“Bring the boy in,” Vincent orders.
Fuck.
I move to block them, but Vincent raises a hand. “Now, Koa. Don’t make this difficult.”
The men open the car door and yank Axel out, his eyes widening as he takes in the warehouse, the armed men, the whole fucked-up situation. They grab his arms when he tries to pull away, forcing him forward.
“What the hell?” Axel’s voice cracks, fear bleeding through the confusion. “Koa, what’s going on?”
I don’t answer. Anything I say right now will only make this worse.
They drag him inside and Vincent’s face transforms—genuine pleasure, like he’s been waiting for this moment. He claps, the sound echoing off the concrete walls.
“Yes! Yes!” Vincent spreads his arms like he’s proud of me, but I know better. “Now where’s the sister?”
Axel goes rigid. His eyes snap to Vincent, then to me, and I watch the realization dawn across his face. The betrayal. The understanding that this was never a rescue.
“My sister?” Axel spits, and there’s a rawness to his voice that makes something twist in my gut. “You set us up?”
Vincent laughs and moves closer to Axel. “Oh, my boy. Do I have a lot to catch you up on. But the deal is the girl needs to be here too.”
“Deal?” Axel struggles against the men holding him. “What fucking deal?”
My phone buzzes in my pocket. Once. Twice. Three times. I turn my back on the scene, bringing it to my ear.
“Koa. There’s movement.” It’s one of my scouts. His voice is tight, urgent. “One of my guys followed the Reapers. They went to a cabin.”
“A cabin?” My mind races. Why would they take her to a cabin? What are they planning?
“And then a Reaper drove to the rehab.”
I start chuckling, low and dark. They’re scrambling. Desperate. Which means they don’t have the leverage they thought they did. “Where are they now?”
“The cabin.”
“Do you see a girl with them?”
There’s a pause. “No.”
“Call me if anything changes.”
I end the call and turn back to the chaos. Vincent’s men have forced Axel into a metal chair, the kind with a straight back and no arms. He’s fighting them and I realize with a jolt that he’s clearheaded now. No drugs clouding his judgment, no fog making him compliant. He’s bright-eyed and furious, and all that pent-up anger jaded from drug use is finally at the forefront. Interesting.
“Get the fuck off me,” Axel snarls as they produce zip ties. “Where’s my sister? What did you do to her?”
Oh, how the tables have turned. The junkie brother who couldn’t protect anyone is suddenly desperate to save the sister who’s been cleaning up his messes. It would be touching if it wasn’t so fucking tragic.
They secure his wrists to the chair, then his ankles. Axel’s breathing hard, his eyes wild, and when he looks at me there’s nothing but hatred there.
“You’re working for him,” he says, and it’s not a question. “You’ve been working for him this whole time.”
I don’t respond. What’s the point? He’s right.
Ten minutes crawl by. Vincent circles Axel like a shark, talking about debts and obligations and family loyalty, and I tune it out. I’ve heard this speech before. I’ve lived this speech.
My phone rings again.
“Movement again. They left the cabin.”
