Page 54

‘Er, not exactly,’ I say. ‘He sort of broke out.’

‘I see.’

Cora cuts in again. ‘Do you remember what they were doing? Names? Faces? A place?’

‘It was in Red Thorne,’ Theo says.

The reaction from Kian is minuscule, but I know the news surprises him.

‘You were in Red Thorne the entire time?’ he barks, voice harsh against the stillness of the night. ‘How did I not detect you so close? How did they hide you?’

Theo doesn’t have an answer for him, and neither do I.

Cora huffs. ‘You were seriously in Red Thorne this entire time, and yet we had to travel half the fucking country to get to you?’

The longer I stare at the girl, the more I recognise her. ‘I’ve seen you,’ I say. ‘At a party once.’

She nods. ‘Yeah. I remember.’

‘Let’s keep moving,’ Kian orders.

I can see the road ahead now, a dark slash between trees. Theo slows, scanning in both directions as a pair of headlights swing onto the road. Kian doesn’t pause. He walks forward, straight in front of the car. It doesn’t slow at first, and the driver sees him too late to brake safely. Tires screech as Kian just lifts a single hand. The car shudders to a stop, almost grazing Kian’s kneecaps.

I freeze at the edge of the trees, feeling like I haven’t breathed for a full minute. Kian moves to the driver’s-side door before the man inside can even process what’s happening. I can just make out the driver’s face. Wide-eyed, caught between confusion and compliance. Like he knows something’s wrong but can’t explain why he’s not afraid enough to drive off.

Kian leans in, looking calm and stoic. ‘We’re taking your car.’

The man doesn’t argue. He just nods and slowly gets out, dazed. Cora herds him gently toward the side of the road, murmuring something low to him that makes him walk in the opposite direction, not looking back.

Theo glances at me. ‘You okay?’

‘I—yeah,’ I say, feeling a little dazed, still not used to seeing compulsion in real time, right before my eyes.

Kian slides into the driver’s seat without glancing at any of us, like this is not an unusual thing for him to be doing. ‘Get in.’

I do as I’m told.

The car hums along the narrow road, the sun beginning to peak over the horizon. I’m in the backseat with Theo beside me. His leg jitters as he gazes out the window. He keeps one hand near his knee, the other inching toward mine. Our pinkies graze and I feel a sense of comfort having him beside me.

Cora sits in the passenger seat, playing with the radio. Kian’s beside her, his posture perfectly still, gaze fixed ahead like he’s tracking something none of us can see.

‘We can’t go back to Red Thorne,’ I say, realising that is probably their plan, since they are from there.

Kian glances at me. ‘I figured.’

‘It’s not safe for us there,’ I say, as if I need extra reassurance that he isn’t lying to me.

He meets my eyes in the mirror. His stare is measured, quiet, and more unsettling than if he’d raised his voice.

‘I won’t be walking back into Red Thorne with the two of you and no preparation.’

Theo exhales beside me, sounding tired. ‘Tara needs to eat and rest.’

‘I don’t do roadside motels,’ Kian replies in a clipped tone, as if he can smell the fact that we’ve been staying in dodgy motels. He probably can – this guy seems to know everything about everyone somehow.

Cora laughs under her breath. ‘God forbid he sleeps on cotton sheets.’

‘I need space to think,’ Kian says tersely. ‘To plan. I’m not doing it in a parking lot.’