Page 5 of The Echo of Forever

I shook my head when I heard my brother’s voice out in the hall. There was a loud commotion, with something hitting the wall a few times, and then…nothing.

Instead of moving to investigate, I kept my gaze pointed at the night sky.

Eventually, the door opened, and Oliver said, “Welcome back. First order of business.”

A thud followed, and I turned, tipping my head at the hog-tied man in the middle of the floor. I’d only been back in the city for less than a week after being gone for more than six months.

“Fuck you bring him here for?” I asked, rolling up my sleeves.

Oliver shrugged.

“He brought himself here. I did you a favor and tied him up…” He kicked the man. “Tell him what you told me.”

When his response was nothing but a muffled mess, Oliver kissed his teeth and leaned forward to snatch the gag out. My little brother’s ability to get flustered over the smallest shit amazed me.

“There’s a price on your head,” Mr. Hog tied blurted.

As I leaned against my desk, I stared at the man I didn’t care to have a name for. Oliver wouldn’t have tied him up if he weren’t a threat tousormyplans.

“Oh yeah? Should I give a fuck or…”

Oliver chuckled and put a bullet in his head without permission. Not that it was needed.

“I tried to tell him there’s a price on your head at least twice a year.” He whistled, and our head of security walked in and dragged the dead man out. “Did you secure what we needed?”

“I’ll invoice you the cleaning fee,” I said, eyes on the bloodstained carpet. “I did what needed to be done. First shipment comes in two weeks from now.”

“You know once you make the first move, there’s no guarantee you’ll live through it, right?”

I didn’t need to be reminded, nor would I be deterred. The Collective had something of mine, and I planned to take it back or die trying.

“You tryna talk me out of it?” I asked, lifting my gaze to meet my brother’s light brown hue.

He looked exactly like our mother, had her eyes and personality, too. She sacrificed herself for the greater good, letting them take her to protect the rest of the family. I would always blame my father; fourteen years later, and we were still dealing with the consequences of his actions.

Oliver put his hands up when our gazes met.

“Nah. But as your brother and right hand, I had to ask.”

I was tired of being questioned. He knew what fuck was at stake. Yet here we were still discussing it like I hadn’t already ventured outside of Everwood and made a name for myself.

“Don’t ask again. I mean that shit, Oliver.”

He nodded and looked down at his phone, then angled his head toward the door.

“Your sister is requesting an audience…” He smiled when another text came through. “That isn’t a request…” he added, already out in the hall. “Her words, not mine.”

My siblings acted as if they’d raised me instead of the other way around. Being the oldest didn’t matter until one or both of them needed something from me.

We left the building, eyeing our surroundings since the hit had been confirmed.

“Something out of place to you?” Oliver asked nonchalantly after pulling open the door to Solei’s building.

I shrugged, hoping whoever was watching from one of the many cars lining the street came prepared.

Because me and mine sure as fuck were.

“After being gone for damn near seven months, don’t you think you should see your sister before returning to business as usual?” Solei asked, tossing her squishy stress ball at my head after Oliver cleared a path for it. “I was worried fucking sick!”