Page 9 of Captured

Not for anyone.

That thought was all that kept me from falling apart. I gripped the soldier’s rifle as we hurtled to wherever my brother hid nowadays.

Hunter didn’t like me.

Not really.

Not like a younger brother should.

But it didn’t matter—I turned and stared out the window—I respected him, and that was all that mattered. Still, the anger he harbored for me still stuck on me like hot tar. He’d never exactly said the words out loud. But he didn’t agree with the way I’d searched for our sister. He wanted to burn The Order’s nests one by one, then hunt down the ants scurrying for safety.

Me…

I wanted to control them…the main one, at least. I wanted to find every tunnel and every crevice, then I wanted to find our sister before striking the match.

Only, it hadn’t turned out that way, had it?

I winced as we turned toward the city. No, it hadn’t turned out that way at all.

The engine gunned and the sparkling city rose in the distance. But before we came too close, we veered off, heading to a commercial suburb on the outskirts.

The more we turned, the more desperate I became. My hand gripped the rifle, the other clenched tight around the door, ready to lunge the moment we stopped. The four-wheel drive slowed. Hunter’s man reached up, hitting a button high on the visor and, in the distance, an eight-foot tall fence with a solid gate that rolled open.

I saw the back of The Order’s truck before I saw anything else. The thing was parked and the rear door was open. I saw bullet holes on the sides and winced as we pulled to the side and parked.

This place was some kind of compound. A large building loomed on one side with a parking lot where the truck was parked on the other. I was already yanking the handle and climbing out as we stopped.

I stared at the place as I opened the back door. “Let’s get you inside,” I muttered to Kane.

But I wasn’t really thinking about him, not if I was honest.

Thomas climbed out and came around to help me with Kane.

But it was the truck that called me, the black interior hiding the truth of what had really happened.

“Riven,” Thomas grunted.

I jerked my focus back, moving around Thomas to climb along the back seat and help Kane. He moaned, clutching his side as I gently pushed him out. Hunter’s man grabbed him as the second four-wheel drive pulled into the compound and the gate rolled shut behind them.

Car doors opened and closed.

“You good?” one of them asked me, striding toward us.

“My brother’s been shot,” I answered, staring at the truck once more.

But the soldier grabbed my arm, turning me around. “Looks like he’s not the only one.”

Surprised, I looked down.

Bright red blood soaked through the sleeve of my shirt.

“Fuck.” Thomas lunged, grabbing my arm. His eyes were wide as they met mine. “Why the hell didn’t you tell us?”

Why?

Because I hadn’t known.

I shook my head and took a step, leaving them behind. “Just get Kane inside. I’ll get myself looked at after I find her.”

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