That was how he’d died?

Tanner frowned. “Shit. What’d Brooke say about how he died?”

I must’ve reacted.

I shrugged, suddenly interested in my hands. They were dry. Very dry. Too dry. I needed lotion.

“Nothing, just…that he died.”

I was still looking at my hands when Tanner snorted. “Right.”

The conversation ended, and we rode in silence for another twenty minutes until Jonah said out of the blue, “She talked about you all the time.”

A shiver went down my spine.

They were talking about her as if she were dead, not somewhere else.

I tried to shake that feeling. It was wrong. She was fine. She would be fine, wherever she was.

“Really?”

“Yeah.” His head rested against his headrest, and he swallowed before adding, “She never shut up, actually. It was sweet in a way, but annoying too.” He opened his eyes enough to squint at me. “No offense. It was just that she acted like she was back at school, even up till last year.”

Tanner coughed, and whether it was intentional or not, Jonah quieted.

The brothers shared a look before Tanner glanced down, then murmured in an almost distraught tone, “It was six months ago. She changed six months ago.”

Why?

What happened?

Those questions burned in my throat, and I wanted to know all the answers. I wanted to know the adult Brooke, what she’d been like before she changed and how did she change.

“Yeah.” Jonah’s eyes closed again. “Six months ago.”

I looked between the two. What the hell had happened?

Ask them!

It was as if Brooke was yelling at me. I imagined her voice, crying out in my head.

“What happened six months ago? How did she change?”

Please don’t shut up now. Please don’t remember I’m the enemy and shut me out.

I held my breath, worried they’d do just that.

“I don’t know.” Tanner expelled a sudden rush of air. His eyes were bleak, flicking up to mine before sliding to the window. “She just changed. She seemed happy, bubbly, and then nothing. Something happened. Whatever it was, that’s why she’s gone.”

“Because she’s scared of Ka—”

“Stop!” Tanner said sharply. He glared at Jonah, controlling his voice. “Family first, Jo.”

Jonah’s eyes clasped shut a second. He raised a hand, rubbing his forehead before letting it fall to his side again. He sighed. “Yeah. Right. Yeah. My bad.” His eyes were bleak when he glanced at me. “Sorry, Riley.”

Damn.

It’d been building, and then nothing. A gate slammed down, stopping the flow.

Disappointment filled me, but I had a feeling I’d be in this car for another few hours. Another opportunity might present itself.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The stop was sudden.

We were whizzing along, and then suddenly our vehicle veered to the left, then right, and we skidded to a halt. I grabbed my armrest to keep from falling over, and after the second veer, Jonah slammed an arm over my chest, cementing me in place. The two guards were holding on themselves, but trying to watch out for Tanner and Jonah at the same time.

“What the hell?” Tanner said once we were at a complete stop, but he should’ve held his breath.

The doors flew open. The guards jumped out, guns already drawn, and they stood point for a second. Then, they put their guns back in their holsters and leaned down.

Almost speaking in unison, they said, “Mr. Bennett, please exit the vehicle.”

Jonah and Tanner shared a look, both frowning, but they got out.

I’d started to follow Jonah when the door behind me slammed shut, then locked, and the guard facing me bent down. He nodded behind me. “Not you, ma’am.”

Ma’am? Really.

“But—”

The door behind me opened again. I turned to see Kai Bennett getting inside, taking the seat Tanner had vacated.

A guard stood outside his door, but Kai motioned to him. “I’ll be fine. Go in the front.”

The door shut.

“What’s going on?”

Kai didn’t answer, but he didn’t need to. The front doors opened. The vehicle dipped down as two men got inside, and a second later, we were moving forward again.

I twisted to look behind.

Tanner and Jonah were standing on the side of the road. One vehicle remained with them, along with four guards, but the rest were following us.

Kai sighed, taking out his phone. “Change of plans.” His dark eyes came to rest on me, and I tried not to feel the weight of them. His eyebrows dipped down momentarily before they cleared and the same impassive expression came over him.

He turned his attention to his phone. “Sit back, Riley. No matter your worries, you are fine, and you will be fine.”

This guy—I wanted to yell at him, scream at him. I wanted to rail that what he was doing wasn’t “fine” and I had plenty to “worry” about.

But I didn’t.

Because I wasn’t a complete idiot.

Then—fuck it. I guess I was. “Say that to the Hider you killed,” I spat.

I looked out the window, biting down on my tongue. I’d already messed up. I shouldn’t have said that. It was like poking a bear, or a panther. A very dangerous and deadly panther.