That whole shit show this morning in the yard, well… I feel for Royal. More now than ever. Hearing that his foster family abandoned the idea of adopting him at the same time they left him to handle the trial and subsequent imprisonment on his own? It’d made my heart ache for the boy who’d obviously fucked up but had also been punished rather harshly for it. He’d had no one on his side.
Until us.
I’m sure as fuck not going to let him down—or anyone else I care about, for that matter. I will set aside my own issues and take care of these people or fucking die trying.
Another round of questioning is not what we need to be dealing with right now, though. There’s already been crazy shit happening over at TZE that the police department is watching. We’ve stopped giving them any more info about anything Echo-related, but now that there’s a link from TZE to SIN, it makes everything we do and say trickier. Whoever the asshat is that’s been threatening us—because I do assume it’s all linked now—specifically told us not to speak to the cops. Which is fuckin’ fine by me for obvious reasons, but here we are, trapped into doing so by the circumstance of finding Freya and Zane last night.
Not our fault. And it’s not like we can ignore a direct request, so—rock, meet fucking hard place.
Better to focus on all that, though, than the way staring death in the face again had made me feel. My stomach gurgles uncomfortably. It’s too fucking quiet in this truck. “Someone say something before my head explodes.”
Beckham side-eyes me from the passenger seat, shrugging. “My head detonated sometime last night, so I don’t know how much help I’m going to be to you.”
“You experienced my morning already,” Royal grunts out. “Sorry, I’ll just be a sec. Texting Theo to see if he’s available later for a run.”
I catch his eye in the mirror’s reflection and nod. “That’d probably do you some good. Maybe he’ll have some advice on how to deal with”—frustrated, I lift a hand, then slam my palm down on the wheel—“well, any of this bullshit we’re dealing with.”
Beckham glances into the back seat. “Does he know anything about what’s happened…? Was the night you drank yourself silly at his bar the last time you talked to him?”
Distracted, Royal mumbles, “Yeah. Just haven’t had a minute to even think.” He shoves his phone into his pocket. “I was a little fucked up over it.”
I turn my head for a second and spot his hand reaching for Echo’s, gently squeezing, before I return my focus to the road.
Her heavy sigh is audible, as is her whispered, “I’m sorry.”
“I told you once today already. You’re not to blame for everything. Your parents threatened you. And if I ever find out who the fuck was interfering with our relationship, I will put them six feet under.”
“Royal,” Echo scoffs, but he cuts her off.
“What? I fuckin’ will. Watch me. Whoever it was took from me and from you and from Chase. And if anyone thinks I won’t seek vengeance for that, they’d be fuckin’ wrong.”
Beckham moans. “So says the man as we pull onto the street where the police station is located.” He turns around. “Just kidding, man. I’ll fucking hold them down while you take care of business.”
“Jesus,” I groan out, eyeing the approaching precinct.
There’s a beat of silence, before Echo blurts, “Wait. The Theo you were talking about—is this the Theo I know? Volunteer cross-country coach Theo?”
“Yeah. You know we always got along… he stayed in the area and ended up opening a bar right here in town. Ever since I ran into him when I got to KU, he’s been sorta like… I dunno. At first he was someone who knew me well enough that I could open up to him, but he wasn’t so close to the situation or the people involved in the accident that he judged me. And he didn’t look down on me, knowing where I’d spent the last several years. Anyway, I desperately needed an ear when I went to his bar that night after I first saw?—”
“Chase. Because you were fucked-up over it.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Shit. I should have found my lady balls and showed up at that prison and demanded they let me see you.” She huffs out a watery-sounding breath before continuing. “Well, maybe sometime I could say hi to Theo. I haven’t seen him since way before I got pregnant, but I also wouldn’t want to interfere with your bromance or whatever.”
Did she really just say that?I stifle an amused groan as my eyes flick to look at her and Royal in the rearview mirror. His brow arches as he gives her a look that I read asReally, Echo?A rosy flush creeps from Echo’s chest all the way up to her cheeks, her lips forming a quick O. She hurriedly waves her hands. “Not like that. You know what I meant.”
Beside me, Beckham covers his mouth, trying desperately not to laugh.
She smacks at his shoulder from the back seat. “Oh, come on,” she chokes out right before the giggles erupt from her.
I chuckle. “We all needed that. Okay. What else have you got? We’ve technically got another five minutes before we need to go into the station.”
Echo sits forward, holding onto the back of Beckham’s seat. “I mean, I have thoughts if you’re interested in hearing them. My brain wouldn’t shut off last night for anything, and I don’t think it had anything to do with the coffee I consumed.”
Beckham turns, grinning at her, his bright-blue eyes locked on hers. “Out with it, then. What’s been roaring through that gorgeous head of yours?”
She takes a deep breath. “Okay, so there’s one thing that gives me hope that this whole thing last night had nothing to do with us.”
