Kai waited for me to climb in.

“My friend?” I asked softly.

“Will be fine. It’s the woman we’re figuring out. You sure you don’t know her?”

There was an edge in his voice. I gave him a more sharpened look. “What are you saying?”

“It would be beneficial if your friend told you how this woman came to help him. It would be beneficial for him…and you.”

A wall moved back in place over Kai’s face. He wasn’t letting anything show, but I’d been around him long enough to know that wall was something. When he had to make a hard decision, when he was about to do something he knew others wouldn’t like, that wall showed up.

I pressed my lips together and looked back to Blade. “I can ask him, but he won’t tell me if he thinks you’re listening.”

“I can bring him over here. You can both eat.”

“No.” I shook my head. “Let us go out there—take a walk or just step a few feet away. I can ask.”

Kai was back to studying me. “You would actually help?”

I didn’t respond. I knew if I didn’t help something I didn’t like would happen. But I didn’t want him to know that. I shrugged.

He tipped his head forward. “Fine.” He signaled with his hand and went to speak to a guard. Immediately, the others hauled Blade to his feet.

“Hey! Hey! What are you doing?”

Hearing the panic in Blade’s voice kicked me in the sternum.

They didn’t answer. They only dragged him to the door.

He twisted and struggled. “No! NO!”

Finally, he went limp like I had before. They kept dragging him until he saw I was coming too. Then he put his feet under him at least. Kai remained back, but a guard walked beside me.

Blade’s eyes found mine. They were diluted with horror.

I swallowed over another lump, feeling my heart sink. Again.

“Riley, what’s going on?”

I lied. “They want to talk to the woman.”

He shut up, and a transformation came over him. He was angry. I saw the steam rising, and wasn’t surprised when he jerked his hands free from the guards. They reached for him, but he shrugged his body away. “I’m coming,” he growled. “Okay? Can I walk out of here on my own?”

With jerking motions, he began to move.

I didn’t know why he was jerking. Poor circulation? But Blade wasn’t like that. He did yoga twice a day. Maybe I’d slept longer than I thought?

Either way, he was walking almost regularly by the time we stepped outside.

I must’ve slept longer than I thought. It was dark outside. We were surrounded by trees and a bright moon, which gave enough light to show we were on a hill. I caught sight of two farms farther down in a valley. The woods seemed to stretch on for miles. They must’ve brought us farther out than I’d realized.

Small rocks had been laid down instead of pavement, and the guards spread out around us, letting us walk down the driveway.

Blade drew near me. “What’s happening?”

“Are you okay?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Some of it’s an act.”

I got it. Make them underestimate you. It was a good act, but a little too good.

“Blade. I’m serious. Are you okay?”

He didn’t reply at first, then ducked his head. “I fought back before. They roughed me up, just enough to subdue me. Once I stopped, they did too.” He sneered at the nearest guard. “I have to say, for working for the Bennett family, they’re scarily professional.”

Yes. They were, but I’d witnessed how Kai took care of his men. He either didn’t want to worry about turnover or he actually cared about them. Or who knows. He might’ve just trusted these guys and didn’t want to burn them out.

I needed to stop giving Kai more credit than he deserved. Fucking attraction had started to blind me to what he did for a living: he was in the mafia. He was a bad guy. He did bad things.

“Yeah,” I said faintly, my stomach growling. “I’m surprised too.” I eyed him again. “You’ll be okay?”

“I’ll be fine as long as we get away or maybe get some food.” He gave me a lopsided grin. “It’s good to see you. I haven’t said so before now.”

He was right. I stopped and we hugged.

“It’s good to see you too.”

His arms still around me, he said into my ear, “The woman found me. I don’t know who she is.”

I whispered back, “What do you mean she found you?”

A shudder went through his body. He burrowed his face in my shoulder. “The broadcast went through the Network’s service. I saw he’d released the other Hiders, but killed one. A day later, she was knocking on my door saying if I wanted to go after Kai Bennett, she would help me.”

I stilled.

That didn’t— “She sought you out?”

He nodded.

She’d recruited him.

“You don’t know her?”

“No—” he began.

A bloodcurdling scream ripped through the air.

Everyone outside ran for the warehouse.

The guards got there ahead of us, and as the door opened, I could see the woman reach for one of the guard’s guns. There was more shouting, and then a gunshot.