No! Why would he do it? How could he do it? The man on the screen covered in blood looked like my brother, but the man I knew would never . . .

“It was no accident that you threw your sister at him either. Did you think by pushing them together he could protect her from me? A Hennessy, of all people? The fucking family that has cost me millions? And now you’ll all die.”

“Fuck you, asshole. You used her to keep me in line, and I did what I had to do. There were no guarantees.”

“And you can’t trust a dirty cop who steals money from the cartel either.”

I fought for another breath. Stealing money from the cartel? For what? The remaining shreds of hope that my brother was innocent withered and died one by one.

In the video, Heath took another fist to the face, and my stomach lurched.

“Fuck off. I needed the money. Fucking greedy pigs. You got more than you’ll be able to spend. It was getting seized anyway. You were never going to see it again.”

“Greedy pig? No, that’s you, you piece of shit. You should’ve known better than to gamble with money you can’t repay. Should’ve known better than to fuck with us.”

The backhand that struck Heath across the face was more of an insult than anything, but I still flinched.

“Where is he?” I asked, the words sticking in my throat.

Carlos twisted my head so he could look me in the eye. “What? You don’t want to see the good part?” He turned me back to face the TV as a knife flashed in the goon’s grip and slammed into Heath’s hand, pinning it to the arm of the chair.

I projectile vomited on the floor for the second time today.

Carlos flung me away from him, and I landed on my knees. “Disgusting.” He snapped his fingers, and one of the men in black suits disappeared into my dad’s kitchen and returned with a roll of paper towels. Carlos snatched it from him and shoved it at me. “Clean up the mess.”

It was from my knees, next to my own vomit, that I watched the rest. Heath refused to give up the safe room override code—until a second knife pinned his other hand to the chair and my stomach rebelled again.

“Fine! I’ll give it to you!”

My brother’s words slammed into my chest, knocking me back on my ass as he rattled off a series of numbers. He . . . he gave me up. Sacrificed me to save himself.

“No family loyalty. Disgraceful. Especially when you rushed here to save him,” Carlos said as he stood above me, looking down.

On the screen, they ripped the knives out, unpinning Heath from the chair, and he rose to his feet on unsteady legs.

He sold me out. Gave me up to these brutal men to save himself.

The same person who taught me to ride a bike, and cleaned up my skinned knees when I crashed. The brother I always thought would come to my rescue. The brother I was willing to undertake a suicide mission to save. The brother I didn’t want to believe would willingly offer me up to a psycho.

But he did.

He’d lied to everyone.

Me. Dad. Rhett.

But he was still my brother.

“Where is he?” On my knees, there was no doubt I was begging. “And my dad. Please.”

Carlos laughed and nodded at the screen.

I stared at the TV as Heath turned his back on the camera and walked toward the door, pain evident in every uneven step.

“Tell your little sister good-bye, Heath.”

My brother’s head whipped around just in time for someone to draw a pistol with a long barrel and pull the trigger three times.

“NO!”

My screams echoed through the house as my brother dropped to his knees, clutching his chest where the bullets had penetrated, and collapsed on the floor.

61

Rhett

When we got to the house, Ari still wasn’t answering. I pounded on the door to the safe room, but no noise came from inside.

“You have the override?” Rix asked.

“No.”

Carver burst into the closet. “I’ve got the override code.” He flipped open a hidden panel to reveal a keypad and punched in the numbers.

The door slid open silently, and I rushed in. “Ari!”

The room was empty. She was gone.

I spun around to face the men behind me. “How did this happen? How the hell did she get out of here and not a single one of you noticed?”

One of the men spoke up. “There was a car that drove by a couple times, real slow. I went out front to check. Then the back sensor went off, and we cleared the front threat to go check that one out.”

Rix walked into the safe room. “There’s no sign of struggle. My guess is she left on her own.”

“Why the fuck would she do that?” I strode out of the safe room, but I already knew the answer as soon as I voiced the question. “Heath or her dad. Herrera has one of them.”

Carver shook his head. “Mr. Sampson is at the rehab center. I called to check.”

That left only one possibility.

“If they had Heath, she would’ve gone.” I knew it down to my bones, because that’s how loyal Ari was.

Carver’s phone rang, and he glanced down at it before picking up. “What? Wait, at the Sampson house?” His gaze cut to mine. “We’re on our way.”

“What the hell is going on?”

“Got a guy monitoring police radio. Call just came in from a neighbor about the Sampson house. Said she was worried about a possible domestic disturbance because of the yelling.”

“That has to be them.” My heart jumped into my throat. “Let’s move.”

I’m coming for you, Ari.

62

Ariel

Neighborhood dogs barked outside, maybe because my screaming had set them off. Or maybe it had been the sound of Carlos’s fist connecting with my jaw to silence me, or the sound of my head smashing into the edge of a table or the lamp shattering as it hit the tile.

“Shut up. Your brother doesn’t deserve your sympathy. Worthless piece of shit. He showed you that picture of me, used it to push you away. That’s why your father is lying where he is. To teach him a lesson. Look where his actions got you all.”

I curled into a ball, shielding myself from another blow. “Where’s my dad?” My voice was raw, destroyed from crying.