Page 91 of Push My Buttons

The image is so vivid, so perfectly Lucien, that I almost see it myself. My brother, composed and controlled even in surrender.

"The strange thing was," Agent Voss continues, "there was no victim at the scene. Just Lucien, waiting for us."

"That doesn't make sense,"I sign, my brow furrowing."Why would he surrender after evading capture for so long?"

"That's the million-dollar question," she replies. "He hasn't given us a reason. Given his intelligence and resources, it was unexpected, to say the least. Curious, even."

Something in her tone makes me look at her more carefully. There's a clinical detachment in her voice, but I catch a glint of something else in her eyes that makes me uneasy.

"As I said, your brother is a sociopath, Miss Cain," she repeats matter-of-factly. "But he's also extraordinarily intelligent. Every move he makes is calculated. His surrender means something—we just haven't figured out what yet."

I fidget with the edge of my blanket, uncomfortable with this line of conversation. I haven't seen Lucien in almost two years. Haven't spoken to him since before my attack. The brother I knew and the monster Agent Voss describes seem like two entirely different people.

"Do you think,"I sign hesitantly,"that Lucien's surrender has anything to do with Levi resurfacing? With him finding me?"

Agent Voss considers this. "It's possible. The timing is... interesting." She makes a note in her book. "Which brings me to another question: have you had any contact with your brother in the past two years?"

I shake my head emphatically.

"No phone calls? No letters? Nothing through a third party?"

"Nothing,"I sign."I changed my name, moved across the country, cut all ties. I wanted nothing to do with him or what he'd done. I wanted nothing to do with my old life at all."

She studies me for a long moment, as if weighing the truth of my words. "And yet Levi found you."

The implication hangs in the air between us. Could Lucien have somehow led Levi to me? Could my own brother be orchestrating this nightmare from behind bars?

"One final question," Agent Voss says, closing her notebook. "If Lucien were to contact you now, what would you do?"

The question catches me off guard. I stare at her, my hands momentarily still as I consider my answer.

"I'd tell you,"I finally sign."I want nothing to do with either of them."

She nods, apparently satisfied with my response. "We'll have agents looking for Levi based on your description and the evidence you've provided. In the meantime, we're arranging protection for you."

"I don't want to hide,"I sign firmly."I've been hiding for too long."

"No one's suggesting you hide. In fact, maintaining your normal routine might be… advantageous," she corrects me. "But until we apprehend Levi, you need to be cautious, be mindful of your surroundings. He's already demonstrated that he's willing to hurt you."

A chill runs down my spine as I remember his hands around my throat, his whispered words in my ear just before I collapsed on the sidewalk.

"Thank you for your time," Agent Voss says, standing. She hands me a business card. "Call me directly if you remember anything else, or if you have any... unusual contacts."

I take the card, nodding my understanding.

As she reaches the door, she pauses. "Your brother asked about you, you know. During one of our interviews. It was the only time I saw a genuine emotion from him."

With that unsettling revelation, she leaves, the door clicking shut behind her.

I stare at the space where she stood, a strange mixture of emotions churning inside me. Fear, confusion, and something else—a tiny, traitorous spark of curiosity about the brother I once loved.

What game is Lucien playing? Why surrender now, after all this time? And what does it have to do with me?

Chapter 34

Wren

Thedischargeprocesstakesforever. By the time Jace and Theo arrive with fresh clothes, I've been poked, prodded, and lectured about concussion care until my head throbs worse than before. The officer stationed outside my door follows us all the way to the parking lot, his vigilant presence both reassuring and suffocating.