Page 50 of When Hearts Unravel (The Orchid #6)

“Follow me! I know another way out.” Bree pulls me behind her, her grip surprisingly strong.

Before the shots rang out, I was trying to escape the gala because I couldn’t stand it.

I couldn’t be in the same space as Rex as he flirted with other women.

The old me would’ve stayed because I didn’t want to disappoint my friends, but the new me needed to protect my heart first.

But then chaos broke out.

I spun around to look for Rex and Lana when I spotted Bree. The utter terror on her face. She was wearing a uniform and a blond wig. I almost didn’t recognize her.

Her eyes widened when they met mine. She rushed over and grabbed my hand before making a break for it.

“But Rex and Lana!” I struggle to pull free from Bree’s death grip.

She’s fucking strong.

“No time! I saw Lana running out the front door and Rex could take care of himself. We have a plan for this.”

A plan?

“What the hell’s going on?”

More gunshots ring through the air, and we duck.

People fall down. Trampling on each other. My feet almost slip on something wet.

I look down and see the crimson liquid.

Blood.

Then I spot two men on the ground, their eyes vacant. They’re dead.

My pulse ricochets in my ears, fear in my veins.

Shit. What did Rex get himself into?

Bree pulls me through another set of doors before leading me into a dark, dank alleyway.

More gunshots bellow inside the ballroom as the door slams shut.

We plaster ourselves against the wall, my lungs heaving in frantic gulps of air.

“Fuck. Where is he? He said he was going to be here! He was going to take me to the safe house,” Bree whispers urgently.

I whip my head toward her, finding her scanning our vicinity, her eyes wide with terror.

“Who? What? Fill me in, Bree.” She better tell me what’s going on.

“I should’ve known it wouldn’t be easy. I should’ve known…” she rambles, her body shaking, sweat dotting her forehead.

My years of medical training snap in on autopilot. I stand in front of her and tilt her head down so our eyes meet.

“Bree, breathe. You’re panicking right now, which won’t do us any good. I need you to focus on my voice and breathe. Deep breaths in. Deeper breaths out.”

She follows my lead, her eyes still unfocused.

“Good. There’s no one on this street right now. We’re safe.” I have no idea what I’m saying. “Again. Let’s do this again. Then you can tell me what’s going on and we’ll figure it out.”

Bree nods and does as I say. Her wig slides off her head and, with a frustrated growl, she grabs and hurls it onto the ground.

Eventually, her breathing evens.

Leaning closer to me, she whispers, “Bree isn’t my real name. I’m not really moving. I’m on the run. Elias and Rex are helping me escape some dangerous people.”

The puzzle pieces finally slide into place. The strange interactions between them. The secretive discussions. The sadness and fear in her eyes whenever she brings up her “move.” How she rarely left her stateroom after Pyrgos Village in Santorini.

The near kidnapping.

My eyes widen, my pulse soaring off the charts. “Santorini?”

She nods, her lips trembling. “It was for me. The Association. They want me dead.”

Shit. I’ve been around the Andersons long enough and have seen the newspaper headlines to know about The Association and how dangerous they are.

I survey the dark alleyway.

“We should leave then, if you’re the target. We can’t stay here. We’re sitting ducks,” I whisper.

Screams emanate from behind the closed door.

Bree vehemently shakes her head. “Elias told me to stay put. Whatever happens, to stay here. His contact is coming. W-We just have to be patient and trust him. He must have a plan.”

I press my hand over my chest, trying to stem my chaotic heartbeats.

Trust Elias. The Andersons trust him—the mobster has helped them time and time again.

And what can I do by myself? Run where? And I won’t leave Bree behind.

“Okay. We’ll stay. But if we hear or see anyone other than your contact, we run, okay? I don’t care what Elias or Rex says.”

Bree nods.

Swallowing the bile rising in my throat, I grip the wall behind me, trying to find purchase. My breath throttles out of my lungs, and then the shakes start.

Shock. I can’t go into shock.

“Distract me. Tell me why The Association is after you.”

Box breathing, inhale—hold—exhale, four seconds each, repeat. I circle through the various exercises drilled into us in medical school. We’ll get out of this alive. I look around for a weapon, spotting a crowbar on top of some boxes. I quickly grab it.

“The Carusos. Have you heard of them?” Bree says.

They sound familiar. Old money, secretive. I don’t really follow these circles, so I don’t know.

She continues, “They’re the controlling interest of The Association. Few people know that because they keep a low profile.”

Something in her words gives me pause, and I swivel toward her. “But how do you know this? Who are you?”

Bree’s eyes dip down, her face crumbling in an expression I know as shame.

“My real name is Gabriella Caruso,” she says, her voice so soft, I can barely hear her.

“You’re part of The Association?” My feet inch back, and I shake my head.

No way. She can’t be—I’ve been calling a monster a friend?

I remember the headlines—the mysterious organization rumored to infiltrate governments and companies to control the world. I remember how Taylor, one of my strongest, no-nonsense friends, broke down when she told us how she was brutalized at an initiation ceremony.

Apparently, the price of entry to this organization is to commit a felony of their choice. Leverage for blackmail. No one gets out once they’re in.

Then there was Ethan, Alexis, and others who were impacted by these assholes.

I shake my head and stare at the quiet girl. She’s part of them? The cold-blooded bastards?

“I know. I deserve to die just because I’m associated with them. But I swear, I didn’t know until recently. My family kept me from it. I’m only a second cousin, a distant relative. I swear I never knew.”

“B-But why would they be after you if you don’t know everything?”

“I’m a hacker. When I was poking around my family’s servers, I stumbled upon a firewall I wasn’t supposed to spot.

I started digging, making connections. Then I realized there were files, documents, org charts I didn’t have access to.

But Elias must have flagged something because he contacted me out of the blue and asked me to help him. ”

“And you said yes.”

I knock my head on the back of the wall, finally understanding the picture I wasn’t seeing before. I had heard from my friends that Elias has a vendetta against The Association, but no one knows why.

He must need something from Bree.

But I still have unanswered questions.

Why is Rex involved? Why is Elias so interested in this personally? Why didn’t they pick a middle of the night, disappearing people method to get Bree to safety?

Being with Rex has to be high profile and risky.

Bree nods. “The more I learned from Elias about what my family did to innocent people like the Andersons, the more I couldn’t let this fly. I had to do something. So I said I’d help him. And it turned out only I could help him because of my blood.”

“What? What’s so special about your blood?”

“I have an ultra-rare HLA type. Apparently, we’re one of the few families to still have this in our DNA. Because of this, The Association hid a lot of their info on drives with a biometric lock that scans for this. But the antigen disintegrates upon death.”

HLA, human leukocyte antigen, part of the immune system’s fingerprint that is unique to individuals but is also heritable. It’s already used in medical authentication and tissue matching for organ donations. Rare haplotypes, if I recall correctly, are nearly impossible to fake or replicate.

“You’re a walking key,” I exhale.

Oh shit. This is why she’s so valuable. This is why Elias is risking it all by being on this cruise, by escorting her in person. “But won’t your family suspect you? Hanging out with Rex on this cruise?”

She shakes her head. “The rich mingling with the rich isn’t strange. And it’s Rex. Everyone knows he’s a party animal. No one would suspect him. I’m safe by association. At least, I thought I was. My hacker name is an alias, but I guess they must’ve figured it out.”

And Rex, I don’t know his reasons for doing this, but the man has been on the edge for a long time, tempting fate, tempting death.

He blames himself for his mom’s death, for the sadness his family endured for years.

He thinks he has nothing to offer other than fake happiness and charm.

Maybe this is his way of giving back to the world by doing something meaningful with his life.

The man has a death wish.

I’m rocked by a sudden burst of anger. I clench the crowbar so tightly my arms shake.

He knows I care about him, that I love him. I’ve told him to take care of himself, and he’s promised me. I’ve tried knocking some sense into him. That he shouldn’t let the past haunt his present, and what happened to his mom was a tragedy nobody wanted.

I can’t save him. I can’t fix him. I should’ve known this.

You can’t change someone who doesn’t put in the work.

Suddenly, quick footsteps reach our ears. We huddle behind the tall boxes, my crowbar lifted and ready.

A silhouette of a tall, muscular man in a baseball cap comes into view, his boots clomping on the wet puddles in the alley. He’s holding a gun.

I don’t recognize him.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

I hold my breath, readjusting my grip on the crowbar.

I can aim for his balls. Then a swift jab into his eyes before stomping on his wrists. I’ll kick the weapon away and crush the windpipe. The side benefit of being a doctor is knowing the human anatomy very well. Never piss off a doctor.

“Bree? This is Jacques. Elias sent me,” the man says.

Bree moves, but I grab her wrist. How do we know he’s telling the truth?

She swivels her head my way, her eyes widening when she no doubt thinks the same thing.