I’m anxious as hell as I speed toward an alleged agency that is supposedly trying to take both my fake and real father down. Despite the nervousness, I’m kind of proud of myself. Proud for finally attempting to break free of the corrupt life I’ve lived, even if this might not go the way everyone’s hoping.

I’m also proud that I finally told the truth, not just to Ens, but to El.

At first, El was upset. She even threw a few things at me. But then she started crying, telling me she was so sorry I had to go through everything. For once, she felt like my sister, not my enemy. But then she’d pulled back and warned me that if I hurt Ensley, she would kick my ass. I like that she’s looking out for Ensley, though.

What I don’t like is that El and Ens are getting involved in this. Unlike Holden, Gaige, and I, they don’t know what they’re getting into. I want to try to talk them out of it, but both are pretty stubborn.

For most of the drive, everyone is pretty quiet. Ens is in the passenger seat with her head resting against the window and her eyes shut. Holden, El, and Gaige are in the backseat, El squished between the two guys, despite her protests. Either they’re all fast asleep, trying to go to sleep, or pretending to be—I’m not really sure. Holden being with us is making me nervous. First, he tells me he’s working for Gregor and now he’s suddenly working for some agency to take down Gregor. Yeah, it sounds pretty suspicious if you ask me. Which is why I refused to let someone else drive, no matter how much Ens suggests I should rest.

I rub my eyes as the blinding light from the setting sun reflects against my eyes.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Ens suddenly asks, startling me.

“Yeah, the sun’s just bright.” I flip down the visor. “I thought you were asleep.”

She rubs her eyes. “I was for a bit, but mostly I’ve just been thinking.”

I crack the window to let some air in. “About what?”

“About a lot of things.” She coils a strand of her hair around her finger. “Gregor. Winston. Those women and children on the website. How worried my mom sounded on the phone when I called her. You.”

I slow the car down for a sharp turn. “Me?”

“You’ve been really quiet.”

“So have you.”

“Yeah, but I’m usually that way.”

My brow cocks up. “Are you saying I talk a lot?”

She lifts a shoulder, giving a half shrug. “Sometimes you do. It’s not a bad thing. You’re just social.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” I thrum my fingers on top of the wheel. “But I’m not really. I just acted that way because of that thing we talked about with my mom.” With so many ears around, I’m purposefully being vague.

Ens smiles understandingly. “Well, you were good at it.”

“Yeah, but I’d rather be out of the spotlight.”

“Maybe you can be if this all works out.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

Her gaze bores into me, as if she’s trying to unravel all my secrets and I want to let her. So badly. Just like I want to unravel hers.

“Are you nervous?” she asks quietly. “I mean, about what we’re going to do?”

I rest my arm on the console, my heart pounding. I’m more than nervous. I’m fucking terrified. But mostly for her and El. “Sort of,” I lie. “You?”

She laces her fingers through mine, the gesture calming my racing heart. “Yeah, but considering what we’re about to do, I think it’s probably pretty normal.”

“Maybe. But still… I think you should be careful. And remember what I said about what to do if things start to look sketchy.”

“Okay, but I want you to be careful too.”

“I’m planning on it.” I trace the folds of her fingers. “But you need to be extra careful, though, especially if you decide to work undercover for them.”

“Why? Because I’m a girl?” Her brow curves upward in a challenge.

I shake my head. “No, because you’re not used to this world yet. You’re a good person and the stuff you’ll have to deal with if you enter Gregor’s world isn’t going to be pretty.”

“I know that.” She stares out the windshield at the greying sky.

“You know, you can always just let us do this,” I throw the idea out there, hoping she’ll agree, but knowing she probably won’t.

“No, I want to help. I have to help.” Fierce determination burns in her eyes. “Gregor’s my father.”

“You’re not responsible for what he’s done. I wished you’d quit thinking that.”

“I know that, but I’ll probably be able to help a lot because he’s my father.”

“She has a point,” Holden murmurs from the backseat. “You know how Gregor is with Ruby. He tells her more than anyone.”

Ens’s brows knit. “Who’s Ruby?”

Shit. I forgot that Ruby is Ens’s half-sister. I hope she can handle hearing this right now, because I’m not about to lie to her. Not when I finally told her the truth.

“She’s your half-sister—”

“No, she’s not,” Holden cuts me off, scooting forward in the seat. “Gregor pretends she’s his daughter, but from everything I’ve found out, I’m pretty sure she’s the daughter of one of his… One of the girls he sells out hourly. I think one of his clients got her pregnant and then Gregor pretended she was his.”

“Why would he do that?” Ens asks, her eyes wide in absolute horror.

“To protect his business,” Holden replies with a shrug. “He had to keep her hidden somehow; otherwise, people might get suspicious.”

“But why not just give her away to an adoption center or something?” Ens asks. “I mean, he doesn’t sound like the fatherly type.”

“Maybe he was trying to replace you. She does look an awful lot like you.” Holden suggests. “Maybe he thought he’d turn her into the daughter he never had.”

“That poor girl,” Ens mumbles, her eyes watering with impending tears.

I stroke the back of her hand. “It’ll be okay. And Ruby hasn’t had that terrible of a life. At least from what I can tell.”

“You’ve met her?” she asks.

I nod. “A few times. And so have you.”

Her confusion deepens. “When?”

“Graduation day,” I say. “She gave you the rose.”

“Oh.” Her forehead furrows. “You know about that?”

I wince. “Yeah… Sorry I didn’t say anything.”

She shakes her head with her brows knit. “No, it’s fine.”

“No, it’s not,” I say. “I shouldn’t have lied to you.”

She carries my gaze. “I understand why you did it, though.”

“Still—”

She places her finger across my lips, silencing me. “No stills. We both made some stupid decisions and we can either dwell on them or move on. My vote’s for the latter.”

My lips tilt upward. “Me too.”

A beautiful smile spreads across her face. “Good. I’m glad we’re on the same page and that you already understand that I’m always right.”

I shake my head, but can’t keep myself from grinning.

Holden makes a cracking whip sound. “Man, she’s already got your whipped.”

I roll my eyes. “If you don’t shut the fuck up, I’m going to tell everyone about Vivian.”

He shakes his head, glowering at me. “Fuck you, man.”

“Who’s Vivian?” El mumbles without opening her eyes. She has her head resting against Gaige’s shoulder and he has his arm wrapped around her.

Maybe Ens is right. Maybe they do have a thing for each other. That might end up being a bit of a problem, though, seeing as how I’m pretty sure Holden wants El, even though he’s never admitted it.

“Don’t you dare tell her,” Holden warns, his gaze skating to El. He frowns as he notes how cuddled up she is with Gaige.

El smirks, her eyes remaining closed. “One day I’m going to find out and use it against you.”

He stares at her. “You’ll only find out if I want you to find out.”

Her lips curl into a grin. “Carter could tell me.”

“He won’t though.” He throws me a you-better-keep-quiet look.

As much as I want to keep messing with him, I decide to let him off the hook. While we don’t have the greatest friendship, he did keep my secrets to himself.

Silence stretches between us.

“Fine, don’t tell me,” El grumbles. “You guys are boring. I’m going back to sleep.”

A few minutes later, she’s softly snoring.

Holden shakes his head. “She’s such a pain in the ass.”

“And yet you keep encouraging her. I wonder why that is.” When I glance at him in the rearview mirror, he shoots me a nasty look.

Ens’s gaze skates from me to Holden, then her brows rise in understanding.

“Don’t utter a word,” Holden warns, scowling. “Or I swear to God—”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” I warn. “Do not threaten her.”

“Will you two chill the eff out?” Ens huffs an exasperated breath. “I’m not going to tell anyone anything. Trust me, I completely understand.”

I wonder if she’s referring to when she had a crush on me.

“Thanks, Ensley.” Holden sounds like he almost means it.

She smiles, but then the corners of her lips sink downward. “I have a question. It’s completely off the subject, but it’s something that’s been bothering me.” She rotates in her seat. “How come you guys haven’t been able to stop Gregor yet? Or Winston and Nicholas?”

“Because they have so much protection. You’d be surprised how many people cover up for them,” Holden says, picking up a bag of chips he bought at a gas station. “But the biggest problem we’re having is finding out where he keeps all the drugs and women he sells. Gregor is very careful about who his clients are. He doesn’t even trust me with that information and I’ve been working for him for about six months now.” He yanks his fingers through his hair. “As for Winston and Nicholas, that’s part of another investigation. But I’m sure the agent overseeing the case will be more than thrilled to have you,” he nods in my direction, “El, and Gaige helping.”

“How do you know you can trust us, though?” I ask. “I mean, you can, but why trust us? I’m not even sure I trust you yet.”

“Because I know you, man. And I know you want to be a good person despite your shitty upbringing.” He stuffs a handful of chips into his mouth as he flops back in the seat. “As for the rest of you… Well, I’m not positive I can trust you. Don’t worry, though. The agency has ways of finding out if you’re trustworthy.”

Ens shudders. “That sounds very… ominous.”

“You’ll be fine,” Holden assures her. “Just as long as you tell the truth, and you’re doing this for the reason you told me.”

“I am.” Ens grips onto my hand.

I open my mouth again to try to subtly suggest that maybe she not do this when I notice a car riding my ass. I slow down to let the asshole pass, but they decrease their speed too. I speed up instead and so do they.

“Fuck.” I glance back and forth between the rearview mirror and the road.

“What’s wrong?” Holden asks, tossing the bag of chips aside.

I glance at Ensley, who’s watching me apprehensively. I don’t want to freak her out, but I don’t know any other way around this than to just say it.

“That car behind us is tailgating me,” I say. “And I can’t shake them, even when I slow down or speed up.”

“Fuck.” Holden reels around to look out the rear window.

“Maybe they’re just one of those assholes,” Ens suggests, turning around to peer out the back window. “You know, those people who refuse to pass but won’t back off.”

“Yeah, maybe.” I don’t believe my own words, though.

Neither does Holden apparently, since he whips out his gun. “Speed the car up.”

I grab my gun and set it on my lap. “Ens, you have your seatbelt on, right?”

“Yeah…”

“And what about El?”

“No.”

“Wake her up and tell her to put it on.” I downshift and the engine roars as I press down on the gas.

Ens leans over the console and gives El and Gaige a soft shake. “Put your seatbelts on.”

“Why?” El mumbles grumpily.

“Because we’re being followed by someone,” Ens explains, facing forward in the seat again.

“By who?” Gaige asks, sounding wide awake.

“I’m not sure yet, but my bet is either one of Winston’s or Gregor’s men,” I tell him. “Neither is a great option.”

Ens grips the edge of the seat, her breathing coming out unevenly. “Maybe you should just hand me over.”

“What?” El exclaims at the same time I snap, “No fucking way.”

El smacks Ens upside the head. “Are you fucking insane, Ens?”

“No, she’s just self-sacrificing,” Gaige mutters. “She always is.”

Ens rubs her head where El smacked her. “I’m not insane or self-sacrificing. But I’m glad to see you’re not past the head slapping thing yet.”

“I’ll be past it when I don’t need to slap some sense into you.” El slumps back in the seat. “Why the hell would you say that?”

Ens stares out the window. “Because either way, whether it’s Gregor’s men or Winston’s, they both are after me. And if you just hand me over, they’ll leave you guys alone.”

I shake my head. “First off, no they won’t. If Gregor found out what Holden and I are up to, he’ll kill us. And if that’s Winston’s men, we’re all probably dead.”

“Wow, way to be blunt,” El mumbles.

“I’m just stating the facts.” My knuckles whiten as I grasp the steering wheel. “And before you decide to go into an agreement with this alleged agency, you need to realize that this shit,” I throw a glance at the back of the car, “Is going to happen all the fucking time.”

“I still think we should at least try to hand me over—”

“And secondly,” I talk over Ens, “there is no fucking way in hell I’m going to hand you over to whoever’s in that car. Say whatever you want, but you’re just wasting your breath.”

She scowls at me. “I don’t really think it’s your decision what I do.”

I shift gears and increase speed. “No, but this is my car and it’s my decision whether or not to slow it down.”

“Carter, focus on driving,” Holden snaps. “Give the car more gas and ditch this fucker.”

I tear my attention off Ens and give the car even more gas. “Everyone hold on—”

The car chasing us rear ends my car. The tires squeal and the car jolts, spinning out of control. I struggle to keep control of the wheel while letting off the gas. But when the tires hit the gravel on the edge of the road, I know this is probably going to end badly.

“Everyone hold on,” I manage to get out right before we crash into a tree.