“Come on, let’s get this over with,” Dane says, stalking past me to the identical living room that my suite has.
“You two,” I point at Dane and Maddox, “are going to tell me what the hell happened in Chicago,and you are going to tell me right now. No bullshit.”
Dane starts shaking his head while Maddox looks atRyder. “Don’t look at me, mate. I want to know, too. I’ve been asking as long as he has.”
“We can’t tell you,” Maddox tells us both, sitting on the long blue sofa. “It’s as simple as that.”
“I don’t like secrets, Mads,” Ryder’s brows drop to a deep V. His mouth presses into a thin line. I imagine if I looked in a mirror right now, I’d have a matching expression.“We don’t have them, remember?”
Maybe they don’t.
“It’s not that simple, Ry,” Maddox tells him.
Ryder’s green eyes turn cold as he levels Maddox with a sterngaze.
“Look,” Dane says with a sigh, “Cara was targeted by some guy because they wanted Tori.”
“Dane,” Maddox leans forward with his elbows on his knees. His eyes narrow, andhis jaw tightens. His body language both threatening and warning in equal measure.
My worry and fear amplify in reaction to their sketchy behavior. This isn’t like Maddox at all. He’s often quiet and thoughtful. Easy-going to the outsider.He only radiates this much tension over his family or when he gets in over his head with something.
“We trust them,” Dane says, not reacting to Maddox at all. “They are family, remember?”He gestures to both of us.
“Which is why we agreed to protect them from any fallout. Just knowing puts them at risk,” Maddox grits through clenched teeth.
Dane looks to me,then to Ryder. “It doesn’t leave this room.Do notbring it up to Cara.”
“Shouldn’t Angel and Liam be here?” Ryder asks. “They’re family too.”
Dane nods while Maddox leans back on the sofa with a huff. “Text them,” Danenods toward the phone on the coffee table in front of him.
Five minutes later, Angel sits next to me on the sofa opposite Maddox and Ryder. “What’s going on?I just want to be with my girl,” he whines.
“Good grief,” I mutter at the ridiculousness of all of them.
“I wassleeping damn good, guys. This better be important,” Liam tells us with a yawn.
“The reason we asked you two to come is thatyou’re family,” Maddox tells Angel and Liam. “Liam, you weren’t around when this happened, but we’re not telling the story again.Youneed to hear it.”
“A year and a half ago, Mads and I left the tour for Chicago.” Angel, Ryder, and I nod, remembering they disappeared and wouldn’t tell us why.I wasn’t there, but I talked to one of them every day.
“I’ve heard,” Liam acknowledges.
“All you told us was that Tori and Cara needed you,” Ryder nods.
“Zoey called me,” Maddox explains. “She didn’t think it was right for Dane to be kept in the dark.”
“About what?” I grit out, tiredof what feels like the runaround. “Just tell us what the hell happened.”
“Cara started seeing this guy in Chicago and started dodging me.I sent Tori to go check on her. Apparently, this guy knew all about me from Cara, I assume, and knew if sheavoided me long enough, I’d send Tori. They wanted Tori for underground fightingand threatened Cara if Tori didn’t play along. When she finally told Zane, hesomehow connected them toa human trafficking ring. They weren’t just using Tori for fighting. They planned on selling them both.”
“Jesus,” I mutter, hearing my fears confirmed.
“Zane and his brothers did what they had to to get them out beforethey had a chance, but it got hairy,” Maddox tells us.
“How did thatnotmake the news?” Angel asks quietly.
“Let’s just say they have some really good connections and leave it at that,” Maddox tells us, definitively ending that line of questioning.
