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and holding his thigh to keep him steady.
Fuck was all he said as I ran forward.
We made it to the car. I flung open the passenger door, dropped him onto the seat, shoved his legs inside then
shut the door and ran around to the driver s side.
Denny and his men were almost on us. I grabbed the keys out of my pocket, slammed the door closed, hit the
lock button with my elbow, then leaned across and locked Evin s door.
And jumped about a mile high as a rock hit the windshield and the glass became a spidery network of cracks.
But I could see the men through them. Could see their vicious expressions. If they got their hands on us now, it
wasn t going to be pleasant.
Not that it was actually going to be pleasant before.
Fucking hell, Evin said. Get us out of here!
I m trying. I shoved the key in the ignition and fired the big engine up, then released the hand brake and
threw the truck into reverse.
It rocketed backward. Another rock hit the windshield, this time punching through and landing with a thump on
the seat between Evin and me. I twisted the wheel, pointing the truck s nose in the general direction of the road,
then changed gears and hit the gas pedal.
As the truck surged forward, something hit the bed behind us. My gaze flicked to the rearview mirror, and I saw
one of Denny s friends scrambling into the back. I hauled on the wheel and the big truck turned sharply to the
left. The man behind us flew sideways, his shoulder smashing into the side of the truck and his body half flying
out.
Yet somehow he managed to maintain his grip and didn t fall all the way out.
Evin twisted around. Turn the other way.
I kept my foot planted and twisted the wheel in the opposite direction. Our passenger flew across the truck and
tumbled out over the side. I glanced at the side mirror, saw him bounce several times in the sandy soil, then roll
to a stop. He didn t get up.
I kept accelerating. I couldn t see Denny and his other friend, but I wasn t about to risk slowing down until we
were well out of the area.
For a long time, the only sound was the growl of the big engine as we arrowed through the night. I handed Evin
the knife and he hacked away the rope binding his legs. He tried undoing the silver wound around his neck, but
it was twisted on tight.
I didn t say anything and, eventually, he cleared his throat and said, I don t suppose you could stop and take
the silver away? My skin feels like it s blistering.
I didn t look at him. Didn t slow down.
That depends.
I could feel his gaze on me a heat that held no anger, only the hint of confusion. Whatever else Evin might be,
I didn t think he was a particularly devious man.
On what?
I met his gaze then. Saw his gaze widen, so heaven only knows what he actually saw in my eyes.
It depends, I said softly, on whether you tell me what the hell is going on.
Chapter 12
His expression didn t alter, but his fear leapt between us, thick and strong. I have no idea what you mean.
I mean, I said harshly, that I am not Hanna London. Someone has erased my memory and abandoned me
here, and I want to know why.
I don t know what you re
You do, I interrupted harshly. And if you don t answer my questions, I promise you, whatever those men
intended to do to you will pale in comparison to what I ll do!
He stared at me, his expression fierce and yet scared. Hanna, I m not sure why you d think
Who s holding your soul mate hostage, Evin? Who are you really?
He didn t say anything for several seconds, then he sighed. It was a defeated, desperate sound. How long have
you known?
That you aren t my brother? Almost from the beginning. Initially, I couldn t have told you his name or what he
looks like
He looked so shocked that I stopped and stared at him. What?
But I am your brother.
And he said it so adamantly that I half believed him. But it wasn t true. I knew my brother. Evin wasn t him.
Evin, my brother is my twin I paused, letting that word roll around my mind again. My brother, my twin,
my life. God, I missed him, even if I couldn t even recall what he looked like right now. and that s a
connection that goes beyond the physical.
Connection or not, it doesn t alter fact. He said it with such unwavering certainty that again I found myself
questioning my memories.
But they weren t off. His belief was.
Which meant maybe a little memory manipulation had been going on. It would certainly explain his unshakable
belief that I was his sister.
This is all going horribly wrong. He rubbed a hand across his eyes, then added softly, You haven t been
taking your tablets, have you? They said it would be a problem if you didn t.
Who said? I demanded. And what were you putting in the coffee?
He shrugged. I don t know. I was told to use it and I did. I figured you suspected something was up with the
coffee when you went and bought your own, so I stopped.
That explained why the coffee had started tasting slightly better recently but it still wasn t hazelnut. I
hungered for that almost as much as I hungered to see Rhoan and & someone else. Someone who looked a
whole lot like Harris. Someone who might well be dead. My throat closed over at the thoughts, and I had to
force my question out. And you report to the people behind this every night?
Yes. He slumped down in the car seat a little. Look, in all honesty, I can t really tell you much.
Then tell me what you do know.
He was silent again, staring out the window, his expression miserable. I almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
My real name is Evin Jenson. I m a border patrol guard for the Glen Helen Jenson pack.
A chill ran through me. I knew that name. Knew that location. I d grown up there, learned to fight and hate and
fear there. The home of your birth, that internal voice said. But not the home of your heart. That s in the
Northern Territory, isn t it?
His brow furrowed. Yeah, but not many people would know that.
Unless that s where you were born.
He blinked. You can t be from the Glen Helen Jenson pack, because I would have recognized you.
I smiled grimly. One of the problems with implanting a sole memory or belief was the fact you could never
account for all the questions that might provoke the wrong sort of answer. Or right one, as it was in this case.
Evin didn t know me, despite his belief to the contrary.
There s a few years difference between us, I commented. Which probably meant we would have run in very
different circles.
And there were other reasons we might never have met reasons I couldn t remember right now, thanks to
whoever had meddled with my mind.
But the pack isn t that big and you re my sis
Evin, I said softly, I m not. That s a belief someone has planted in your mind.
What? He looked at me like I was crazy.
And very possibly, I was. After all, I was just going on instinct here, and it had sometimes led me very far
astray.
Look, someone has seriously messed my memories. It isn t just the tablets. Someone with telepathic abilities
has erased or at least contained not only the knowledge of who I am, but where I lived, what I did, and who
I loved. It s probable that someone has snatched pieces of your memory, too, just to make it easier for you to
project the lie.
You re wrong. I know you re wrong. He stared at me for a moment, confusion bright in his eyes, then said,
Even so, I can t have been lying all that well if you ve seen through it.
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