“We fled also because of you,” said Austin. “We had to get you out. Make sure you were safe. That was top priority.”
The rest of the group nodded together.
“We owed Connor that much.”
Suddenly I wanted to go back — to face the men who’d broken in and burned down my home. I wanted to shake them violently. Make them tell me who they were, and what they wanted.
Most of all, I needed to know what happened to Connor…
“We’ll deal with them,” said Austin, shifting in his chair. “Trust in us. But for now…”
“For now you need to lay low,” said Maddox. “We weren’t followed here, and that’s a good thing. But these people are persistent. They’re well-funded. And they’ve got access to resources we don’t.”
My eyes narrowed. “So you do know who they are?”
“Not entirely. But we know some things. And we’re piecing together others.”
“Just as your brother was,” said Kane, ominously. “When they took him.”
I swallowed hard. Suddenly I was very aware of myself and my surroundings. The house was big and old, inside and out. I was sitting in its run-down kitchen, wearing a pair of blood-smeared sweats and a T-shirt. Other than the little diamond-shaped pendant I always wore around my neck — given to me by Connor — it was the sum total of all my worldly possessions.
Thank God I’d stopped sleeping naked.
“How long have you lived here?” I asked.
The question must’ve seemed random. The guys didn’t answer it right away.
“Just over a year.”
“Since Connor died…”
Slowly they nodded. “Yes,” said Maddox.
“So you’ve been doing this…” I gestured around, “just for me?”
“We’re doing it for Connor,” said Austin. “Each one of us owes your brother a grave debt. But yes, you also. Protecting you is a huge part of paying him back.”
The guys stared at me for another half minute, as if getting used to me being there. I realized it must be strange for them, seeing me in the flesh. Having me here among them, after having watched me on monitors for so damned long.
“Think you can sleep?” asked Maddox.
“Fuck no.”
He glanced around the room. The others shook their heads as well.
Maddox shrugged helplessly and smiled. “Breakfast it is then.”
Six
DALLAS
The guys had shit coffee and shit accommodations. The kitchen even had shit lighting.
But when it came to breakfast…
The first meal of the day had been my brother’s specialty, and the only one he could really cook without burning it. The spread placed before me now reminded me exactly of that: piles of scrambled eggs, links of brown sausage, fresh waffles, crispy hash-browns, and a tall frosty glass of orange juice to wash it all down.
It made me wonder how many times they’d eaten this way with Connor, just as I had.