to oblivion minus the few traces of DNA left behind. She believes your father is someone to feel pity for, and that he is loving, and kind, and softhearted, and rich. Your father preyed on your cousin, and I’m sure he enjoys the close resemblance she bears to his daughter and wife.”
My father was a monster, but so was the man standing in front of me. He was just as much a monster as Bruce Bello.
“You’re sick. You and him both.”
He stared at me, not moving an inch. An uneasy feeling traced up my spine, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I felt as if I had baited a cobra.
But Kai just nodded toward the door.
“Enough. We’ll continue our talk tomorrow.”
No one else was in the room. I hadn’t noticed the absence of guards until now. But as he spoke, the door opened and Tanner walked in.
“Take her to her room,” Kai told him. “She’s to stay there until I come for her.”
My lips parted.
The way he said that, I felt a bolt of fear slice through me, but then Tanner was next to me. He took my arm, leading me out as I stumbled over my feet, feeling numb.
I hadn’t felt this emotion for a long time, not since my father.
“Wait.” I had to know. Just as Tanner was about to walk me out of Kai’s apartment, I turned back. “How?”
How is he going to help with my cousin?
A glimmer of a smile taunted me. “I’ll have him killed.”
CHAPTER NINE
They knew.
They knew it all.
They knew Blade, the Network. My father. My mother. They knew she was alive. Of course I’d known the Bennetts found me, but I hadn’t thought about it. I hadn’t wanted to.
Tanner pulled me down a flight of stairs, and I tripped again, almost falling, but he caught me and steadied me.
He wouldn’t look at me, though. His jaw was clenched, and his hand dug into my arm. It’d leave a bruise there later.
“How long?” I rasped. It seemed the only way I could talk since they’d taken me. “How long have you known?”
He didn’t answer, a vein bulging in his neck. We turned a corner, and there was another door in front of us. He banged on it, stepping back until it opened from the inside. More guards came out. There were always guards.
He motioned inside. “If you need food or anything, ask the guards. They’ll get it for you. This is your room until Kai wants to see you again.”
I stepped inside, but turned to him. “Tanner, how long?”
His eyes flicked up, and I saw remorse there.
“Since the beginning.” His lips pressed together. He looked as if he had more to say, but thought better of it. He shook his head and barked out, “Lock her in.”
The door slammed shut, and a whoosh of air hit me in the face. I barely blinked, everything in me going into shock.
They knew about the 411 Network, which wasn’t good. In fact, it was really bad. The 411 Network was an organization that hid people who couldn’t survive otherwise—those women and children, and sometimes men, who aren’t protected by the legal system, by cops or whoever else, so we step in. We hide them, sometimes making it look like they’re dead.
The “errands” we run are to pick up people who need transport somewhere else. We handle anyone needing to get into Canada—any survivor who needs help. We don’t discriminate, and most of the time, we aren’t told their names or situations.
We’re given coordinates to go to, pictures of who we’re looking for, and directions on where to take them. We pass along files and packets with their fake passports or ID or whatever else they need for the leg of our trip. That’s all.
In the ten years since I’d been operational, only once did my team have to fight an abuser.
But I knew there were times it happened.
I was proud of this part of my life. I was proud of 411’s mission, of what we stood for, and now the Network was being threatened. The Bennett family couldn’t know about us. I’m certain they were the ones we hid people from sometimes.
My heart raced. My palms were sweaty.
My vision blurred.
I was panicking, like earlier, but this was on steroids. I couldn’t breathe. The room was spinning.
I was feverish. I was cold.
I was falling.
The ground rushed up at me until arms caught me instead. I looked up, and though the room still rushed