4. Kali

4

KALI

The cellphone ringing brings me out of my autopilot state, and I swerve a little bit on the freeway. I don’t know how the hell I haven’t crashed when I allowed myself to check out like that. I pick up the phone and see my sister’s name on the caller ID.

I want to answer it so badly. Tears spring to my eyes because I want to tell Anna what’s going on, but that would be doing what Miles’s twin brother wants me to do: draw out the others so he can get at them. No, I can’t rely on my family or let them know what’s happening. I’m not going to put them in danger.

I silence the phone and notice that my gas reading tells me that I’m almost on empty—again. It will be the third time I’m filling up since I started my escape from Los Angeles. I take the next exit and use the last of my cash I have since I withdrew it at an ATM somewhere in Arizona.

Where am I, anyway?

I use the gas station restroom to wash my face and try to revive my tired, weary eyes. According to my watch, I’ve been driving for twelve hours. Somehow, I still feel like I’m not nearly far enough away.

By some miracle, I haven’t been in an accident or pulled over, and I figure I’m doing okay. I just have to keep going.

“What city is this?” I ask the clerk on my way out of the gas station.

He looks up and his eyes round when he sees me. I know I look bad, exhausted, and a little out of it. “This is Albuquerque.... New Mexico.”

“Thank you.” I nod and turn to go.

I hear the clerk ask me if I’m okay, but I just keep going. I want... no, I need to keep moving and put more distance between myself and Miles’s twin.

Once on the road, my phone keeps ringing. First Anna and then her husband, Nico. I’ve kept sending them to voicemail, but now, I put my phone on silent because they are not giving up. I know I need to talk to them, but first I need a plan.

On the freeway, I continue driving northeast. Every scenario plays out in my mind for when the twin catches up with me. I’ve tried to make sure I’m not being followed, but I’m not a professional by any means. I’m scared, but the more miles that go by, the angrier I get. I don’t want to be a pawn to be used by men like him to hurt my family. I want to take back the power and fight, but to do that, I know I need to lead him as far away from my family as possible and still give myself time to prepare for his arrival.

Almost eight hours and two gas stops later, I rub my hands across my face and stretch in the seat when I look at my dash again. The check engine light is on. The little arrow that points out if the engine is cold or hot is in the red zone, and I barely make it another mile before the hood is smoking. I take the very next exit and note it says Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. There’s a sign for a car repair and gas one mile ahead, and I pray that I make it.

Just as I’m pulling in, a big guy comes out and is closing his garage doors to the shop when he turns to glare at me. He’s big, covered in tattoos, and just looks like a man I wouldn’t want to meet in a deserted parking lot.

What am I doing here? I don’t have the money to fix this hunk of junk.

I get out of the car, and the hard look on the guy’s face softens. “We’re about to close, but it looks like you’re having a rough go of it.”

The way he’s looking at me, I don’t know if he’s talking about me or the car. I haven’t showered. I know I’m a mess, but my car is now smoking so badly I’m just waiting for the flames to start shooting out of it.

I look down at myself and notice that there’s a tear in my blouse across the shoulder, and the top three buttons are missing. On top of that, there’s blood spatter from hitting the twin with my keys on my shirt and neck. How did I miss that when I washed my face? With the shirt hanging open the way it is, I can see the bruises forming on my shoulders where he grabbed and held me.

I pull my shirt together and don’t offer an explanation. I sigh. “Yeah, definitely a rough go of it. How much do you think it will cost to fix my car?”

“Probably two thousand.”

I cross my arms over my chest. “You didn’t even look at it.”

He smiles, and it looks strange, sort of like he doesn’t really do it a lot. “Yeah, I’ve been doing this a long time. It’s a cracked engine block. And that price is just for parts. I won’t charge you labor.”

Shoot. I can’t afford that. My mind starts to whirl. “Okay, how much will you give me for it?”

“To buy it?” he asks. And when I nod, he starts to laugh. “I’d be lucky to get five hundred dollars out of it for parts.”

“Sold. You have a deal. It’s yours for five hundred dollars,” I tell him, holding my hand out.

He stares back at me, and I’m waiting for him to tell me no, but he surprises me. His rough hand slides into mine. Trust is a hard thing for me. Having a man touch me is too. But it’s almost like he knows that by the way he squeezes my hand once and lets it go. “I’ll be right back.”

He disappears back in his shop, and I go through my car and grab the few belongings I have in it. When he comes back, I have my bag and purse over my shoulder.

He comes back quickly and hands me five hundred dollars in cash. I sign over the title that I dug out of the glove box and hand it to him. He points down the road. “There’s a bus station a few blocks away. Can I drive you over there?”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him yes, but I shake my head. “It’s fine. I can walk a few blocks.”

He nods, but he doesn’t seem happy about it. He walks over to his truck and comes back to me. He gives me directions to the bus station and hands me a sweatshirt with the repair shop’s name and logo on it. “Here,” he says as he shoves it and a pocketknife in my hand. “If your old man catches up with you, stab him with this and twist.”

I blink as I stare back at him. Of course he thinks I’m on the run from a boyfriend or husband—what else would he think? I take the gift from him and stick it in the front pocket of my dress pants. “Thank you.”

The walk to the bus station only takes a few minutes, but I’m antsy as I sit in the terminal and wait the two hours for the bus departure time. I spent half my money on a ticket to Tennessee. We went there for a family vacation once when I was little, and I’ve always wanted to go back. Plus, it’s on the other side of the country—away from Anna and the rest of the Haven Team.

The bus ride consists of me dozing a little but mostly just waiting and worrying every minute of the ride. I don’t talk to anyone, doing my best to go unnoticed. The trip takes over two days with all the stops. My phone has been going crazy, but I still haven’t answered it, and I know that Anna has to be worried sick. By the time we make it to Knoxville, I get off the bus, walk through a bad part of town, and stop at the first motel I can find.

As soon as I get into my room, I barricade the door and take a quick shower. I could stand under the hot spray for hours, but I don’t let myself. I clean up really fast and put the same dirty clothes on. I’d give anything to have something clean to wear, but I can’t wash them. I have to be able to go quickly if I need to. Knowing I can’t put it off any longer, I call Anna.

“What is going on, Kali? Why haven’t you answered my calls? Your roommate hasn’t seen you. I’ve been worried sick.”

My sister is almost yelling into the phone, and I take a deep breath before I answer. “I’m fine. My phone’s been dead. I’m following a job lead in Tennessee... close to the Smoky Mountains.”

The silence is deafening. “A job lead? You didn’t tell me anything about that. And why Tennessee? If you were going to move anywhere, why wouldn’t it be Arizona? What’s going on, Kali?”

My sister is smart, and she knows me too well. Tears well in my eyes, and when I blink, they spill down my cheeks. I hate myself for getting emotional. I get a little choked up on the phone. “I’m fine, Anna. I can’t talk right now. I’m going to be late. I’ll call you when it’s over.”

“Kar...” my sister starts, but before she can finish, I hang up the phone. Then I give in to the tears.

Knox

“Nico, what’s up, man?” I ask my old friend that I used to be stationed at Fort Mason with. We talk every now and then and catch up, so I’m not surprised he’s calling, but I am in a hurry.

“Hey, you still in Whiskey Run?”

The straight to the point question and tone of his voice puts me on alert. “I am. What do you need?”

“Sorry to just call and ask for a favor, but I need your help. I’m on a mission in Belize right now and have an issue that needs handled.”

The connection is staticky, but I can still understand what he’s saying. “Sure, anything,” I tell him.

“My sister-in-law is on the run, it seems, and from intel it looks like she’s being followed. It may be nothing, but this isn’t like her.”

My phone dings, and Nico continues. “I just sent you Kali’s picture and the hotel she checked into.”

“How do you...” I start.

“I have a tracker on her phone. My wife knows about the tracker on her phone, but my sister-in-law does not know about hers.”

“Damn, brother...” I can just imagine how this woman is going to react when she finds out. Fuck, I’m not going to be the one to tell her.

“Look, Kali was kidnapped years ago, and my wife went to save her, so yeah, it gives me a little peace to know where they’re both at.”

I hold my hands up even though he can’t see them. “I get it. No judgment here. So she doesn’t know I’m coming?”

“No, I need to know what’s going on, and I need her safe, Knox.”

“Yeah, no problem. I can go check on her. I’ll get back to you when I’ve got some intel.”

I’m at the office, and a meeting with the rest of the team is about to start. Bear and Sam has been through some shit the past few days, and they’ve called us in to catch us up. I can’t stop thinking about my call with Nico, and I open the image of his sister-in-law Kali on my phone. The breath about whooshes out of my lungs. The beautiful dark-haired woman is staring back at me with dark eyes and long lashes. Her puffy lips are a ripe pink and bowed. She’s smiling, holding hands with a little girl. I recognize her as Nico’s daughter.

I close the image and open the text with the name of the hotel on it. It’s in a bad part of town in Jasper, and I’m pretty sure it’s one of those hotels you can rent by the hour. The meeting seems to take forever, and a part of me feels guilty for flaking out when one of my brothers is having problems, but the need to get out of here is immense. As soon as it’s over and Bear leaves, I follow behind him.

I stop in front of Dylan’s desk and wait for him to come out of the conference room. He’s our in-house tech guy and is the best at finding any information we need. I write down Kali’s name and the little bit of information Nico told me about her on a piece of paper and set it down in front of him. “Can you text me everything you know on this name right here?”

He picks it up. “Sure, I’ll text you. Anything I need to know about?”

I shake my head. “Not yet.”

I make it to the hotel in twenty minutes and stop at the front desk. “Hi. Can you tell me what room Kali Foster is in?” I know most hotels don’t give out that type of information, but this is about as seedy of a motel as there is. I don’t think the people working here have the morals to keep information.

“I can’t give you that information,” the man says behind the desk as he rubs his fingertips together, basically asking for cash.

I pull my wallet out and hand over a twenty-dollar bill. “What room?”

He’s itching to take the money. “There’s no Kali Foster here.”

“Beautiful woman, brown hair, big brown eyes, definitely doesn’t belong in a place like this,” I describe to him, thinking maybe she used an alias.

“Room fifteen. She’s a nice piece of ass. I’ll give you the twenty bucks back if I get to go second.”

I react before I can think twice about it. I put my hand around the man’s neck and pull him to me. There’s no way for him to know that I could end his life with one touch to a certain part of his neck. I wouldn’t even feel guilty about it. “Stay away from her and stay out of her room.”

He claws at his neck, and I toss him away from me before turning and striding down the hall. I follow the room numbers and stop outside her door. I take a few deep breaths because I don’t want her to see me agitated even though I’m completely on edge and I have a feeling I will be until I see her and know she’s okay.

I receive a text from Riggs and scan it really quickly. Kali is definitely in trouble.

I lift my fist and knock on the door.

I see movement on the other side of the door, a shadow crossing over the peephole.

I lean in toward the door. “Hello. My name is Knox. Nico sent me to check on you.”

I wait, but the door doesn’t open.

“Kali, I’m not leaving until I talk to you.”