Pax shrugs. “Maybe I don’t want to.” It’s soft, but I hear it.
“What’s your problem with Layne, Pax? What did she ever do to you?” I clench my hand over my knee to keep from punching my little brother.
“Nothingtome.” A laugh that’s a mix of irony and mania echoes through the truck cabin.
I turn my upper body toward him. “Then what the fuck is the problem?”
“Man, you’re so fucking blind. It’s a miracle you don’t need a guide dog. First she leaves you for some accountant dick, and then when she gets in trouble, she comes crawling back to you.” His eyes spit fire as he says it.
“That’s not how it happened.”
“According to whom? You were devastated when she left last time, Ky, and now? Where did she go this time? Why wasn’t shein your apartment? Why did she drive through that gate in that truck? Well?” His face is dangerously close to mine, and I have to resist the urge to punch him again.
“You have no idea what we discussed back then. Why Layne left. Why she was with Connor. No idea,” I spit at him. “And this time, I know exactly what her plan was. It was a stupid plan, but I know what she was going to do, and it wasn’t leaving me behind.”
It's kind of a lie, but at the same time it isn’t. She’d asked me to follow her. She wanted to build a life with me.
“I’m glad you two talked it out. But all I saw was my brother in pain, walking around like a zombie.” He pushes himself back until he’s sitting against the doorframe.
“Good. Then you know exactly what I saw when Violet…” I clench my jaw.
Pax throws open his door and gets out. The door slams shut with a bang. I clearly crossed a line, but dammit.
“Ky,” I hear Ash say over the walkie-talkie, and I grab the device. “We’re behind a second container, and I swear we hear thumping.”
“Wait,” my father barks. “Don’t you dare, Brooks. Wait. Before you blow up the entire operation.”
“We’re entering the compound,” I reply. "Wait for us."
“Watch your back,” my father barks again.
I get out of the truck and walk over to Pax. “We gotta go now. Brooks and Ash found something.”
Without saying a word, my brother follows me to the entrance of the port.
Thirty-One
Ashiverrunsthroughme as the doors of the container behind Norah, Bel, and me slam shut. We’re enveloped in complete darkness. The only sounds come from the other women’s breathing and their soft sobs. Shit.
Shit, shit, shit.
If they move us, we’ll never be found.
Rebel.
I bang my fist against the door. I need to get out of here. A tear rolls down my cheek.
Kyler.
Rebel.
There must be a way out? Why…Fuck. An engine starts and I drop on my ass before the truck we’re loaded into starts movingand I fall on top of another woman. Norah and Bel follow my example, and the latter is shivering against me.
Brooks.
I need to tell him about Jen.
Brandon.
