Page 39 of Echo, the Sniper (Men of PSI #2)

With Friends Like You

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A T THE END OF THE RANCH house’s only hallway was an open door, with weak golden light cutting through the gloom, like that of a small bedside lamp.

Light? That was a surprise.

Warily I approached the door, hearing the low hiss of voices as I approached.

Aha.

Clearly, Edward was awake and feeling chatty.

How nice.

“...swear, I am the last person who would even think of harming Aurora Grant,” Edward the hairless Wookie babbled out through shallow breaths.

When I rounded the doorway I realized why he was on the verge of hyperventilation.

Echo sat on his chest, knees on either side him so that Edward’s giant body was effectively trapped by the heavy winter bedclothes.

A ridiculous chrome Dirty-Harry type gun was in Echo’s hands, the muzzle no more than a few inches from Edward’s face.

“She’s a sweetheart, an actual friend of ours. Josiah and I would never —”

“Security footage shows you trashing her Bentley,” Echo gritted out through clenched teeth, and he’d never sounded so menacing.

“You terrorized her, Edward. That sweetheart . That friend . Then you had Josiah break in and set fire to her home, trapping her in her own fucking bedroom so that your friend and sweetheart had to jump out a goddamn window just to save herself from being burned alive.”

“Oh my God, no .” Edward gasped in such disbelief and horror that something in me paused, uncertain. He sounded so... genuine. I knew Edward had hidden his homosexuality his entire adult life, which was quite the sad commentary, but it did prove that he was a good actor.

Yet...

Was he really that good of an actor?

“You have to believe me, I would never harm a hair on her head. Aurora—sh-she had it bad being married to Dane. Or at least I think she did. Josiah said he spotted bruises on her arms and face beneath her makeup that—”

“We’re not talking about Aurora, asshole. We’re talking about why you trashed her car and scared the fucking shit out of her.” Echo leaned forward, and the muzzle hit between Edward’s beady eyes. “ Talk .”

“I-I swear to God, I didn’t mean to s-scare her. I’d never want to do that to her, she’s such a good person. But you have to understand, I needed... I needed—”

“You needed what, Edward?” Keeping one ear open for any telltale movement in the kitchen, I leaned a shoulder against the open doorway and watched the eyes of both men snap to me. I glanced at Echo. “And where in the world did you get that ridiculous gun?”

“From under this asshole’s pillow. Would you believe the safety on this fully loaded hand cannon was off ? He could’ve shot himself or his partner in the head with nothing more than a body twitch.”

“Oh, uh, I-I wasn’t sure whether the safety was on or off,” Edward cut in, the words tumbling from him so fast I at last understood the meaning behind the term diarrhea of the mouth .

“I suppose that’s kind of laughable, but I’m a businessman, not an outdoorsy kind of guy. I’ve never really been around guns so—”

“No one cares.” Echo’s snarl was so vicious I couldn’t help but stifle a shiver. “The lady asked you a question.”

“Uh, question?”

I couldn’t help but shake my head, more at myself than anything.

I was such an idiot. I’d built Edward and Josiah up in my mind as these desperate, on-the-lam desperados who’d be as dangerous as a couple of cornered wolverines with rabies once we caught up to them.

Instead, they were what they’d always been—spoiled, pampered, upper-crust guys who didn’t even know how to do their own dirty work.

“You said you needed something from me. What was it?”

For just a moment Edward closed his eyes, and again I had to wonder if the shamefaced look was an act, or something more.

“You have to understand, Aurora, I was desperate. I’d just been convicted and all my assets were seized.

I was flat-broke, so the possibility of going on the run.

.. Come to find out, you need money for that.

Lots of it. You can understand that, right? ”

I crossed my arms. “I can understand that none of that has anything to do with me.”

“Not with you, no. But I knew Dane had moved a ton of money offshore before things went bad. A ton of money. Like, the kind Scrooge McDuck swims in. The kind that makes the lottery look like chump change.”

“Or the kind that could fund a life of luxury in a country with no extradition treaty with the US?” Echo drawled cuttingly.

“Well...” Edward couldn’t seem to stop cringing. “Yes.”

I sighed. “Again, I don’t understand how that has anything to do with me , or my father’s Bentley.”

“Dane told me... he’d hidden the information of this account in something his wife owned, but it was always on the move so it would never be something that anyone would accidentally stumble over.

You see?” He looked up at Echo, then at me, panting so loudly it wouldn’t have surprised me if he passed out.

“Do you get it now? I wasn’t terrorizing you, Aurora, I swear.

I was just trying to find that account information, and I figured it was in your car. ”

“I had my pocket picked shortly after you totaled my dad’s car,” I said after a moment, because what he’d said made no sense. “Were you behind that, or was that just more of my crappy bad luck?”

Edward bit his lower lip, and for a moment he looked like a giant baby about to cry. “I-I hired someone to snag your wallet. I’m sorry, Aurora, but I figured Dane may have given you information on the account without you knowing about it.”

“So you scared the shit out of her even more.” The rage in Echo’s tone was borderline volcanic, and he seemed to be on the verge of pistol-whipping the man he sat on. “You tried to make her your victim like the scum you are.”

“I swear, I just wanted the account information, that’s all. I mean, it’s not like Dane needed it anymore. But I do, Aurora.” Desperately Edward’s gaze bounced from Echo to me. “Both Josiah and I need that money to get away.”

“To get away,” I repeated slowly, before pushing away from the doorframe to saunter into the room. “You mean you want to escape the consequences of your actions.”

Again Edward squeezed his eyes shut, the shame all but pouring off him. “Yes. All right? Yes . You happy? I admit it, I’m trying to get the fuck out of the country so I don’t have to do any time behind bars. But I would never hurt you .”

Unbelievable. This entitled dick had no clue that everything he’d done had hurt me.

“So who set fire to her home?” Echo asked, his voice so vicious it took all I had not to glance at him in alarm. “Who poured gasoline right outside her fucking bedroom door and lit a match? Who did that, Edward?”

“ I swear, I don’t know !” Edward almost screamed it, his ragged breaths becoming dry sobs that made me pity him just a little. “It wasn’t me and it wasn’t Josiah—”

“It looks like Josiah. Same height and body shape, anyway.” I shrugged, keeping a tight rein on my swirling emotions.

Echo knew what he was doing when it came to interrogating people, whereas I was a squishy marshmallow.

Begging him to ease up on Edward now would only prove to Echo that I was what he said I was— stupid .

A spasm of pain rippled through my chest and hardened my expression.

“Convince me, Edward. Convince me it wasn’t you or Josiah that tried to kill me with fire, and maybe I’ll ask my friend to not blow your head off.

” Then I glanced at Echo. “What kind of damage would that cannon do at this close range?”

“Oh, there wouldn’t be anything left. You’ve seen a watermelon explode in slow motion, right? That’s what it would look like.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Yuck.”

Edward began to cry.

Again Echo leaned forward. “Find the words, Edward. Convince us that you didn’t set Aurora Grant’s house on fire.”

“What would be the point of killing you?” Edward hiccupped through his panting breaths, his eyes wild.

“Think about it. Dane told me he’d moved the bulk of his money into an offshore account and put all the information into something that belonged to his wife.

Why would I want Aurora dead when she might hold the key to me getting my hands on that account?

For that matter, why would I burn down a house when that vital information might still be in there somewhere?

I never would. I need Aurora alive so that I can get my hands on all that information. ”

“You mean, get your hands on all of Dane’s and my money,” I corrected, but it was absent because I was busy running this new twist through my head.

As much as I didn’t want to admit it, what Edward said made sense.

One quick glance at Echo told me he was convinced as well, so I nodded and retreated toward the doorway.

“I don’t know why you believed you were ever entitled to that money when you absolutely were not, Edward.

I’ll tell you what, though, if I ever uncover that offshore account, I’ve decided I’m going to take it for myself.

Because you and Josiah were right—I did have it bad being married to that monster.

Be thankful you’ll never know how bad. Dane might not be around to pay for every bruise he made or every tear he made me cry, but his money is.

Thanks for the tip.” With that, I pulled the roll of tape from my arm and tossed it to Echo.

“I’ll be in the kitchen keeping Josiah company. ”

Edward’s eyes went wide and his face turned an ugly shade of crimson. “Wait—”

“Shut up.” The last thing I saw before heading back down the hallway was Echo slapping tape over Edward’s mouth.