“You’re unable to trace where the email originated from?” Kai frowned.
“We’re working on it, but we’re jumping from Russia and hitting walls. She was set up. That much is true.”
My sister.
They—whoever they were—had targeted her.
My knees buckled.
They’d said it before, but I hadn’t let it sink in. I hadn’t believed them. But this… I remembered when she’d called me.
“Can you believe this?! It’s like it’s meant to be, you know?” she’d squealed over the phone.
“She was so excited,” I said, feeling their gazes on me. But I didn’t look up. “She’s getting married next weekend, and she thought it was perfect timing—that she’d won the tickets.”
“And Bresko’s?” Kai asked.
I looked at him. “She told me …” I trailed off, trying to remember the exact wording.
“Bresko’s? Seriously? That weird club?” I’d asked her.
“It’s not weird,” she’d countered. “It’s exclusive, and yes. From time to time some of the players go there. I got it on good authority that a bunch will be there. Bram wants to go. You know how much he loves hockey.” She’d laughed. “Don’t worry about it. I have that VIP package, remember? Gotta use it while I have it. Don’t know when that’ll come around again.”
I told them what she’d said.
“Who’s Bram?” Tanner asked.
“That’s her fiancé. That’s his name.” I began feeling a different sort of dread slither through me. “Please don’t do anything to my sister. I couldn’t…” I felt an ice pick being shoved through my chest. I turned to Jonah. “Not my sister. Not her.”
She couldn’t go through what I had.
Jonah reached out his hand.
“She’s supposed to get married next weekend,” I whispered. “Please.”
The voice from the phone spoke up, “They don’t need to do anything. We can hack her phone. The correspondence will be there, most likely.”
Jonah gave me a nod, and I closed my eyes. I couldn’t handle it if they took her.
“When will you know?” Kai asked, moving closer to the phone.
“Give us an hour to be thorough.”
“Okay.”
Tanner ended the call on speaker, and Kai pulled out his own phone and put it to his ear. “You were listening?” he said. “I want a team dispatched to observe the sister.”
“No!” I started for him, but Jonah caught my hand. He pulled me back.
Kai ignored me. “Just observe her for now.” He ended the call, and those cold eyes turned my way. “We have no plans to harm your sister, but she was used to get you here. We need to find out who orchestrated that.”
My heart beat so hard.
Jonah wrapped his arm around me, pulling me to his chest. “If someone made sure Carson was there, how could they have known I’d be there? I was the one who recognized her.”
Tanner and Kai both noted the way Jonah held me close, but I didn’t care. I sagged against him, feeling safe.
They shared a look before Kai responded. “We don’t think they did. We think whoever did this was assuming Tanner would be there and would recognize her.”
Jonah’s arm pressed a little harder around me, but it felt good. Secure.
“But he wouldn’t have,” Kai added. “She’d already been identified by security. It wouldn’t have mattered if you or Tanner were there. She was green-lit the second she entered the building.”
My chest felt tight. What did that mean?
“We were watching her, waiting to see what she would do. You and Tanner just got to her before we made a decision.”
“So you already knew?” Jonah said.
“I was notified that an employee from the morgue was spotted in one of our nightclubs. It’s not the first time. We own a lot of clubs, but it wasn’t until your call that I realized you were involved. I wasn’t lying to you, Jonah.”
Jonah’s arm grew even tighter. “You could’ve shared that,” he said harshly. “You could’ve—”
“For what reason?” Kai shot back. “We have no idea why she was there. We still don’t. We’re getting the information, and when we do, we’ll figure it out. It’s been a goddamn day. You’re not in this family business, or are you forgetting? We had a conversation. You chose to stay out. I’m respecting your wishes.”
His eyes traveled over me, over us, and lingered on Jonah’s arm. “Twenty-four hours ago, you were barely restraining yourself from wanting her dead. Now look at you. How was I supposed to know your feelings would change so quickly?”
Jonah’s entire body locked up tight behind me. “You told me she was interested in me. You said to use that, to study her—”
Now I froze.
What?
He knew?
A ball of fire ignited inside of me, low, and it was growing fast.
He was using me?
Kai was still watching me, waiting to see how Jonah’s words affected me. “Your feelings have changed. You’re invested.”
I felt a growl working up through Jonah’s chest, but it didn’t matter. Jonah didn’t like hearing that, and that told me everything.