Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 135958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Tanner softened his tone. “Look.” He sat across from me. “We took you because you’re our best shot at finding our sister. That’s all. If you help us, you get to go back to your life. It’s as easy as that.”
I glared. “You kidnapped me. It’s not that simple.”
He snorted. “Please. You can tell the prime minister we took you and nothing would happen. You’re on the up and up with your job. You know our family can’t be touched.”
I scoffed.
He lifted an eyebrow, his smirk knowing. “Don’t underestimate my brother. That’s a fatal mistake if you do.”
I straightened, holding the glass of juice in front of me. Its coolness calmed me for some reason. “I don’t know where Brooke is. But even if I did, why would I help you find her? If Brooke went missing on her own, I’m sure she did it for a good reason.”
Like she was scared of her brothers, or one of them?
Like she didn’t want to be murdered the way her oldest brother had been, or their father?
“Brooke wasn’t in the right frame of mind when she took off,” Tanner countered. “Trust me on that.” He leaned forward, his eyes boring into mine. “You know how close I was to her. I know you do. She told me how much she talked about me to you, so remember how much I loved her back then? It’s more now.”
He leaned back just as Jonah returned. “We all love her. A lot. We’re looking out for her, for her safety.”
Jonah slowed, hearing the last of his brother’s words.
Tanner was right. I did remember how close she was to him, and how she adored Jonah, who was all grown up now.
“You were ten when Brooke left Hillcrest,” I said to Jonah. “That’d make you twenty-three now?”
“My birthday was last week. I’m twenty-four.” His answer was stiff, and he went into the kitchen.
He was a doctor at that age? That wasn’t possible.
As if reading my thoughts, Tanner grinned. “Little Jonah’s a genius. So take heed, Ray ray.” A smile spread over his face. He was taunting me. “Whatever escape plan you’re thinking of, it’s already been thought out for you and taken care of. Between Kai and Jonah, every detail has been handled. Your best bet for getting out of here is to help us find Brooke.”
I took in how assured he looked, how resigned Jonah seemed, and I remembered how they’d captured me, how they’d handled the gas station, and how everything had been calculated and planned out last night. My heart sank.
They were right.
I had to help them find Brooke.
Her image flashed in my mind—her social media pictures from the news—and I remembered holding her after Kai and his father drove away. I remembered how she’d sobbed in my arms, and I hardened inside.
Fuck. Them.
CHAPTER TWELVE
I had three ways to leave.
Find Brooke. Escape. Or put them in a situation where they needed to let me go.
As I drank my orange juice, ate my toast, had a second glass of juice and then finally a cup of coffee, I savored every taste, because if worst came to worst, a hunger strike was a last resort. But even then… I ran through the scenarios. They could put a feeding tube in me.
I winced at the thought.
I hoped it didn’t come to that. I really didn’t. Another seizure, maybe? Jonah said it was rare and didn’t think I’d suffer one again, but I could fake it? Could I do something else where they’d be forced to take me to a hospital? Maybe. That was another last resort, so escape first.
I’d have to try. They kept telling me it was pointless, but I needed to find out for myself.
And that meant I had to be in my best health, so I asked for a third piece of toast as I ate all of the fruit Tanner had given me.
I wasn’t thinking about the Hider male they’d killed. I couldn’t. I couldn’t even focus on Brooke. Escape was it for me. If I could just get out of their estate, I knew Blade would be waiting for me. He would’ve traced all the phones to this location. His tech skills were nearly unmatched. He was the best, and he was an asset the 411 Network utilized often. We’d been placed near Calgary for a reason. It was smack in the middle of the distribution line between Canada and the States.
I sat in the kitchen with Tanner and Jonah, who seemed content to sit in silence, for another hour before I started getting tired. Jonah noticed first.
“You need more rest to heal. You should sleep.”
They called the guards, who took me back to the other part of the compound. I thought they’d take me to “my” room, even though I’d only been in it for a short time, but they didn’t. They took me to Kai’s apartment.