Page 46 of A Brother's Secret

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Amalia…

I followed Reaver through tall grass and trees, his pace rushed, taking the terrain in long, ground-eating strides that left me struggling to keep up, not to mention out of breath, but my pride refused to let me ask him to slow down. I was my father’s daughter that way, and if I had to have a cardinal sin to rule me, it was a toss-up between pride and anger.

We reached the bikes, parked off an old dirt country backroad in a clearing. He got astride his, holding out a helmet to me. I put it on as he put his on and put on some eyewear. He handed me a pair of women’s sunglasses and I put them on, knowing that my eyeliner hadn’t run, being that’d I had permanently tattooed some of it on me, only using the actual cosmetic when I wanted a thicker line or a differentlook.

“Get on,” he ordered and I did, settling myself behind him, wrapping my arms aroundhim.

“How far is it to the safe house?” I asked, and I should have realized right then by his answer that something wasn’t right.

“We’ll get there when we get there, Queenie,” he called over the sudden roar of the engine starting.

I swallowed hard, trusting in Kyle, and held on as we lurched out onto the pitted dirt track out ofhere.

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