Page 21 of Vengeance

Every ounce of blood drained from his face. "No,” he whispered.

"Who is it from?" Chloe asked. He didn't answer her, and another message came through.

OR I'LL COME GET YOU BOTH.

His hands began to shake—not from fear, but from rage. For years, he made sure Dante couldn't find him. He changed his name, ditched his phones for new ones, and changed cities. He burned every bridge behind him, and somehow, His father had found him.

"Vengeance?" Chloe whispered. He finally looked up. Chloe was watching him carefully. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I wish it were a ghost,” he admitted. He immediately powered the phone off, removed the battery, and threw both into opposite sides of the creek.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"He found me,” Vengeance said as though that would explain everything.

"Who found you?” she asked. He didn't answer. Instead, he walked to the motorcycle and started stripping gear from the saddlebags. He kept only what they needed—extra ammunition, a medical kit, cash, maps- and left everything else behind. Traveling lighter meant traveling faster.

"We're changing plans,” he said.

"What plans?" Chloe asked.

"We're not going to the safe house,” Vengeance said.

She stared at him. "What?"

"They know about it,” he said.

"You don't know that."

"I do."

"How?" Chloe asked.

He looked at the dead phone lying in the water. "Because it’s on the map that the old guy just gave us. And I’m betting that the leak in the Royal Bastards told whoever is hunting you where we are going."

“We can’t be sure of that,” she insisted.

"I’m pretty damn sure of it,” he growled. “Because someone just texted me, and I know that he’s the one hunting you.”

Her eyes widened. "How does the person hunting me have your phone number?" she asked. The question made him freeze. She'd quickly connected the dots. "Unless—” Her voice grew quieter. "They already knew you."

He didn't answer because she wouldn’t like what he had to say. "You know them." He stood silently, staring her down. "You've always known them. They know you well enough to call you.” The accusation hung in the air between them, and his heart pounded. He'd imagined this moment a thousand times. None of them had happened beneath a railroad bridge while running for their lives.

"Say something,” Chloe shouted.

He closed his eyes. "I can't."

"You won't,” she challenged.

"Can’t and won’t aren’t the same thing,” he said.

"They are to me." He opened his mouth, but nothing came out because once he told her the truth, there would be no going back. She would never look at him the same way again.

A distant engine echoed through the mountains, and he cursed under his breath. "They're close."

She grabbed his arm before he could move away. "No." He looked down at her hand. "You don't get to keep secrets anymore."

"Chloe—"