I cry for the loss of my mother, for the deaths of the two men and woman in the crash, for fear for myself.
I cry until I feel like I can’t breathe.
The last of my energy ebbs from my body, and I take a couple of hiccuppy breaths and wipe my eyes. I need to go back. It’s not safe for me to be in the middle of nowhere, all alone. Besides, Reed might be back by now.
I force myself to my feet and try to remember which way I need to go. All I can see is tree after tree. I’d thought it would be easy to pinpoint the location of the plane, but the foliage hides everything.
A shot of panic goes through me. Oh, God. What if I start walking and I can’t find my way back again? What if I’m heading in completely the wrong direction, putting more distance between myself and the others. I’ve heard of peoplewalking in circles when they get lost in the woods, unable to orient themselves.
I spin around, fighting my building terror, and collide with a big, solid chest. For the briefest of moments, I think it’s Cade, but then I realize it’s Darius.
“How did you find me?” I gasp.
“I followed the sound of you crying.”
“Oh.”
I’d thought I was far enough away that neither of them had heard me. I exhale a slow, shaky breath, and blink away fresh tears. I’m so relieved to see him, but I don’t want him to know that.
He places his hand to the side of my face and wipes a fresh tear away with his thumb.
I sniff. “This must be even more frightening for you, not being able to see.”
“We’re all frightened in our own way. Cade is injured, and that scares him. That’s why he said those things to you. It stops him worrying about himself.”
“Cade said some pretty shitty things to me on the plane, too, long before the plane crashed.”
“He’s protecting his family. That’s his job. Cade’s sense of worth comes from protecting us, and it unhinges him when he’s the one who needs helping.”
“Aren’tIsupposed to be family?”
He seems to consider this for a moment. “Family in Cade’s mind has nothing to do with shared surnames or marriages that took place half a lifetime ago. It’s about loyalty.”
I press my lips together. “How can I be loyal to someone I didn’t even know existed a couple of days ago?”
“I’m just saying you need to bide your time with him. He’ll come around.”
Do we even have that kind of time?
“Come on,” Darius says. “Let’s go back.”
I’m surprised that he’s now guiding me, but he seems to know where he’s going a hell of a lot more than I do. I’m also amazed at how close I am to the crash site when I’d believed I was lost. Darius moves slowly and cautiously, one hand in front of him to protect his face, but he leads us straight there.
Cade isn’t alone. His father is standing with him.
Reed has made it back to us.
Chapter Eleven
Cade
THANK FUCK REED ISback.
Darius and Laney are making their way through the trees as well, so Darius clearly found her. At least with our father here, he acts like a buffer between us all.
I don’t know what it is about Laney that winds me up so fucking badly, but something about her just sets me off. I have no idea how I’m supposed to act around her. Most women are easy enough to read. Generally, if they’re hot, I’ll simply be aiming to get in their panties. But Laney is my stepsister—apparently—and though she is undoubtably hot, she’s also out of bounds. She’s also not yet eighteen, and though there’s only a few years between us, that she’s underage is also no-go territory.
“How did it go?” I ask Reed, hoping he won’t ask why Laney and Darius weren’t with me. “Did you see anything?”