She peeked up at the mirror and to her relief saw that Ian was dressed and talking to Braden. Braden gestured toward the truck and her and then both men started toward the front.
Shit.
Ian reached her door first and yanked it open. He took one look at her and a feral light entered his eyes. A shiver skated down her spine and sent an odd tingling into her womb. She honestly didn’t know whether to be terrified or intrigued by the dangerous fire in his gaze.
He sucked in air through his nose, his nostrils flaring and quivering. His fists curled and clenched and then he rubbed his open palms up and down his pants legs.
Braden jerked him backward, and the truck shook as Braden thrust Ian against the hood.
“Goddamn it, Ian, what the hell is wrong with you?” Braden demanded.
“It’s her,” Ian said hoarsely.
Braden snapped his gaze to her and scowled. Then he quickly turned his attention back to his brother. “You’re getting an injection and then you’re going night-night. Are we clear?”
Katie watched in open-mouthed fascination as Braden strode to the back of the truck and then returned a moment later with a syringe. She winced when, without preamble, he stuck the needle in Ian’s arm. There was so much wrong with this scene she didn’t even know where to start. And she’d thought things were weird with Ricardo.
Braden left Ian leaning against the truck as he headed to the backseat to open the door. Katie’s gaze was drawn to Ian as he stared up at the sky, his face a brooding mold.
“Slide over,” Braden ordered.
She blinked and yanked her concentration from Ian to stare at Braden.
“Ian’s going in back. You get over in the passenger seat. No arguments.”
She immediately bristled but forced air through her nose and stifled the protest dancing on her lips. Part of survival was knowing when the hell to keep your mouth shut. This was one of those times.
She moved into the passenger seat as Braden went back to Ian. A few seconds later, Braden herded him into the backseat and shoved him into a lying position.
As she glanced casually over her shoulder, she saw Ian staring at her, those eyes flashing despite the lethargy from whatever Braden had injected him with.
Determined not to back down, she boldly met his gaze. For a long moment, they just stared at one another until discomfort skittered over her skin. When Braden opened the driver’s door, it gave her an excuse to look away.
He slid in beside her and started the engine. His hands curled around the steering wheel, but he made no move to put the truck into drive.
She shifted uncomfortably and forced her gaze away.
“This shit has to stop, Katie,” he said in a firm voice.
That pissed her off. She whirled around to glare at him. “Where the hell do you get off giving me orders? I don’t even know who you are or why you’ve taken it upon yourself to irritate the living shit out of me. Don’t you think you’ve caused me enough grief?”
He rammed the gearshift down and took off, the SUV rocking over the bumpy terrain.
“You’re a piece of work, you know that?”
She gaped at him, speechless.
“You haven’t even asked about Gabe.”
Rage and grief grabbed hold of her throat and squeezed. Hard.
“You said he was dead,” she said through gritted teeth. “What else is there to know?”
He glanced sideways at her. “You’re a cold bitch. He was your brother.”
She shook her head and turned away. “What do you want me to do, cry? Would it make you feel better for me to fall at your feet in a weeping, wailing mass of femininity? Would that appeal to your manly ego?”
Her fingers curled into tight fists in her lap. “Well, let me tell you, none of that is going to keep me alive, and if Gabe taught me nothing else, he taught me to survive. The last thing he’d want is for me to rely on a complete stranger. Trust no one.”
“Christ, you even sound like him,” Braden muttered. “The most suspicious bastard I ever knew.”
For a moment she wanted to do just what she scorned and ask Braden about Gabe. Details. Information she was hungry for. Yes, Gabe was her brother, and he’d saved her, but she hadn’t seen him in two years. Their phone calls were always brief and to the point.
“Gabe sent us to find you,” Braden said. “Now, you can believe that or not, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to risk my ass or my brother’s just because you can’t decide whether you’d rather hang out with us or your buddy Ricardo.” He snorted and shook his head. “Yeah, that’s a hard choice.”
“You don’t get it, do you?” she said softly. “I don’t want to hang out with either of you. Do I think you’re a better choice than Ricardo? I don’t know.”
She stopped when he sucked in an angry breath.
“I don’t deal in instincts, Braden. I look at irrefutable evidence, and I’m sorry, but so far, I’m not seeing anything that screams to me I can trust you. I’ve been burned and burned bad. If you think I’m going to put my life in your hands because you say Gabe sent you then you’re out of luck.”
Much like the Taser Ricardo had used on her, sudden remembrance hit her with enough force to knock the breath from her. Her hands flew to the back of her neck, frantically feeling for the protrusion.
“Oh fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck,” she breathed.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Braden demanded.
All the blood squeezed itself from her cheeks until they grew tight. She was an idiot, and she deserved to die for such stupidity.
Her fingertips fumbled over her nape until finally she found the thin piece of metal.
Braden’s hand circled her wrist, and he yanked downward. “What are you doing?”
“Tracking device,” she croaked. “I fucked up. I found it but left it in because I intended to use it to throw them off my trail. That’s why they backed off, I’m sure. Because they know how to find us.”
Braden chuckled.
“What the hell is so funny?” she demanded.
“Ian and I planted the tracking device. I’m surprised you found it.”
“You what?”
She jerked her hand out of his grasp and reached for the device again.
“Leave it,” he ordered.
She stared at him in astonishment. “You’re out of your mind. Like I want you knowing my every movement? Don’t you get the whole point of escape?”
He laughed again, much to her irritation.
“You’re not escaping, Katie. But that tracking device has already saved your damn life once. How do you think we knew where to find you when Ricardo swooped in and carried you off to his love nest?”
She threw up her hands in exasperation. “You didn’t save shit!”
“Ricardo is not your only concern,” Braden said quietly. “In fact, I’d go so far as to say he’s a little fish compared to what else you’re up against.”
She made a rude noise. “If this is some sort of bullshit attempt to scare me into sticking around, save it.”
“You don’t have a choice,” Braden said in a clipped tone.
A dart of fear scurried from her belly into her throat.
Braden’s hands tightened around the steering wheel as he navigated back onto the highway. She waited in silence for him to explain, to give her something other than a tersely worded dictate.
It pissed her off that he had the power to frighten her, but she’d long given up trying to deny her fears. Being helpless and powerless did scare the hell out of her.
When it was clear he wasn’t going to offer anything further, she reached over to touch his arm. He flinched and quickly glanced over at her. She retracted her hand in silent apology.
“What were you talking about, Braden? Why did Gabe send you when he’s told me under no circumstances was I to ever trust anyone? No exceptions.”