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"So they didn't actually give you the instruction about being my brother?"
"No," he said. "Because that bit is true."
I shook my head but didn't argue. He continued to stare at me, then raked his hands through his hair and said angrily, "Fuck. They could have made me do anything. I'd never have known."
"They could have, but they didn't. I think they wanted me to be suspicious. Whoever modified my memory has left just enough to make me doubt my reality."
He frowned at me. "But why would they want to do that?"
"To frustrate me, probably. I can remember someone telling me to enjoy what was left of my life - and they obviously meant that I wouldn't."
"What was left of your life? What the fuck does that mean?"
"What do you think it means?" We finally hit the bitumen and the truck's tail whipped out sideways as I spun the wheel and flattened my foot. The roar of the big engine filled the night - a deep throbbing sound that oddly felt in tune with the anger within me. "Did you really think that they'd play this game for a couple of weeks then let us all go?"
"Honestly? Yeah, I did." He scrubbed a hand across his chin. "I don't know why, but I did."
That belief had to have been implanted, too. Evin might be a trusting soul, but even he couldn't be that innocent. Not if he came from the same pack that I did.
"I gather they've been allowing you to talk to Lyndal when you report in every night?"
"Yeah." Fury and desperation swirled through his voice, sharp in the darkness. "They've been given her a rough time."
Which could have meant anything from verbal to physical abuse, but I didn't ask him to clarify because, really, there was no point. There wasn't anything we could do to prevent it right now.
"She's still alive, Evin. Hold on to that."
"But she's pregnant."
I briefly closed my eyes against the fury that swept me. They were bastards. Complete and utter bastards.
"I'd rather hold on to the hope of revenge," he added as his gaze met mine. His gray eyes were dark and his expression was pensive. "Will you help me get that?"
"If you help me get mine - and not just by giving me information. I mean tracking these bastards down and stopping them. Whatever it takes."
"Whatever it takes," he murmured, and shivered. "I have a feeling you're far more used to that sort of thing than I am."
"If you're a border guard, then you obviously can fight. That's what I need. I can handle the finer details."
"Of that, I have no doubt."
He touched his neck briefly, then jerked his fingers away. I thought about stopping the truck to undo the wire, but he didn't seem to be in great discomfort and I wanted to get as far away from those men as possible. I really didn't trust them not to have some form of backup plan in the event of things going wrong - like us escaping.
Evin added, "You know, I'm really surprised that they didn't just kill you. It would have been less dangerous for them."
"But not as much fun."
"If this is someone's idea of a good time, then they are seriously warped."
"Yeah, he is," I said, and again heard that smooth, cultured voice telling me to enjoy the time I had remaining. Damn it, I needed to remember!
Pinpoint pricks of light appeared in the distance. There was a car on the horizon, and it was approaching fast.
Denny's backup plan, perhaps?
"What's the cell phone reception like up here?" I asked, flexing my fingers against the wheel. It didn't do a whole lot to ease the tension suddenly rolling through me.
"It's pretty shitty, actually," he said. "Why?"
