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“I knew he shouldn’t have opted for the stupid bracelet. He hated that thing. He was messing with it all night while we were trying to work. I bet you anything he took it off.”
“That’s not like my brother. Especially if he knew he might be taken. He wouldn’t intentionally leave it behind.”
“Were you listening? The accident—”
“He wouldn’t leave it behind, Jase. I know my fucking brother.”
“You’re not hearing what I’m saying,” I snapped. If he took it off and wrecked the car, he might not have been able to find the damn thing in time. I’m not saying it was his fault. I’m saying it might have been impossible for him to locate the damn thing after the crash.”
“Idiot. A stupid bracelet. Dumbest decision ever.” Rush squeezed against his thigh as he continued to stare down at the screen. “I saw him take it off the other night. He’s never been one for jewelry. His watch, yes, but—” His head shot up. “His watch. Fucking shit. He’s got one of those…those smart watch things. He’s been trying to get me to wear one for years. It has a built in GPS. Jase, I need to find that.”
“Do you know the brand?”
“No.”
“We’re going to need his phone. It’ll have an app. From there we can locate him.”
Rush got silent as he turned to stare out of the window.
“What is it? You’re thinking something.”
“You don’t think. I mean, my brother he’s not—”
“We’re almost there. I’m going as fast as we can.”
He nodded, his face drawing in through the anger. “You know regardless of Rian or the cops, someone’s going to be there watching. I have no doubts they waited for us to leave our apartments. Maybe they’re even following us now.”
“I’m counting on it.”
“What’s the plan?”
I switched lanes, clamping my teeth together, trying my best not to grind them. Revenge used to rule me. Months ago, I would have done anything to be faced with this situation. Now, all I could think about was Kody and Rian. I wanted them both to be okay. I wanted this to be over.
“We need Rian’s phone. If we can locate him, we can figure out a way to get him out safely. If that’s impossible…we get him out anyway.”
“What about the FBI?”
“What about them?” I glanced over to Rush. “If there’s nothing they can bring to the table to help Rian, do you really want them involved?”
“You know I hate the fucking FBI. They’ve been hounding me for years.” Rush’s hand rubbed over his short military cut. “That bet—the night we got in a fight.”
“Don’t.”
“Jase, I fucked up. I should have never put us at risk like that. We decided to end it, but you knew I wasn’t done. We got so drunk, and you got in my face and called me out. You bet me that I couldn’t stop weeks before. It pissed me off because I knew you were right. I was in over my head, and I was too stubborn to ask for help. I nearly got us caught.”
“It’s over. It’s the past.”
“It’s over, but we aren’t over it. Not you and I. Look, you have a right to know why I went behind your back when I said I wouldn’t.”
I shrugged, not wanting to get into it. “Rian already told me. You had a lead you wanted to follow up on. You couldn’t let it go. I get it.”
“It wasn’t just a lead, Jase. I had proof. I had pictures.” He got quiet for a few moments. “It wasn’t a terrorist I was hunting down. I mean, it started off that way, but while tracking one of their movements, I saw something else. Something…sick. The fucker was buying a kid. A girl, not much younger than Fahima.”
My stare shot over. “You didn’t think to mention this before? You didn’t think I’d want to help?”
“We agreed we were done. Besides, I tried to talk to you about it, but you were drunk again, and we started arguing. You were always impossible to talk to back in those days. I figured I could handle it on my own.”
“And we see how that turned out.”
