Lost Contact (The Bridge Sequence Book One), Nathan Hystad [primary phonics books .TXT] 📗

Fred nodded, taking my cue, and he went over, pouring bourbon from a crystal decanter. I was grateful for his heavy hand as I led the pair to the balcony outside. A gas heater had already been turned on, and Bev wore a jacket, standing beside the hissing warmth.

“Okay, I know it was a jerk move, ambushing you at the grocery store,” I admitted. The water crashed against the shore, and I stared at the waves as the sun descended in the west.

“You scared the daylights out of me. Can you imagine what it was like going home to Fred? Telling him we had to leave? And the neighbors took in Roger for us, but I don’t know how long they’ll keep him.” The words poured out of her lips, and she took a drink with a shaky hand. A few drops slid off the glass and landed on the gray deck.

“Rex, this better be good. Tell us why we’re here.” Fred was far calmer than my sister, and I appreciated it. He’d be able to protect her if necessary. I could see it in his eyes.

So I went into it. I told them about the clue on Clayton’s gravestone, and my subsequent trip to Venezuela to gather the Case. Bev started to cry when I described the coordinates we found in the airport, and Fred was done with his drink by the time I explained finding Castro’s house burned to the ground in the outback.

The sun had fully set, leaving the evening air crisp and humid. The moon was large, reflecting angrily off the tumultuous ocean waves as I described the next five stops. When I got to the Believers and our showdown in the South Pole, Fred was pacing the patio, running his hands through his hair.

“Rex, you’re saying they know who we are? Why would that matter? We haven’t done anything!” His voice was loud, and even though I didn’t expect the cult to be nearby, I still pressed a finger to my lips.

“That won’t matter. I’m beginning to understand how they operate. I have something they want; they’ll use anything possible to get my attention. And that means you.” I pointed at Bev. She was all out of tears, and I saw the fighting spirit in her eyes as she watched me.

“Maybe Richard can help,” she said.

“Richard?”

“Klein. He’s been texting me. Said if I saw you, to let you know he has something you’ll want to see.” Bev pulled out her phone and passed it to me.

“I thought I said to ditch these.” I quickly turned off the location and data service. I glanced at Fred, and he shrugged.

“Left mine at home, like you said.”

I scrolled her recent texts. Richard’s name was third from the top, and I read them.

Richard – Beverly, you need to take this seriously. Rex might be in some real danger. If you see him, tell him I have something imperative to his venture. Don’t delay.

I scanned it twice and turned the phone off, tossing it over the deck toward the rocky beach. The text was from yesterday.

“Where are we going?” Beverly asked me.

“Portugal,” I said.

“Why?”

“That’s where the Bridge entrance is. We’re hoping to learn the location in this house. Hunter’s message said we’d find what we’d need here.” I glanced inside, seeing my niece and nephew had convinced Marcus to join their card game.

“Anyone want another drink?” Fred asked, and I declined. He took Bev’s glass and brought it inside with him.

Beverly appeared deflated. “I can’t bring the family to Portugal. We have school in a week, and Fred has the company…”

“We don’t have a choice, Bev. This is important, and until we can figure out a way to convince the Believers that you’re not on the playing field, it’s the only solution I could think of.”

“And how do we do that?”

“I’m working on it. We don’t even have the last Token, so I don’t know that it matters.” The weight of the last few weeks bore down on me, and I watched my sister, wondering what I’d been thinking by dragging her into this.

Beverly’s posture snapped straighter, and she grabbed my hands. “These Tokens. You didn’t say what they looked like.”

I scowled as I retrieved them from my jacket pocket. I hadn’t let them out of my sight, not for a moment. All five of them were quite heavy together, and I slid the top one off, handing her the hexagonal alien metal piece.

It slipped from her fingers, and she quickly grabbed it from the bleached boards underfoot. “You have to be kidding me. And you need six of these to make this… Case thingy work?”

“That’s what we’re after.”

She paled and turned away, heading through the doors. “Give me a minute.”

Fred stopped her, but she shook him off, rushing to the kitchen island to snatch her purse. She took a wrapped gift out of it and returned with the slow walk of someone trudging to death row. Tripp and Veronica noticed something was off, and they both rose, coming closer to Fred. I walked inside, closing the patio doors, and saw my sister was crying.

“What is it?” I asked. She didn’t speak, just handed the present to me. My name was written on a little sticker with a cartoon reindeer on it. The wrapping was quality, red and green plaid inlaid with gold flecks. Bev had added a cloth ribbon. She always had been good at this kind of thing.

“This was for you. Dad gave it to me when I was a little girl. Well, he sent it to me.”

My heart fluttered.

“You had the watch, and when Dad vanished, I was so jealous that he’d given you a reminder of him, and not me. I was his princess, but he gave you a final present. I wanted that connection to him.” Her eyes were flooded with tears, and they streamed down her cheeks. Fred was immediately there, wrapping an arm around her