They’d said it before, but I hadn’t let it sink in. I hadn’t believed them. But this… I remembered when she’d called me.

  “Can you believe this?! It’s like it’s meant to be, you know?” she’d squealed over the phone.

  “She was so excited,” I said, feeling their gazes on me. But I didn’t look up. “She’s getting married next weekend, and she thought it was perfect timing—that she’d won the tickets.”

  “And Bresko’s?” Kai asked.

  I looked at him. “She told me …” I trailed off, trying to remember the exact wording.

  “Bresko’s? Seriously? That weird club?” I’d asked her.

  “It’s not weird,” she’d countered. “It’s exclusive, and yes. From time to time some of the players go there. I got it on good authority that a bunch will be there. Bram wants to go. You know how much he loves hockey.” She’d laughed. “Don’t worry about it. I have that VIP package, remember? Gotta use it while I have it. Don’t know when that’ll come around again.”

  I told them what she’d said.

  “Who’s Bram?” Tanner asked.

  “That’s her fiancé. That’s his name.” I began feeling a different sort of dread slither through me. “Please don’t do anything to my sister. I couldn’t…” I felt an ice pick being shoved through my chest. I turned to Jonah. “Not my sister. Not her.”

  She couldn’t go through what I had.

  Jonah reached out his hand.

  “She’s supposed to get married next weekend,” I whispered. “Please.”

  The voice from the phone spoke up, “They don’t need to do anything. We can hack her phone. The correspondence will be there, most likely.”

  Jonah gave me a nod, and I closed my eyes. I couldn’t handle it if they took her.

  “When will you know?” Kai asked, moving closer to the phone.

  “Give us an hour to be thorough.”

  “Okay.”

  Tanner ended the call on speaker, and Kai pulled out his own phone and put it to his ear. “You were listening?” he said. “I want a team dispatched to observe the sister.”

  “No!” I started for him, but Jonah caught my hand. He pulled me back.

  Kai ignored me. “Just observe her for now.” He ended the call, and those cold eyes turned my way. “We have no plans to harm your sister, but she was used to get you here. We need to find out who orchestrated that.”

  My heart beat so hard.

  Jonah wrapped his arm around me, pulling me to his chest. “If someone made sure Carson was there, how could they have known I’d be there? I was the one who recognized her.”

  Tanner and Kai both noted the way Jonah held me close, but I didn’t care. I sagged against him, feeling safe.

  They shared a look before Kai responded. “We don’t think they did. We think whoever did this was assuming Tanner would be there and would recognize her.”

  Jonah’s arm pressed a little harder around me, but it felt good. Secure.

  “But he wouldn’t have,” Kai added. “She’d already been identified by security. It wouldn’t have mattered if you or Tanner were there. She was green-lit the second she entered the building.”

  My chest felt tight. What did that mean?

  “We were watching her, waiting to see what she would do. You and Tanner just got to her before we made a decision.”

  “So you already knew?” Jonah said.

  “I was notified that an employee from the morgue was spotted in one of our nightclubs. It’s not the first time. We own a lot of clubs, but it wasn’t until your call that I realized you were involved. I wasn’t lying to you, Jonah.”

  Jonah’s arm grew even tighter. “You could’ve shared that,” he said harshly. “You could’ve—”

  “For what reason?” Kai shot back. “We have no idea why she was there. We still don’t. We’re getting the information, and when we do, we’ll figure it out. It’s been a goddamn day. You’re not in this family business, or are you forgetting? We had a conversation. You chose to stay out. I’m respecting your wishes.”

  His eyes traveled over me, over us, and lingered on Jonah’s arm. “Twenty-four hours ago, you were barely restraining yourself from wanting her dead. Now look at you. How was I supposed to know your feelings would change so quickly?”

  Jonah’s entire body locked up tight behind me. “You told me she was interested in me. You said to use that, to study her—”

  Now I froze.

  What?

  He knew?

  A ball of fire ignited inside of me, low, and it was growing fast.

  He was using me?

  Kai was still watching me, waiting to see how Jonah’s words affected me. “Your feelings have changed. You’re invested.”

  I felt a growl working up through Jonah’s chest, but it didn’t matter. Jonah didn’t like hearing that, and that told me everything.

  I stepped away from him, ignoring the sudden quiet that came over the room.

  There was a window, and though it was dark outside, I went to look through it.

  I could see the lights in the trees. The guards. After that, it was just darkness.

  I’d never had a hope of getting free. I saw it now. It was all hopeless.

  “Cars—”

  I spoke over Jonah, still turned toward the window, my back to them. “Who are you people?” I hadn’t wanted to think about it before, but I had to know. Jonah wasn’t an ally.

  It was just me, me alone. I needed to know who I was dealing with.

  “I’m a forensic technician,” I continued. “I’m a lab person. I do the tests, run the samples. I do the grunt work sometimes. I enjoy it. I like the science. I hate the death part, but I like everything else. It gives me purpose, but I was only one of the techies that worked on her.”

  I’d been enamored with Jonah from the beginning. They saw how I reacted to him.

  “For me to be here, they had to have seen the security feeds. It only makes sense. That’s the only indication of…” It was a bitter lump to swallow. “…how I was attracted to Jonah from the start. I told him about the ring, and the only people in the room were me, him, and Tanner.” I shook my head. “Tanner couldn’t have heard what I said. But the security camera would’ve. It was directly above us.”

  They would’ve needed that footage. They’d used it to identify me, identify my sister, get me here. But why?

  I turned, looking at Kai. “Why? Why this weekend?”

  He didn’t speak.

  “They know we’re close to him,” Tanner said.

  Kai’s eyes flashed, and I almost stepped back, into the window, because of what I saw there.

  Death. Anger.

  I didn’t want to look at Jonah, see whatever he was thinking or feeling.

  I’d heard enough.

  He’d used me. Everything had been a lie. That’s all I needed to know.

  “Carson.”

  I turned back to the window, ignoring Jonah.

  “Give her her phone,” Kai said. “You can take her home.”

  I heard rustling behind me, and then Kai called my name from the door.

  “You and your sister will be under observation for the week. It’s for your safety now, but do not alert her to their presence. You do, and I’ll have you and her brought back in.”

  As warnings went, it was almost friendly, but as I nodded, I still felt the ominous threat there. They’d bring us in and then what?

  I didn’t want to find out.

  “Jonah, take her home.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  CARSON

  The ride was quiet.

  Jonah and I sat in the back of an Escalade. There were two guards in the front, and another vehicle following us. That was for Jonah’s safety.

  Once I started recognizing the landmarks, seeing that they were taking me to my parents’ house, I asked, “Are you mafia?”

  Jonah didn’t answer, not right away. We traveled a little farther before he turned to me.

  “I’m a surgeon.”

  “But that’s not what your family does.”

  He didn’t answer me, and I saw that he wasn’t going to.

  My parents lived out of town on a farm. The Escalade paused at the end of their driveway. It was a long one, half a mile, but if they’d turned in, the dogs would have woken everyone. Instead, all the vehicles pulled to the side of the road, and the headlights went off as they waited.

  “Do you want us to drive you up to the house?” Jonah asked.

  “No.” The house was dark. “They’re probably asleep.”

  “Your parents are farmers?”

  “My dad used to be, but he retired a while back. He rents the land now to other farmers.” I frowned. “Why are we here? I was staying in a hotel.”

  “Tanner informed me that accommodations had been made for you, so your sister wouldn’t be alarmed.”

  A chill went down my spine. That did not sound good. “What do you mean accommodations?”

  “Your sister got a call, which she thought was from you, from your phone, telling her you’d be home later. You’ve been checked out of the hotel, and your sister said she’d be here this evening. Kai wants you near your sister, since he has one team dispatched to watch you both.”

  I hadn’t a clue how to react to that. I ground my teeth together. “And if for some reason my sister goes to town and I’m not with her?”

  “Then the team will be split in half. They’ll be thinned out, so that wouldn’t be smart.”

  He sounded like his brother right now, cold to me.

  I shouldn’t have been surprised. “Right.”

  I was starting to hate that her body had ever come to the morgue. She died and brought him into my life. If she hadn’t, none of this would’ve happened.

  I wouldn’t have met him.

  I was going down a dark path, but I couldn’t stop myself.

  “Where’s my phone?” I asked. Tanner had handed it to him, but I hadn’t gotten it yet.

  He reached into his pocket, pulled it out. He held it, not handing it over. “Carson…”

  He was going to apologize or something. I heard the softening in his tone, and my heart broke.

  Fuck.

  Fuck.

  Fuck!

  I’d fallen for him.

  I knew it then.

  I hadn’t wanted to admit it, because it was the worst possible outcome of this, and now I didn’t want to hear whatever he had to say.

  I couldn’t handle it.

  Dammit.

  I cut him off, grinding out, “Give me my phone and get the fuck out of my life.”

  I could feel his gaze, but no. No way. I was not looking at him. I’d been avoiding that since hearing how he’d used me in the office. He still didn’t hand it over, so I grabbed it, and I got out before anyone could make a move.

  I half expected someone to come after me—a guard or someone, but no one moved.

  The vehicles didn’t move either.

  They were going to watch me walk inside.

  God. What was the point? To keep me safe? That was a joke.

  Head down, I started up the driveway.

  It was chilly out, so I zipped up the sweater Jonah had given me, the one that belonged to Kai’s woman, and I turned my phone on. I was halfway to the house when the notifications started flooding in.

  SIS: OMG, where are you?

  SIS: Seriously. Where are you?

  There were more, all from that night. More came through, marked unread, but those had been viewed, and I had responded.

  Well, Tanner had texted her back. But seeing the messages, knowing they weren’t from me and how easily she’d believed them, gave me a shiver.

  The new messages were still coming through.

  I clicked out and saw some from my boss.

  Milo: How’s the weekend?!

  Milo: I need to live vicariously through you. Tell me how things are going.

  Milo: You never got back to me. Was the night crazy? Lots of dancing? Lol!

  There were other texts, too—from my mom, my dad, a couple of my cousins.

  Wait.

  Dancing?

  I stopped walking and went back to Milo’s text.

  I felt like I was detached from myself as I texted her back. Never mind how late it was.

  Me: How’d you know about the dancing?

  I waited, holding the phone tight in my hand.

  Please remind me how I mentioned it before leaving for Kansas. I must’ve forgotten. I must’ve bitched about going to Bresko’s… But I knew, I knew I hadn’t. I just told her I was going back for my sister’s wedding a week early.

  She was the one who’d pushed me to take the time and go back early.

  My phone buzzed.

  Milo: Download this app.

  My phone buzzed again, and a link came through.

  I reached for it, about to click it, but paused.

  I… I was fully detached from myself.

  What is going on?

  I looked back, and the vehicles were still there.

  I had no idea what this app was, so I went to all of my social media accounts. Everything. My email. I went in and unlinked every single one. I needed to be smart. I uninstalled each and every one, until my phone was bare.

  One of the vehicles turned on its headlights. They inched forward behind me, turning down the driveway. I turned my back to it, but I didn’t move from where I stood. I could hear the tires going over the gravel, and I clicked on the app.

  The first Escalade sped to me, and I heard a door open.

  Boots hit the ground, then I heard Jonah’s voice, “What’s wrong?”

  I started to answer him, but my phone flashed, then went black. “I—”

  He was at my side, taking my phone. “What is it?”

  The screen flashed again, and two sets of letters and numbers appeared.

  Another door opened, a guy hollered, “Toss the phone.”

  Jonah looked back. “What is it?”

  “Tanner’s on the line. He said her phone was just hacked. Those are coordinates.” The guard was at our side now, and he reached for the phone. He started to toss it.

  “No!” I lunged for it, but Jonah got it first.

  “It’ll lead to her parents,” the guard explained. “We need to destroy this phone.”

  Other guards came running.

  “Toss it on the ground,” one of them yelled.

  Jonah did.

  One guard dumped gasoline on it, and another lit it on fire. The other guards built a wall around it so the fire wouldn’t spread, and Jonah grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

  Someone said, “The last coordinates will still show up. We have to go.”

  “My parents,” I breathed.

  Jonah shook his head. “They’re looking for you, maybe hoping you’d lead them to me, to my family. They already know who you are, and that means they know where your parents live. You not being here will keep them safe.” He tried to take me back to the Escalade.

  I dug my heels in. “How do you know?”

  “We have a team here.”

  I looked around, but I saw no one else.

  “They’re here, Carson. Trust me.”

  That was the problem. I didn’t.

  Seeing my look, he threw me over his shoulder and ran.

  He threw me in the Escalade and barked at the driver, “Get her out of here.”

  Then he was out, slamming the door before I could comprehend what he was doing.

  “Wait! What?” I was at the door, trying to open it, but it was locked.

  The driver hit the accelerator, reversed, and we were heading right back out where we’d come from.

  As we sped off, I looked back at Jonah, who had joined the other guards.

  “They’ll make sure the fire is out and the phone is toast before heading back.” The driver glanced up in the rearview mirror at me. “He’ll be in the next vehicle. Don’t worry.”

  As we sped down the road, we passed another black Escalade, waiting at a dirt road. It flashed its lights before falling in line behind us.

  “Who’s that?”

  “The other team sent to watch you. They’ll escort us back.”

  What Jonah had said was true. They had men everywhere.

  Which made everything so much scarier.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  JONAH

  I refused to leave until the fire was out, the phone was destroyed, and I confirmed that Carson’s family hadn’t been disturbed. After that, I got in the next Escalade and sped back to the house. Five miles in, my phone rang, and I noted the driver was getting some incoming orders.

  Kai calling.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “Change of plans. I want you out of here.”

  “Why? What happened?”

  “Her phone wasn’t hacked for coordinates,” he said. “They already knew where she was. It was hacked for a backdoor into our operations. As soon as she downloaded that app, they were in and looking for our software. They knew we had her phone. They knew we would put our own program on there to try to catch them. They were prepared.”

  I swore. “What’s happening now?”

  “We’re waging an online battle. They’re trying to get into some of our business operations, and our people are trying to get a lock on where they are.”

  “What’s the change of plans, then?”

  “Drivers are instructed to take you and Carson to the airport. Tanner is escorting Brooke there. I want the three of you gone.”

  “Tanner?”

  “He’s staying. This is his territory. He knows it better than me.”

  “Carson’s family is here.”

  “But she’s in danger, and I’m assuming you want her to be safe.”

  “Of course.” There was no other option. She wouldn’t be another Melissa—and that thought brought me up short. Another Melissa?

  “I have surgery on Monday.”

  “I’m not going to be our father. You have the choice of what to do, but you have to be safe. Right now, we’re under attack. If you go to work, you will have two teams on you. That’s not an option, and there could still be collateral. I won’t take that on my conscience. Any of your patients or colleagues who get in the crossfire, that’s on you. But it’s your decision.”