My heart damn near flatlined at the sight a second time.
When Brax’s eyes finally shot open, thanks to Bella jamming a foul-smelling stick under his nose from the first aid kit open beside her, the first thing he rasped were those three words.
They ring out in my head again.
Brodie took Erin.
Just like that, the world stopped.
Brax pushes to his feet, still unbalanced. Bella curses at him to sit down, but he ignores her, grabbing his phone and dialing immediately. Bella’s pale face tells me she’s terrified. Hell, she’sprobably replaying whatever she walked in on when she came to check on him like she said she would.
I walk over to his laptop, Laurel’s thumb drive already plugged in. The screen wakes up with a tap.
Rudy leans in beside me with curious eyes and a held breath.
The first image loads. It’s a blurry shot of Hidden Access. There’s a door behind the bar that’s half cracked open, purple light spilling out.
I click to the next image—a narrow staircase.
And then the next—rows of miniature nonalcoholic bottles, the same ones you see on planes, but these are filled with white powder, each stamped with the same symbol we found on the drugs that were in the bag Laurel stashed.
“Drugs,” Rudy whispers. “The Octopus.”
My pulse hammers.
Another click—Brodie’s grin, wide and cold, appears on the screen. He looks like a predator that’s just caught his prey. Plastic-wrapped bricks of powder glare back at me with the same symbol stamped on it that’s haunted me for months.
Bella’s breath hitches, the sound ragged. Her fingers tremble as they press to her lips, but the panic in her eyes is worse than anything she could ever say.
“What the hell is this?” She looks between us, worried. “Why are there drugs under the club? What are these symbols? Who the hell is The Octopus?”
“Bella,” Rudy says carefully.
“No, seriously,” she cries. “Someone tell me what I’m looking at. What has Brodie gotten himself into? Why did he take Erin?” Her breaths come fast and shallow now, panic rising like a tide. “Is he gonna hurt her?”
I say nothing because I don’t know what to say.
Bella stands and staggers back, a hand over her mouth. “No, no, no.”
I slam the laptop shut and stand. I’ve seen enough.
Bella spins and hits my chest, fists pounding in a frantic rhythm.
“Why didn’t she tell me? Why didn’t you?” she screams.
“Bella,” I say, not blocking her blows. “I’m sorry.”
“No!” Her voice breaks, her fist striking harder. “No more apologies! No more lies! Give me the truth!”
So, I do. I break down all the information we know and spend the next few minutes filling her in.
“She’s my sister. She could be dead! I didn’t know anything. I didn’t know Brodie was… I didn’t know he was capable of this!”
Brax steps between us, giving her a look that tells her to settle down. “Bells.”
“She’s my sister,” Bella chokes out. “I can’t lose her, too.”
Empathy flickers in Brax’s gaze. “I know. I’ll bring her back to you. I swear.”
