Page 135 of Abundance of Obsession

Epilogue

Theo

“We’re screwed.” Ryker sighs and slumps back in his chair. He tilts his head back.

He closes his eyes for a moment. His nostrils flare. His knuckles turn white as he clenches his hands into fists.

Now that Eli is no longer officially a general, I’m the closest person to Ryker. The only other person he trusts.

What happened is tightening the noose around our necks. We’re running low on air.

I rest my ankle on my knee, lean my elbows on the back of the chair, and interlace my fingers.

“We have two options,” I say after a moment’s thought. “We’ll accept Aisling’s spy into our ranks. I don’t even have the words to describe it. An overt mole? And let’s not forget what the Pact itself will say once they find out. We’ll lose what little credibility we have left in the blink of an eye. Without their support, we won’t win any war against Veirix.”

Ryker stares at me. He’s analyzing me. And he knows just how much this will weaken us.

“And the second option?”

I shrug. “We’ll accept Aisling’s spy into our ranks. And then we’ll kill him.”

A mad smile appears on his face. It’s a perfect match for my own.

Because there’s no way we’re backing down. Eli and Zoe would pay the price for that.

And Zoe has already lost so much…

I don’t know how to get it out of my head. What she has been through…

Zoe is strong. And she has Eli. She’s one of us now. And we protect our own.

“Sometimes, I think you’re the most fucked up of the three of us,” Ryker says.

I don’t stop grinning. Nor do I correct his suspicions.

I’m worse than the two of you put together…

Ryker’s phone vibrates on the counter. He picks it up, puts it on speaker, though he furrows his brow as he does so.

“Yes?”

“Hello, brother…”

Silence.

Neither of us is breathing.

Ryker stares at the phone with laser-like focus. I get the impression that a strange spark is flashing through his eyes.

“Aisling…”

One word. That’s all he can say; his voice is trembling.

Finally, after how long? Twenty years? He’s hearing his sister’s voice live for the first time.

“I’d like to say it’s nice to hear from you, but that’s not true.” She makes no secret of her feelings not being mutual. The very way she speaks is proof of that.

I can see what her words are doing to Ryker. It’s a dagger straight to the heart, as if until this moment, he’d been holding onto the faint hope that it was all just a terrible nightmare.