Page 33 of Unchained

“Mind if I drive?” He held out his hand.

She dug her keys from her pocket and led the way to her car. “Are you sure? I don’t mind.”

“I feel like I need to keep my brain active.” He accepted the keys from her fingers and got in the front. “We’re a long way from Seattle. We should stop for the night at some point.”

She got in the passenger’s seat, buckled up, and pulled out her phone. Brooks reversed out of the parking lot while she mapped out their route. “We’re ten hours from Seattle, but it’s already almost four,” she said, nodding at the dash. “We can drive for a few hours and then stop at a motel if you want.”

“Sounds good. In the meantime, do you think you can track down Alexis’s number?”

“I was thinking the same thing.” She leafed through the search results she’d left on her browser and found the name of the newspaper Alexis worked for. “I’ve got her work number. Do you want me to call?”

He gave one curt nod, his expression somber.

In her head, Cam ran through what to say as the line rang in her ear. Hi, I’ve found your missing brother. He’s been held against his will in a lab. Was a little too blunt. Better to wing it.

“Shoreline News. How may I direct your call?”

“Hello, may I speak with Alexis Ivanov, please?”

“I think she left for the day. I’ll connect you to her voicemail.”

Shit. The line clicked over.

Hi, you’ve reached Alexis Ivanov. Please leave me a detailed message after the tone and I’ll get back to you at my earliest convenience.

“Hi. My name is Camryn Bay—Royce.” Shoot, she’d never get her name straight. “I’m calling on behalf of your brother, Brooks Ivanov. Please call me back when you have a minute.” She rattled off her number and disconnected. Then turned her attention to Brooks. “She’s out for the day. I’ll try to find her on social media.” She logged on to one of the sites she hadn’t looked at in days. Ignoring the string of notifications that popped up, she went to the search bar and typed in Alexis’s name. Nothing came up. She went to another social media account and got the same result. “She must have an unsearchable account. Understandable, if she doesn’t want the public to find her easily. Hopefully she calls us back tomorrow.”

He nodded again and shifted, looking somewhat relieved. He laid one elbow on the console and looped his other hand around the steering wheel. “It’s weird—driving.” His voice was gruff, heavy. “One of those things everyone takes for granted, but it’s freeing, you know? I can go anywhere, just the road stretched out in front of me. Outside of the cities it’s so quiet. I never liked it when it was quiet at the lab. I hated the sound of my own thoughts, day in and day out. But this is different.”

The steel hand of pity grabbed her chest. Tears collected at the corners of her eyes, and she dashed them away. He’d been so long without human connection. So long without knowing if he’d live or die, or what they’d do to him next. Dear lord, how had he survived?

She laced her fingers with his, all her words of comfort dissolving on her tongue. “I know you have to get your revenge for what they did to you, but you’re free now, Brooks.” It was all she could muster.

He squeezed her hand. As she gazed at the stretch of road in front of them, her mind went back to her mom. It’d been more than twenty-four hours since she spoke to her. If she didn’t call her soon, her mom would be in a fit of worry.

Tonight. For now, she’d anchor her attention to Brooks.

He needed it.

* * *

The monotonous sound of blabbering radio hosts somehow didn’t annoy Brooks. Any other time, he’d have shut off the meaningless chitchat, but now it comforted him—just normal people, talking about everyday life. Even the commercial jingles didn’t irk him enough to make him change the station. Night had fallen. They’d crossed the Nevada-Oregon border hours ago, but the scenery hadn’t changed: rolling hills, dusty earth, and the glow of yellow eyes at the side of the road that made him glad as fuck they hadn’t gotten a flat tire.

Cam shifted next to him, jolting him back to the now. Back to the constant hum beneath his skin reminding him that she was near. She tucked her bare feet under her hip, curling into the door and snuggling her pert little ass against the console, inches from his elbow. She let out a long, shuddering sigh, and he swung his gaze to her face, which was nestled against the window. His airways tightened. She hadn’t asked for this. By doing the right thing and coming to his aid, she’d endangered herself. But things that didn’t add up kept circling through his mind: She’d had a bag ready—there was no way she could have packed and changed as quickly as she had back at her house. She also had a gun and several grand in cash.

That was another thing that bugged him. She’d paid for the motel, their food, hell, even the clothes on his back, and he didn’t have a dime. He wasn’t a freeloader. He’d keep track of every penny and pay her back.

She groaned and stretched her arm high before sitting. “Want me to drive?” She rubbed her eyes, looking like a reluctant kid who’d been woken up for school.

“Why don’t we stop for the night? There’s a town straight ahead called Bend. We can continue in the morning.”

“Sounds good to me. Are you hungry?”

His stomach rumbled, but the last thing he wanted to do was leech more food off her. “I’m all right.”

She snorted as they entered the town. The lights of twenty-four-hour stores and takeout joints lined the street. “I heard your stomach growling. Let’s find a place to sleep and we can grab food nearby.”

A few minutes later, a motel came into view. After pulling in, Brooks unbuckled his seatbelt. “They might want a credit card to hold the room, but I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

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