Lou’s gaze slides back toward the Pit. “But he was holding Ivan,” he says, his voice careful, measured. “Wasn’t he?”
My stomach lurches. I feel dizzy, like I might pass out. I squeeze my eyes shut, then open them, but the car still feelslike it’s swaying. I press my hand against the door, my fingers digging into the armrest, trying to make it stop.
“Why is Fiona talking about Dean?” I breathe.
When Lou doesn’t answer, my stomach starts to sink.
“What happened?” I try again pressing my hand to my forehead. “Lou,” I whisper. “What happened?”
He swallows, “…Dean and Bear are gone.”
The words don’t make sense. “What?”
“They’re in the Pit.”
My brain slams the door on that idea. “No.”
“I don’t know what happened,” Lou says, his voice going tight, all the carefulness gone. “All I know is when people started yelling, they were both fine. And now they’re not here.”
“In the Pit?” My voice cracks on the words. “How?”
“I don’t know.”
I lunge for the door handle, my fingers fumbling with it.
“Lou—”
He hits the central lock again, a quick click, just to make sure I get the message.
“Don’t, Sisk.”
“I have to go to him.”
“Sisk.”
“They’re turning on him!”
I can see it happening through the windshield. Whistle, pacing in tight, frantic circles. Fiona and Becca, a mess of hysterical sobs and pointing fingers. Bear’s truck door hanging open, empty.Where the hell is Jax?
“He jumped in after me,” I say, my voice shaking so hard I can barely get the words out. “He saved me. He?—”
Lou’s hand shoots out, his fingers wrapping around my wrist before I can scramble over the center console. “You go out there right now,” he says, his voice low and nervous, “you’re going to make it worse.”
“They think he pushed them!”
“They don’t know what they think. They’re scared. They’re looking for someone to blame.”
I slam my fist against the window. “I need to get to him.”
I twist in my seat, searching the darkness beyond the car.
Someone shouts: “Get help!”
Fiona: “He was holding him! I saw him! I saw him!”
“Open the door,” I say.
Lou hesitates. “Sisk?—”
