Page 107 of The Bad Brother

I shake my head. “In there.” Thinking fast, I gesture toward the skybridge that attaches the parking garage to the hospital. “I told you I resigned,” I remind him. “The phone was hospital property. I had to turn it in. That’s why I’m here.”

The look he gives me tells me he doesn’t just think I’mlying—he knows it. “Empty ‘em,” he tells me, jerking his chin at the cargo pockets on my scrub pants.

Bending over on a silent prayer that my pants and top are baggy enough to conceal the outline of my phone against my thigh, I do what he says, pulling out my stethoscope and my car keys. “There’s nothing else,” I tell him on a head shake while squeezing the outside of my pockets. “I don’t have anything else.”

“Okay.” Watching me closely, Ethan gives me a cruel smile. “Let’s go for a ride.” Jabbing River with the barrel of his gun again, he jerks his chin at my car behind me. “You’re driving.” He gives me a cruel smile. “If you try to run, I won’t chase you, Sloane. I’ll just shoot her—do you understand?”

Giving him a nod, I give River what I hope to god is a reassuring smile before I turn on my heel and start walking toward my car while my mind races through every scenario, every nightmare, that we might be facing.

Ethan has a gun and he freely admitted that he not only hired someone to attack Jensen last Thursday—he hired him tokillhim. That can only mean one thing.

Ethan has no intention of letting either of us live.

Stopping in front of my car, I reach slowly into the cargo pocket for my car keys and hit the fob to unlock it. Continuing past me, River in front of him, Ethan’s back is toward me for less than a handful of seconds.

But it’s enough.

Reaching into my bag, heart knocking around in my chest so hard I feel like I’m going to pass out, I feel tears prickle at the corner of my eyes when I immediately feel the smooth, hard plastic of my stun gun beneath myfingers. Hand wrapped around it, I pull it out and drop it into the loose cargo pocket of my scrubs, just as Ethan rounds the front of my car to the passenger side. Opening the door, he shoves River into the front seat before slamming the door closed to look at me over the roof, barrel of the gun pressed against the window, mere inches from River’s head. “Drop your bag on the ground and get in the car.”

Doing what he says without hesitation, I drop my bag and get into the car while he climbs into the back seat. Jamming my keys into the ignition, I look at Ethan’s reflection in the

rearview mirror. He’s staring right at me, watching my every move. Waiting for me to do something that will give him a reason to pull the trigger and kill us both. Like he’s reading my mind, the corner of his mouth lifts in a smirk that somehow, inexplicably, makes him look like his brother. “I don’t want to kill anyone, Sloane.” The smirk on Ethan’s face spreads into a full-fledged smile. “Not yet anyway.”

Looking away, I shake my head, focusing on getting the car started while the phone tucked into my waistband buzzes against my hip.

Shit.

Twisting the key in the ignition to cover up the faint hum of it, I rev the engine when it buzzes for a second and third time. It’s Jensen. It has to be. He woke up and knows I’m gone. Knowing him, he went across the hall, looking for me and knows that River is gone too. He’ll call Colt. It’s going to be okay. We just have to hang on for a little while longer.

Turning my head to look at River, I give her another smile. “It’s going to be okay, Riv,” I tell her quietly.

Giving me a wobbly smile, River nods her head. “I know.”

I’m pretty sure she’s lying.

I’m pretty sure we both are.

All I know for sure is that Ethan isn’t going to walk away from this unscathed. I’m not going to make it easy. If he kills us, he’s going to have to work for it.

Still stalling for time, I put on my seatbelt, slowly dragging it across my chest before clicking it into place. Shifting into drive, I look at Ethan’s reflection again. “Where are we going?”

“I don’t know. So many choices...” He pretends to think about it for a moment, playing with me before he sits back in his seat on a sigh. “I know—” He lifts the gun from his lap and jams the barrel of it into the back of River’s seat. “Let’s go see my brother.”

LET’S GO SEE MY BROTHER.

When he says it, River makes a soft sound of protest, her wide blue eyes latching on to the side of my face because she knows what that means, just as well as I do.

It’s not just us that Ethan plans on killing.

Even though it’s the last thing I want to do, I pull out of the parking garage, making a left hand turn onto Riverfront Drive, heading in the direction of The Mill like Ethan says.

“Where’s Amy?” I ask, flicking another look at Ethan in the rearview. I don’t really care where Amy is. I’m trying to keep him engaged to distract him from the fact that I’m driving as slowly as I possibly can, trying to give myself time to figure out what to do next. “What’s going to happen when she wakes up and finds you gone? Won’t she get worried?”

“Worried?” Ethan barks out a laugh like I just made ajoke. “You know that gold-digging slut refused to sign a prenup?”

His gaze narrows into a hateful glare. “She had the nerve to tell me that if I loved her, I’d marry her without one—Jensen didn’t ask Hanna to sign a prenup,” he mimics in a snide, nasty tone. “Fucking cunt.” Glare aimed out the window, he shakes his head on a laugh. “When I told her I wouldn’t marry her without one, she laughed in my face and said,your birthday is in two weeks—good luck finding someone stupid enough to marry youwithone.” He flicks a hateful look in my direction. “Jensen’s the one who told her about the marriage clause in my trust fund. Made her think she had some sort of leverage. That she could manipulate me. What happened is his fault, not mine.”

Not liking the sound of that or what it probably means, I swallow hard. Gaze aimed through the windshield in front of me, I take a right-hand turn to see the East Bridge looming in the distance. Focusing on keeping him talking and as occupied as possible, I clear my throat. “If Amy won’t marry you, what are you going to do?”

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