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“Get up.” His sneer burned with impatience.

Without waiting for her to right herself, he grabbed her by both arms and pulled her out of the truck. Her feet hit the gravel so hard, a jolt of pain shot up her legs.

Cain didn’t give her a chance to get on her feet before he dragged her toward the door. She worked to get her footing, but the pulling in her side prevented even a half breath.

They brought her through a back door and down a short hallway to what she knew was the waiting room. She’d never seen anyone use it when she was younger, and it had mostly been a storage room.

A row of three metal chairs were bolted to the floor in front of a TV mounted on the wall. Parts, tires, and boxes filled the corners of the room.

Cain flopped her around like she was a ragdoll until she was haphazardly seated in the middle chair. With her hands behind her, she couldn’t readjust to sit up straight.

He grabbed one of her legs before she could pull away from him and tied it to the chair leg. She knew what was coming next and kicked her other leg. She aimed for his face, but he caught her ankle and jerked it down. Once he had a grip on her, there was no fighting free.

With her ankles tied to the chair, half of the fire inside her died. She kept pulling against the straps on her hands, but she was doing more harm than good.

The pain in her chest was worse, and each breath was labored. She’d just started to feel like herself again in more ways than one. Her body had been healing, and her heart was on the mend too. She’d started to believe she and Brett could make things work here.

All that healing was erased now.

She tried to swallow around the cloth in her mouth, but it was useless.

The door opened, and Gage stepped into view.

Cain stood in front of her with his arms crossed over his chest and nodded.

Gage didn’t look happy to see her.

Dread filled her like lead. She’d wanted to believe he cared about her, but the hate in his eyes made her question everything she thought she knew.

No, she had to hope he was just playing along. Everything in the last few weeks, as well as the last five years, told her he cared.

But would he help her now? How far would his loyalty go?

“Police were dispatched to the wreck,” Gage said. “They should be out of the way for now.”

Cain checked his phone. “Where is Tommy?”

Gage positioned himself right in front of Thea. She looked up at him, and twin tears raced down her cheeks.

Cain was on the phone, but Gage had his full attention on her. With his arms crossed over his broad chest and the dark look in his eyes, anyone would cower before him.

He was bigger than the man who had haunted her dreams. Thea had spent so many nights pushing back nightmares where her brother had chosen the rest of the family over her. Those were the worst–the ones where she was completely alone.

The scowl stayed firmly in place as he mouthed, “Brett is coming.”

A rush of air half-filled her injured lungs.

Brett was coming, and that was both good and bad.

Thea shook her head. The movement was small enough not to attract Cain’s attention.

He reached behind her head and tugged the cloth loose. She let the soaked rag fall from her mouth and tried to swallow. Everything hurt.

When she looked up at him, she whispered, “They’ll kill you.”

Gage’s mask fell slightly, exposing the man she knew. “I’d rather die than do this to you. Hang in there, and trust us.”

Us. Who was she supposed to trust? Gage and Brett?