Hear No Evil (Brotherhood Trilogy Book 3) Read online

  “Yep.” She nods and grins. “It’s nice to talk to people in person. All of my friends are online, and it’s just not the same as face-to-face contact. The conversation flows differently somehow.”

  “So, what’d you talk about today?”

  Caitlin grips her hands together. “Girl stuff. Ellie. Karl and Troy, of course.” Caitlin snickers. “Those girls are in love.”

  “Lucky them,” I mumble.

  Caitlin looks at me. I have to force my eyes to stay on the road. She’s even pretty in my peripherals. This is bad.

  “Tia say everything’s cool with Ellie?”

  “Yeah, she’s doing great. Super healthy and happy. Growing at a reasonable rate. I think she’ll always be tiny, but so is Jules.” Caitlin’s smiling as she talks. “Tia will be relieved. I think she was worried you guys couldn’t pull it off.”

  I snicker. “Jules is a natural mother, and Karl’s pretty protective of his girls. I never would have picked him for the daddy type, but he seems to love it.”

  “Where was he today? He’s usually hovering around on full alert when Tia’s there.”

  I act as though I didn’t pick up on her dry tone. “He and Troy are attempting a last hunt for the season. With winter just around the corner they’re trying to stock up.”

  “Yeah, I got a list from the girls. I’m supposed to ask you about how much they can afford.” She digs the phone from her pocket and we go over each item. I approve it all, not having the heart to deny baby Ellie anything. Besides, since Kade and Jules didn’t have to use any money to pay for medical care, things aren’t as tight as they were before.

  I still feel weird about using Uncle Rafe’s money.

  But I guess I can’t deny the truth. The guy is gone, and the chances of him coming back are probably zero.

  He’s dead.

  The thought flits through my mind, stirring my unrest and making me grip the wheel without even thinking about it.

  Caitlin clears her throat. “I’ll try to find you the most cost-effective deals I can.”

  I glance away from the road and smile at her, forcing the darkness away.

  She grins and runs her hand down her long ponytail.

  I want to tell her she’s the best, and that I’m so incredibly grateful for everything she’s done. That meeting her has been one of the greatest things to ever happen to me.

  She’s selfless and thoughtful, intelligent and witty.

  Small talk has never been so entertaining. Every time I’m around her we make another connection without even trying. It may seem insignificant, but knowing we both adore orange chocolate, have both read the Harry Potter series multiple times and that she’s a fan of peanut butter and banana sandwiches just like me somehow seems huge. I know if I could spend unchecked quality time with her, I’d find out a myriad of other things we have in common.

  But I’m always worried that if I let my guard down I might accidentally say how much I like her, or spill the beans about who I really am.

  As much as I want her to know me, it’s not safe. Andshe doesn’t need to hear about my overpowering crush on her. Not when I can’t do anything about it.

  Caitlin shifts in her seat, angling to face me. “Hey, Ryan.”

  “Yeah?”

  “These people that you’re hiding from…how bad are they?”

  The question makes my chest tight. Puts me on high alert. She’s so perceptive. I have to be careful what I say.

  Man, it’s tempting to tell her the truth.

  But even though she’s proven trustworthy, I can’t.

  My jacket rustles as my shoulder hitches. I grip the wheel and keep my eyes ahead.

  She’s unperturbed by my silence. “Do you think they’ll ever stop looking?”

  “I don’t know,” I croak.

  “It just makes me kind of sad. Not because you can’t have a great life up here. Legacy’s idyllic and all that, but it’s so narrow, you know? You’re only nineteen. You should have the world at your fingertips, but you’ve been forced into hiding. It doesn’t seem right to me.”

  Wait. How does she know my age?

  I glance at her as she tips her head and gently touches her ear. She’s staring out the windshield, oblivious to my confusion. “I bet you were top of your class at Et—” She flinches, then looks out her window, mumbling, “Your school. Top of your class at your school.”

  My stomach lurches into my chest. “Wh-what’d you just say?”

  She goes statue still, like she didn’t nearly say Eton. That was it. She was going to say Eton!

  And she knows how old I am.

  “Caitlin.” My voice is stretched thin.

  She glances back to me, worries her lip, then looks out the window with a casual shrug. “I just said I bet you were top of your class at your school.”

  “At which school?”

  She gulps. It’s a guilty sound that I can hear over the heater. “I…I don’t know which school you went to.”

  “How do you know how old I am?”

  Her lips part for a second, her cheeks turning red. “I’m guessing.”

  “No, you’re lying,” I mutter.

  She snorts. “Like you can talk.”

  Her gaze is bright and mercifully lenient when she looks across at me.

  I huff and track the road ahead. There’s a wide shoulder on my left so I cross the lane and pull onto it. I leave the engine running so the car doesn’t get too cold. The heater is feeble, but better than nothing.

  Turning in my seat, I look her square in the face. “What do you know?”

  Her expression crumples and she fixes her gaze out the windshield. “I haven’t told anyone, I swear.”

  “Caitlin.” I close my eyes. “What. Do. You. Know?”

  With a short sigh, she scratches the side of her face and starts talking. “I don’t know anything for sure. They’re just guesses, but…” Her gaze flicks to mine before darting to her lap. “I’m guessing that you guys are the Eton Prep runaways. The first time I saw you it didn’t even enter my mind, but something about you just lingered.” Her lips twitch, her cheeks blooming red for a moment.

  “Was it something I said or did? What made you come to these…guesses?”

  “I saw an article on the news about these guys who’d run away. Police didn’t know where they were. The school was under investigation. The article fascinated me. It was such a mystery, I couldn’t resist it.”

  More common ground.

  She makes liking her so easy.

  “Anyway, it took me a while to put two and two together. It wasn’t until that day we came up to the cabin and I saw all three of you standing next to each other. Something in the back of my mind just clicked. When I got back home that night, I spent a couple of hours looking up everything I could about the case. I learned your names, your ages…a little family history.”

  Her voice peters off and she looks at me cautiously.

  I press my lips together, too afraid to find out how much she knows. I can’t go into my past right now. Not with everything pressing in around me. I’ve got enough to worry about without rehashing my parents’ murders.

  “Is that it?” I finally ask when she doesn’t say more.

  “I’m pretty sure you’re Riley and that Karl is Kade and Troy is Trey.” Her eyebrows pop up. “You could have been a little more cryptic with the names.”

  I close my eyes, feeling like an idiot. “We shouldn’t have even needed to use them.”

  Caitlin nods. “I know. Jules kind of threw things for a loop, huh?”

  Slumping back in my seat, I rest my wrist on the steering wheel and wonder if I should even bother denying it.

  “I’m guessing you wouldn’t be without her though. And little Ellie.”

  A smile tugs at my mouth. I give in to it, letting it slowly grow. That baby won my heart the second I held her. So tiny. So soft and innocent. She’s perfect.

  “I haven’t told anyone. I swear. I would never put you gu
ys in danger that way.” Caitlin grips my arm, curling her fingers into my jacket. “You have to believe me.”

  I rest my hand on top of hers, gently rubbing my thumb over her knuckles. Her skin is silky smooth.

  “I believe you.”

  She smiles at me, relief making her shoulders sag. “So, my guess is right, then?”

  I tip my head, giving her a reluctant grin. “I can neither confirm nor deny.”

  Her giggle is light and breathy. “I bet you can’t.”

  “I wish I could.” I squeeze her hand, surprised by my spontaneous statement…and how much I mean it. “Do you have any theories on why we ran? What did the news say about us?”

  “I’m guessing you’ve kept an eye on all the same things I have.”

  I can never play dumb with this chick.

  “I have theories, but I’m not set on any of them.” She steals a glance at me, her lips twitching at the corners. “I think I know who Ana is but I’m not willing to say.”

  “Why not?”

  Her smile disappears, her eyes growing large as she looks me in the eye. “Because I’m worried it’ll scare you away. I’m worried you won’t trust me to keep your secrets, and one day I’ll drive up to the cabin and you’ll all be gone.” Her voice is trembling, something I’ve never heard it do before.

  The look on her face is loud and clear.

  Us leaving would hurt her.

  Damn, she is falling, just like me. It’s obvious that everything I feel when I’m around her isn’t one-sided.

  The thought is a hopeful song in my chest, but it’s crushed by reality.

  I want to wipe that look off her face, to reassure her that I’d never leave without saying goodbye. That leaving her would hurt me too.

  But I can’t.

  I can’t guarantee that we won’t have to split without a word one day. There’s no way she could ever come with us. I wouldn’t do that to her.

  All I can do right now is brush my fingers down her cheek and whisper, “I trust you.”

  #5:

  A Calculus Window

  Caitlin

  Ryan—Riley—trusts me. At least that’s what he said.

  It felt good. His fingers on my cheek, his sweet gaze staring straight into mine.

  But after saying those three little words, he turned back in his seat and started driving for town. We didn’t talk anymore about what I knew. I never got to tell him who I think Ana is…probably because he knows I’ve guessed right. Probably because if we talk about it he might tell me more than he wants to.

  Since he dropped me off on Monday, I’ve been both frustrated and relieved.

  It’s Friday now.

  I haven’t seen him or spoken to him since he drove away with our awkward conversation only half done. I want to see him again, to delve into the truth, but I don’t know whether it will bring us together or drive us apart.

  He touched my cheek.

  Does that mean he likes me?

  As much as I like him?

  I groan, covering my face with my hands and leaning my elbows on the desk. I’m supposed to be finishing a calculus assignment right now, not thinking about Riley Duncan.

  I’ve always hated calc. Of course my mind was going to wander. And of course it would wander to him.

  He’s so hot.

  I love his chin dimple. I want to press my finger into it. I want to kiss him.

  Riley and Caitlin.

  It has a nice ring to it.

  We could be like Caitley or Rylin.

  “Okay, now you’re just being pathetic,” I mutter, rolling my eyes and trying to focus back on the screen.

  It could never happen. I get the distinct impression that even if Riley loved me like no other, he still wouldn’t do anything about it. He’d no doubt think it unfair to pull me into his fugitive lifestyle.

  Which is probably right.

  Too bad I hate that logic so much.

  “Caity?” Penny sashays into my room. Today her tutu is purple and her plastic tiara is askew on her dark brown curls. The silver coating has worn off, making it look like the cheap piece of crap it is, but she still prances around feeling like the world’s prettiest princess.

  I grin at her when she waves her wand at me. “King Albert of Powell would like you downstairs. I shall wave my wand and you will poof into the store.”

  “No! Pen—ny!” Gina whines and stomps her pale pink boots. Standing in my doorway, her red cape nearly falling off her shoulders, she glares at her twin sister. “I’m the fairy today! You can’t be fairy and princess. It’s not fair!”

  “Why don’t you both be fairy princesses?” As usual, I try to throw a little logic into the mix, but they both groan like I’m demented.

  “It doesn’t work that way.” Gina marches into the room. “Give me the wand.”

  Penny whips it behind her back. “No way. I had it first.”

  “You give me that wand or I’ll…I’ll…”

  “You’ll what?” Penny grins. It’s her wicked one that makes her nose wrinkle.

  “I’ll turn you into a toad! And they’ll never find a prince willing to kiss you because you’ll be so ugly.”

  “I’ll turn you into a toad!” Penny shouts back, smashing Gina’s triumph to dust.

  “Okay!” I shoot out of my chair before the claws come out. “Pen, give me the wand.”

  Her brown eyes are dubious as she slowly hands me her plastic treasure.

  Swirling it in the air, I dip it over each of their heads and pronounce in a fairy godmother voice, “Abracadabra, bibbity bees, I now turn you both into pretty pixies. You can fly, you can sing, you can dance in the air, and never have any worries or cares.”

  Gina giggles and jumps up and down, pretending to catch the invisible pixie dust I’m throwing in the air. Penny runs beneath the wand and does a little twirl.

  “I’m flying! Gin-Gin, look at me. I’m flying!”

  “Me too! Me too!” Gina starts flapping her arms and they both run from the room giggling.

  I hide the wand on the top shelf of my bookcase to avoid any further arguments today. It’s lucky for them they’re so darn cute. They drive me crazy as it is. If it weren’t for their hilarious imaginations and those dimples, I don’t think I could stand them.

  Pushing up my sweater sleeves, I head downstairs in search of King Albert of Powell. I snort and shake my head. Penny is so funny.

  “Hey, Dad.” I find him in the storeroom, unpacking the newly arrived stock.

  “Hey, Sweet Pea. How’s the calc assignment going?” His round face wrinkles with a teasing smile.

  I grunt.

  He laughs. “You’ll get there.”

  “It’s too hard. I don’t even understand what I’m supposed to do. Too bad I’m not in a real school with a teacher who can help me, huh?”

  Dad gives me a droll glare. “You have online tutors you can ask.”

  “Except I can’t because the Internet here sucks. It’s a super crappy connection today.”

  With a sharp huff, Dad shakes his head. “I don’t know how you’ll cope when you finally leave for college and can’t bitch at me about your deprived teenage years anymore.”

  I make a face at him. “Don’t worry, Dad. I’m sure I’ll find plenty of opportunities to bitch at you about my deprived teenage years. Maybe I can write you a letter or something.”

  He rolls his eyes and loudly clears his throat. “Are any of your friends online?”

  “I just told you the connection sucks today,” I grumble.

  “It’ll clear up soon enough. You’ll be in touch with someone who can help you figure it out.”

  “Great. I can look forward to one of those cut-off-halfway-through conversations. You know how much I love those.”

  “Not as much as you love sarcasm, I’m sure.”

  I cross my arms and we share a heated glare before Dad looks to the floor and mutters something under his breath.

  Blowing out a sigh, he looks up w
ith a closed-mouth smile. “You know what I know about you?”

  I tip my head to the ceiling and groan. “What?”

  He lumbers towards me, covering my cheeks with his large hands. “I know you’re the smartest girl I’ve ever met, and you can problem-solve your way out of anything.”

  “Thanks, Dad.” My tone is dry and unenthused.

  He just chuckles and raspberries my cheek like I’m still five.

  “Gross.” I wipe my face and gently push him away.

  He cracks up laughing and goes back to checking off the stock list.

  “Penny said you wanted to see me.”

  “Yeah, a package just arrived for you. I left it out front.” His pale eyebrows wrinkle. “What have you been ordering?”

  For a second I don’t know. Then I remember the phone I promised Jules and hope my face doesn’t give too much away.

  “Oh, um…just thinking ahead to Christmas. It’s only eight weeks away, you know.” I wink and Dad gives me one of his I’m so proud smiles.

  If only he knew what a liar I was. I’d probably never see that look again.

  I force a grin and catch my shin on the edge of a crate as I duck out of the room.

  “Ouch!” Rubbing the sore spot, I hop out front and grab the package off the counter.

  “You okay?” Tia’s forehead wrinkles with concern.

  “All good.” I tuck the parcel under my arm and dash up to my room before she can ask any more questions.

  I rip the plastic packaging open and the phone box clunks onto my cluttered desk, disrupting my piles of messy paperwork. My pencil case slides to the edge and perilously hangs for a second before dropping onto the floor. Stationery scatters and I duck down with a soft curse, quickly collecting my pens and pencils. One rolls beneath the bed and I chase after it, my fingers brushing the treasure trove of things I continue to sneak home. I don’t mean to do it. I just like collecting stuff. Especially mysteries.

  Pulling out the old shoebox of extra special treasures, I dump it on my bedside table, figuring I’ll look through it again tonight. It’ll be a nice distraction from Riley. It might even inspire me to go out hunting in the forest again. Hikers leave behind all sorts of little treats and I’m sure everything I collect—from broken compasses to leather bracelets—has a story wrapped around it.