“What for?”
“He obviously doesn’t trust you guys,” she pointed out. “If you come in with me, he’ll probably clam up again, but if I go in there alone…” It was her turn to shrug. “He might respond better to a woman. See me as less of a threat.”
Connor thought it over. “Yeah, you could be right about that.” He quickly affected a stern tone. “Don’t get too close to him, and keep your gun on him at all times. He’s tied up, but those fuckers are well trained. You never know what they’ll do.”
Nodding, she withdrew the pistol she’d tucked into her boot, then released the safety and headed for the building. She felt Connor’s eyes boring into her back with every step she took. Not suspiciously, but protectively, as if he was worried that the deserter might find a way to hurt her. She was worried too. Who knew what the kid would do if he recognized her? He might shout out her name loud enough for everyone in a five-mile radius to —
She didn’t know him.
Relief flooded her body as she encountered a total stranger. Light brown hair, wiry body, and completely unfamiliar features.
But the relief drained away when the kid’s eyes widened at the sight of her.
Shit. They might not have met before, but like Tamara, he’d clearly picked up on her resemblance to Dominik.
“Holy shit,” he blurted out.
Hudson instantly raised her finger to her lips. “Keep your voice down.”
He looked alarmed, gazing past her toward the open door, then shaking his head as if he couldn’t fathom what was happening. “You’re…”
“Shut. Up,” she hissed.
“But…”
Hudson moved closer, but heeded Connor’s order to keep her distance. Leaving three feet of space between them, she squatted on the dusty ground and rested her pistol on her thigh. “They’ll kill us both if they hear us.”
“Why…? How are you here?” His voice lowered to a whisper. “You’re Dominik’s sister, aren’t you? You look just like him.” Panic flickered in his eyes. “They’re all looking for you!”
The nausea returned in full-force. She should’ve known better than to hope her escape was no longer a priority for Dom. “They’re still sending out search parties?”
The kid nodded fervently. “One a day. Knox —” His mouth slammed shut.
“Knox what?” she demanded.
“He’s on the warpath. He demanded round-the-clock searches, but Dominik turned down the request, and the two of them had it out in the courtyard a couple weeks ago.”
Her mouth puckered in a frown. She wasn’t surprised to hear that Dom and Knox had argued – the two of them had been at odds for as long as she could remember. That’s why she’d been so shocked when Dominik had informed her she had to marry Knox.
What surprised her now was hearing that Dominik was limiting the search for her. She had assumed he’d be desperate to find her and bring her home.
“It was bad,” the kid admitted, still talking about the fight. “Really bad. Knox got Dominik on the ground and snapped his wrist, but Dom somehow fought through it and broke Knox’s nose. They would have killed each other if Cruz and Dalton hadn’t stepped in to break up the fight.”
Shit. An argument was one thing, but a full-on fistfight? With broken bones? It was rare for Dominik to get violent with his own men, even ones he didn’t like.
“I don’t know… Maybe it’s the drugs, or maybe they’re all fucking crazy. Either way, I had to get out. I —”
“Wait. Back up,” she ordered. “What drugs? What are you talking about?”
“You know, the pills.” He shrugged. “Well, now it’s injections. The commander says they get results faster.”
Hudson had no clue what he was talking about. The only pills she’d ever seen her brother take were the vitamin boosters that every man in the compound swallowed on a daily basis.
Her throat grew impossibly dry. “What do the pills do?”
“I’m not really sure. The commander says they keep you alert, you know, help you focus, and something about blood clots and healing faster… I honestly don’t know half the stuff he was saying. But it’s all bullshit. The only thing the drugs did was give me headaches. And the other guys in my training class… they…” His hard expression collapsed. “The pills messed them up too, made them violent and angry and turned them into strangers.”