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The fact that I would even think something like that makes me grind my teeth. Luna will be fine. God knows Dad sent enough team members along with us in case things get dangerous. I don’t think they will. Nobody would ever call me an expert on Rebecca’s twisted mind—it’s not something I’d be proud of—but I feel like she wouldn’t want to stage a fightoutside of her own home turf. She would want to feel safe, like she had plenty of people to fall back on.
Or I could be completely wrong, and we could be heading for a bloodbath. The questions running through my head and all the ugly images they bring up make me want to scream until I have to bite down on the inside of my cheek to keep it together. So many what ifs.
Sophie’s soft weeping hasn’t stopped since she started crying back at the house, and it’s enough to break my heart. I feel so damn useless, sitting here with nothing to say, nothing to offer but a soft pat on her arm. “She’ll be all right,” I whisper, but the words are empty. It’s more like wishful thinking than anything else. Something I need to believe, or else I’m going to start crying, too.
“I shouldn’t have let her go.” She keeps whispering it, almost like a prayer. “I shouldn’t have let her out of my sight. What was I thinking? She would’ve gotten over being mad at me for telling her to stay.”
“These people are sick,” I whisper. “You can’t predict what they’re going to do. Believe me.” That’s not enough to get her to stop blaming herself or to stop the tears from flowing. Like I needed another reason to hate Rebecca. Like she hasn’t already ruined so much of what I care about.
There are two SUVs in front of us, and my heart is in my throat as they pull through the front gates with us behind them. Everything looks totally normal so far. What did I expect? There’s nothing comforting about the seemingly peaceful atmosphere, though. Goosebumps pebble my arms and the hair on the back of my neck sticks straight up as we draw closer to the house and whatever is waiting inside.
We pull up close to the front courtyard before one of the armed men from the other SUVs hops out and holds both hands up to stop us, glancing over his shoulder at whatever we can’tyet see. A handful of guys start up the front stairs, and when I crane my neck, I can see the door is open a crack. Sophie must see it, too, and she releases a strangled whimper.
“I’m going in there,” Roman announces. He looks back at the two of us, gripping each other like our lives depend on it. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
“But I have to see!” Sophie insists. He reaches back and touches her cheek before shaking his head firmly.
“It’s going to be all right,” he insists before getting out and joining the rest of the team. I have never needed to believe something so much in my whole life. Luna doesn’t deserve to suffer.
Every second is a lifetime, but it’s not long before Roman reappears at the top of the stairs. I recognize the look on his face as he stalks across the courtyard, because I’ve seen it so many times from the men in my life — my brother, my dad, Ren. He’s ready to kill, which tells me he didn’t find anything good in the house. But he doesn’t look devastated, either, which gives me hope Luna is still alive.
Sophie almost climbs over the seat to get to him as soon as he’s opened the door. “Well? What did you find?”
Instead of answering, he thrusts a crumpled piece of paper into her hand. He had it clutched so tightly, I didn’t notice he was holding it until now. Her hands tremble as she smooths it out so we can read what’s printed in big, block letters.
Ren in exchange for Luna - R
“They killed Frank.” Roman’s voice is flat, empty. “Shot him in the back of the head. The note was on Luna’s bed. That’s all we found in there.”
Anything else he might have wanted to say is drowned out by Sophie’s heartbroken sobs.
Ren staresdown at the note while the rest of us watch. I can’t stop shivering, rubbing my arms like that will do anything to calm the goosebumps that won’t stop prickling my skin. He’s too quiet. The sort of quiet that chills me to the bone. What’s he thinking?
“I guess we don’t need to ask what R stands for,” he mutters, breaking the silence. The deep, almost feral anger in his voice makes my heart beat double time. He sounds as close to River as he ever has right now, like he’s dangling on the edge between the two personalities. I don’t want to set him off—that’s the last thing we need, especially with Sophie sniffling in Roman’s arms. She can’t see that. It would break her after everything she’s already been through today.
“We know what we have to do, then.” Ren looks at Dad, who draws a deep breath before responding with a nod.
“Wait. What do you have to do?” My head swings back and forth between them. I hate when people have silent conversations in front of me, and the stakes here make it so much worse. “Somebody talk to me, or I’m going to scream.”
That’s still not enough to get an answer out of anybody. Ren grips the bars, still clutching the note. “Let me out. Let me be part of this.”
Now I get it. My insides go all cold and an uneasy feeling creeps up before I blurt out, “You can’t! This is a trap!” I look at Dad, desperate for him to back me up, but all I see is resignation in his dark eyes. No, this can’t be. “This is her way of getting to Ren, obviously. You can’t just walk into that!” It doesn’t seem to matter how I shout or how much sense I make. I may as well not be here.
Out of desperation, I grab Dad’s arm, squeezing until he looks down at me. “Dad, please. I love Luna, you know I do. But this would be giving Rebecca what she wants. It’s too risky.”
“The risk doesn’t matter,” Ren insists. “I don’t matter as much as Luna does.”
No, no, he can’t say that. He can’t believe it. This is a nightmare. Somebody needs to wake me up. “But?—”
“I can’t let her be there for another minute!” Ren is red faced and shaking. “Don’t you get that? I’m not letting her suffer. If I have to go and exchange myself for her, that’s what I’m doing.”
“You know we would never let that happen.” Dad’s voice is firm, and it has the power to give me a little bit of hope. If he’s sure Ren will make it out of this, I can almost believe he will.
“There needs to be a plan,” I plead. I look at Roman and Sophie, and they both nod in agreement.
“We know you love your sister,” Roman tells him. “But she wouldn’t want you risking yourself.”
“Of course, we’re going to plan this out.” Though Dad leaves out the obvious part: there’s not much time. He doesn’t need to say it. We all feel it weighing on us with every tick of the clock. Ren is practically beside himself, breathing hard, staring at the floor with his hands still wrapped around the iron bars. Please, hold it together. Please, stay with me.
