Echoes by Marissa Lete (best books for students to read txt) 📕

them is the silver-haired lady, and in the other is a guy, his hands cuffed behind his back like mine and his head down, a gag tied around his mouth. This room, like the rest of the building, is strangely quiet, and completely devoid of echoes.

The woman smiles as I walk in, a pinched, almost creepy expression, then gestures to the empty chair.

“Please, have a seat,” she says. I don’t move, looking between her, the guy, and Dave, who’s closed the door behind us and is moving toward the woman. He stops a few feet to her left, folding his arms and tilting his chin up like he’s some kind of bodyguard. Except, even if he were to switch out his jeans and polo for a suit and tie, he wouldn’t look very threatening. He’s too thin, his features too washed out to be scary.

After a few seconds pass, the woman purses her lips. “I guess I should explain something to you. You can do this willingly, or you can do it unwillingly. But I promise that you’re going to do it.” Her voice is silvery, but her words slice like knives. This is probably not someone I want to mess with, so reluctantly, I take two steps and sit down on the edge of the seat. The woman nods, pleased I’ve made the right decision.

“Thank you. Now. We’ve got some things to discuss here, don’t we? Dave, go ahead and let him talk to us,” she says, a smile playing on her lips like this is all some kind of game to her. Dave walks up behind the guy in the other chair and loosens the gag around his mouth. He lets out a breath, his head still hanging down.

“Let her go,” he says, voice low and taut. All at once, I remember all of the echoes I’d been hearing, and I realize that the guy sitting on the other side of the table isn’t just some random guy. It’s Maverick. Or at least, he has the same voice as the Maverick I’d heard in the echoes. I still don’t know what to think.

The woman pulls something out of her pocket and tosses it onto the table. It skids toward Maverick and stops a few feet from him. He looks up, and for the first time, I get a good look at his face. Thick, almost black eyebrows, the same color as his shaggy hair. Amber eyes. They flick over to me, meeting mine for a split second before focusing back on the woman. Does he know me? Does he remember the things I don’t? “The key’s right there,” she says—as if it’s that easy.

“Why are you doing this?” he asks, glaring at her.

“I’m glad you asked,” she says, but glad isn’t exactly the word I’d use to describe her expression. Maybe amused is a better fit. She lifts her hand, pointing a remote at the wall across from me. A section of the wall opens up, revealing a massive black screen behind it. It flashes on, displaying a still shot of a news reporter standing in front of a small townhouse. “There’s something I want you to see.” She clicks a button on the remote, and the image comes to life.

“Police have found a possible lead on the case of Eddie Davis from Shorewick, who went missing a couple of weeks ago,” the reporter says, and a picture of a young boy, maybe in his early teens, flashes across the screen. “An anonymous witness has come forward, saying that they saw someone entering Davis’s house from the front window around three in the morning the night he was reported missing. They saw the person exit holding a large object, then leave in a black 2018 Chevrolet Suburban. The witness wasn’t able to get a license plate number, but this report brings us one step closer to finding answers for Davis’s family, who are devastated by his disappearance. Anyone who may have any information about this possible kidnapping should contact the Shorewick Police Department immediately.”

The screen goes black and I watch as the silver-haired woman glares across the table at Maverick, who won’t meet her eyes. The black Suburban from the news story must have been the same one that chased me, meaning that this woman must be responsible for the boy’s kidnapping. And now mine.

“Now, you might see how this could be a problem,” the woman finally says. She pauses, waiting for some kind of reply, but none comes. Then she sighs. Purses her lips. “I didn’t want it to come down to this, but you’ve given me no other choice.”

“You blame me for that, is that what this is about?” Maverick finally speaks, his voice calm but his eyes angry.

The woman slaps both of her hands on the table, hard, making me jump in surprise. “You should have been more careful,” she snarls.

“You shouldn’t be doing this,” Maverick fires back, and a chill runs down my spine. He might have the same voice as the boy in the echoes, but this angry, cold tone is not the same as the kind, flirty one I’d gotten used to hearing. It’s darker. Scarier.

The woman takes a deep breath before she speaks. “You, of all people, should know the good in my work.”

Maverick drops his head, his jaw twitching.

“It seems like lately, you’ve forgotten that. So I’ve brought someone along as a sort of… insurance. That your priorities are in the right place.” The woman glances over at me, smiling as if she’s proud of herself. I look over at Maverick, desperately trying to understand what’s going on, but he just stares at the table, unmoving.

“I don’t know what you’re hoping for me to accomplish,” he finally says.

“I want you to make it go away,” she says the last four words through her teeth, and I watch her hand on the