The woman’s back arched, and she crumbled to the floor.

No matter what Kai said, I knew there wasn’t a blood bag for this one. The woman was dead. Blood poured out of her forehead.

I stopped in my tracks, staring at her lifeless body before lifting my head.

Kai stood over her, the gun in his hand. He was the one who’d shot her.

Then the door slammed shut in front of me.

I didn’t comprehend anything after that, not right away.

Blade did. He grabbed my arm and whisper-shouted in my ear, “LET’S GO!”

They’d left us alone.

I couldn’t think about it.

I turned. Blade had started to run, and I took off after him.

They would find us. Kai had promised that. I had no doubt he would, but Blade needed to escape. I didn’t trust Kai with Blade’s life. I didn’t know if I trusted him with mine, but it didn’t matter right now.

We ran.

I was breaking my promise, but I didn’t care. Kai had broken his too.

My heart was in my chest, but as I took flight behind my 411 operative partner, I shed the woman I’d become just being near Kai Bennett.

Each step I took away made things clearer. I was returning to that 411 operative Kai knew I was. My steps grew quicker, more assured, steadier, and the emotion drained from me.

I became calmer the farther away I got, and then everything clicked back into place.

My mission was to get free.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

We could hear them yelling.

We were already over a ridge and down another small hill, out of their sight, by the time they realized their mistake.

But it wasn’t soon enough.

That thought plagued me. Not soon enough. Not for Kai. Not for the way he had everything planned and calculated ahead of time. It didn’t make sense, but I pushed forward. I had to.

Blade and I sprinted past trees, their branches whipping against us. He stumbled once, but rolled right back to his feet. Our Hider training came back to us. Regulate your breathing. Don’t overexert yourself. Keep your head up to see the best. Shoulders in a comfortable position. I pumped my arms when I grew weaker. Push off your heels. Roll through your toes in a circular motion. Envision your feet as if they’re wheels. Keep going.

Just.

Keep.

Going.

We ran. It started drizzling, and we ran through that too.

We kept going downhill. There were two farms. We should’ve been close by now.

But that thought still bothered me. Kai had messed up, big time. But he didn’t make mistakes.

If that were true, then he’d wanted us to run.

Right?

The other option was to stay, unless it’d been a test. I’d failed if that was it.

But no. That was a mind fuck. If you’re given a chance at freedom, you take it. That was a golden rule for humanity.

“There!” Blade shouted, pointing ahead at a light.

It was one of the farms. Veering toward it, we paused just before breaking from the tree line. A large red barn loomed in front of us, the paint fading and stripped off. A large fence circled out for livestock, but there were no animals. The fence was broken in more than one place, and the grass grew tall. It hadn’t been mowed for a long time. There was a small cabin structure behind the barn, but the door was half gone. A side of the house had fallen in on itself. No one lived here, hadn’t for a long time.

“There might be shelter.”

Blade started forward.

I caught his arm. “No.”

“Come on.” He motioned to it. “I know it’s not ideal, but we need a break from the rain. At least for a little while.”

I shook my head. “No, Blade. It’s not right. Something doesn’t feel right.”

“What are you talking about?” He raked a hand over his face, wiping some of the rain away. It didn’t matter. More fell down from the tree above us. “I need a break. Five minutes, then we push off again.”

He started forward, and that’s when I saw the camera. It was positioned at the top of the barn, angled at us.

Right at us.

Oh shit.

A bad feeling sank in my stomach.

I saw the second camera just as Blade stepped from the tree line.

And the first camera moved with him.

They were watching us. That’s why they were late in chasing us.

Oh my God.

He kept going, and that camera kept tracking him. The second was moving around, scanning up and down the trees. It was looking for me.

“Blade,” I called out. “Do not stop. Do not look back at me.”

His shoulders tensed, but he did as I said.

“They’re watching us. There’s a camera on you.”

“Go,” he yelled back.

I shook my head, though he couldn’t see. “I can’t.”

“Go, Riley!” He kept walking forward. “Go! I mean it. Find Carol. She’ll help.”

But I couldn’t. My stomach clenched in a tight knot, but I knew I wasn’t leaving him. Blade had a better chance with me as a captive than me free. The Bennetts had no loyalty to him. At least Tanner and Jonah cared about me. I had to trust that, trust that Brooke loved her brothers for a reason.

“I can’t go.”

I gritted my teeth…