopped near the foot of the bed, and Wyatt stood slightly behind her. Thunder settled without being told, his presence quiet and steady.
“Thanks for seeing us,” Kori started. “It means a lot. We know you’ve been through an ordeal.”
The woman stayed quiet, and Kori wondered if this would be a repeat of yesterday.
Then the woman drew a slow breath. In a small, thin voice she said, “My name is Wren.”
Kori’s breath caught. “Hi, Wren.”
“There’s something I need to tell you.” Wren’s eyes stayed on hers, steady and serious. “The Remnant is out there, and they’ll kill anyone who stands in the way of their plans. You have to stop them.”
Wyatt stood at the edge of the room and let the words settle. The Remnant?
That was the first he’d heard that name.
He stepped closer. “What is The Remnant?”
Wren shifted against her pillows, seeming to measure how much to divulge. Finally, she said, “The Remnant is a group of people who believe the government has gone too far. They want to build their own off-grid community somewhere remote enough that no one can reach them. They don’t recognize law enforcement’s authority, and they don’t intend to follow anyone’s laws but their own.”
He and Kori exchanged a glance.
That fit with what they knew about Bartholomew. He probably hated the government after they’d taken away his land.
“How did you end up with them?” Kori asked.
Something moved across Wren’s face. Not shame, exactly. More like regret.
