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Cheeks flushed, Teagan nodded. "I'm sorry, I'm just worried about her."
"Worried about who?" Still rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Octavius joined them, followed closely by Ro.
Jason looked over at Luca, who nodded. "As you know, I've been trying to pull any information I can from the Berkshire's communications."
"You found something," Teagan interrupted, her eyes narrowing.
"Yes. Between Mr. Berkshire and an unknown number. Long story short, the messages seem to support Evie's assertion that her parents are in danger. We think she saw these messages before Luca and I did, and she's gone to see her parents."
"How did she see them before you?" The accusation in Teagan's voice had his temper spiking, but Jason willed it back.
"I don't know. I must have fallen asleep, and she happened to come down here at the right time and found them." Embarrassment tangled with fear and anger, making his stomach churn.
"You fell asleep?" Ro's voice rose sharply. "You're freaking kidding me? You're supposed to be a super soldier and you fell asleep!"
"I'm not happy about it, either," he replied bitterly.
"Enough." Everyone turned to look at Luca, who was leaning against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest. "We can stand here, pointing fingers, or we can go after her and settle this business once and for all."
Ro and Teagan shared a look then turned back to him. "What do you need us to do?"
Chapter 14
Two hours after she'd snuck out of the cabin, she turned onto her parents' street. Despite it being after four in the morning, she was wide awake. Fear, she'd learned, had that effect on people.
Driving past the acres of manicured lawns, she tried to ignore the fear. Branson couldn't do anything to her he hadn't done a hundred times before. All that mattered now was keeping her parents safe.
She pulled into the driveway of the house she'd grown up in, put Luca's car in park, and killed the engine. The house was dark, save for the pale glow coming from the kitchen. Her throat ached with the effort to hold back the tears when she saw it.
Ever since she'd been old enough to get out of bed on her own, her mother had left that particular light on for her. It was just enough to illuminate the downstairs, so she could see where she was going and she wouldn't trip over anything. Whether it was simply habit at this point or something more, Evie couldn't be sure. But it didn't matter. Her parents loved her, and she'd assumed the worst about them while her living nightmare had been threatening them with God only knew what.
Bracing herself for whatever might come next, she climbed out of the car and strode up the driveway to the front door. Counting the bricks beside the door, she wiggled one free, revealing the spare key her parents had been hiding there since she'd come home late when she was sixteen and gotten locked out after the staff had gone home and her parents had long since been tucked into bed. Tears blurred her vision at yet another reminder of how her parents loved her. Why was she just now noticing all the signs?
With the door unlocked, she slipped inside and quietly shut it behind her. Standing in the foyer, she stood still to give her eyes time to adjust and to give herself time to figure out what, exactly, her next move was. Maybe she should have waited to come. She could have woken everyone up and insisted they help her figure out a plan. Then she wouldn't have been showing up to her parents' house in the middle of the night, with no idea how to fix the mess she'd created.
A light flickered on upstairs, pulling her out of her contemplation. Heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs. Her father. The man walked like an elephant.
He stopped when he saw her, his eyes going wide in his handsome, weathered face. "Evelyn?"
"Dad. I'm so sorry."
But before she could run to him, a hand wrapped around her arm and she was jerked back against a familiar form. If he hadn't been holding her upright, she might have fallen to the floor when her knees buckled. Something cold pressed against the side of her neck and she saw her own fear reflected in her father's face.
"You promised." Her father's voice was a hoarse whisper.
"A deal is a deal, Roland. I won't hurt her, as long as we can agree on the terms of our long-term arrangement." The knife pressed into her skin, and Evie hissed at the sudden, sharp pain. "Go get your wife, so we can have a chat."
"Don't hurt her. Please."
Branson tightened his grip on her arm, and she couldn't stop the whimper from escaping her lips. "Do as you're told, and I won't harm a hair on her head. I promise."
Her father hesitated only a moment longer before turning and rushing back up the stairs. Hot, sticky breath tickled her ear. "You were a very naughty girl, Evelyn. When we get home, I'm going to have to punish you. Severely."
Fear coated her stomach with ice. He wouldn't kill her, at least she didn't think he would. Not yet, anyway. Maybe further down the road, when the world had moved on to the next big story, he'd take that chance. For now, he wanted her alive.
He would just make her wish she was dead.
But she'd survived before. She could survive right now, until she figured out a plan. Or until her sisters and the others came to rescue her, because she had no doubt they would figure it out and come for her. The only problem was they wouldn't be up for at least another hour, and they were still a two-hour drive away. She needed to stall, somehow, to give them time to come for her.
