Page 28 of Forget me Knot
We exchange a nod and I pull my phone out to text my younger brother. He is twenty and still lives at home, but he is an early riser and works in private security. He will know just what we have to do to keep this place safe. “I’ll see you in about an hour?”
“Yeah, and thanks, Sam. Sorry about being a dick just now.”
“Only just now?” I joke but wave it off. I get it. More than he thinks I do.
I make my way back to the packhouse, my mind buzzing with thoughts about Emily and how dire her situation is. The Omega Trials are no joke. They’re brutal, and the thought of anyone going through that makes my blood boil.
“Hey,” Max says, greeting me by the door with a cup of coffee as I push it open, making me jump out of my skin.
“Hey,” I snap. “What are you doing up?”
“Couldn’t sleep,” he murmurs. “You?”
“Jack needs my help with something,” I reply vaguely.
“Where is he?”
“Over at Lily’s.”
I watch with curiosity as Max freezes, the coffee mug halfway to his lips. “Oh,” he croaks.
“Mm-hm.”
Max commendably composes himself as if nothing jarred him, but I saw it, and I’m wildly curious. I didn’t even know that Max knew Lily. “Well, I won’t keep you,” he says and turns on his heel to walk away quickly over the old stone floor of the entryway back to the kitchen.
“Okay, then. What are you hiding?”
But I realise time is ticking on, and I don’t have the seconds to waste trying to figure out Mr Enigma. I make my way to the garage and dig around for the leftover security shit from when we moved in here a couple of years ago. We bought way too much but never returned it, seeing as none of us could be arsed packing it all back up again.
I haul out the dusty box marked SECURITY SUPPLIES and rummage through it: cameras, motion sensors, and even some reinforced locks—good.
Max is nowhere to be found as I make my way back through the farmhouse, so I leave him to it. I chuck the box into the back seat of my car and check my phone. George has texted back to say he will meet me at Forget Me Knot.
As I drive, my thoughts wander back to Emily. The poor thing must be terrified. But that doesn’t explain why Jack’s so invested in her well-being. Something more has to be going on here, and I aim to find out.
When I get back to the flower shop, George is already there, leaning against his car with a cigarette dangling from his lips. He straightens up when he sees me, flicking the cigarette away and stomping it out with his boot.
“Long time no see, bro,” he says with a grin, though his eyes are serious.
“Yeah, well, shit’s been busy.” I nod towards the box in the back seat. “Got the stuff?”
George opens his boot to reveal even more gear – top-of-the-line security cameras, motion detectors, and enough cabling to wire the whole place up like Fort Knox. “Thought you might need some extra.”
“Cheers.” We start unloading the equipment in silence, but there’s a question burning in my mind that I can’t hold back any longer.
Jack is waiting for us by the front door and opens it up to let us inside.
We get all the gear in and look around, I can tell George is curious about this job, but it’s not my place to tell him and I know he won’t pry. The fewer people who know, the better.
Jack and I show George around the place, pointing out potential vulnerabilities.
“Okay, let’s set up the cameras here, here, and here,” George says, pointing to key spots around the perimeter. “Motion sensors along these entrances, too. Reinforced locks. Intercom on the front. Razor wire on the back. Shouldn’t take more than an hour or two.”
As he gets to work, I notice Emily watching with a curious expression, her eyes on George from her hiding place behind thewall that leads to the back room. He looks up and smiles at her before getting back to work. She flinches and withdraws further, but doesn’t leave. She can’t take her eyes off my younger brother.
Interesting.
I notice that Jack has seen it as well, and the wheels are turning in his head, even though there is a really grim expression on his face. What is he thinking? Whatever it is, it doesn’t look good.
