I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell Anna, I scream at him in my head, but he’s already gone, pulled back through the door and handcuffed, leaving Aiden and me sitting on the metal bench, too stunned to realize just how royally screwed I am.

The ride home is tense to say the least.

If Luke gets out, he’s going to hand deliver me to the guy devoting himself to hunting me down. All of this will have been for nothing. I’ll be served up on a platter for Tony to devour at his leisure.

Aiden’s jaw is clenched and his knuckles are white from gripping the steering wheel.

I can’t believe everything I’ve been working to protect is all about to be torn away from me. I don’t want to leave, but at this point, it won’t even matter if I do. I’m leaving to keep my friends safe from Tony, but if we set Luke free, he’s going to personally invite Tony into their lives.

“What are you thinking about?” I ask Aiden once I can’t take the silence anymore.

He takes a moment before he answers. “A lot of stuff.”

“Me too.” My mind is all over the place.

“Don’t you think,” he starts, choosing his words carefully, “that it’s odd you ended up here?”

I don’t follow his question. “In the car?”

“No. Here. In King City. With Anna.”

It is a huge coincidence.

He continues. “Out of all places you could’ve been relocated to, they put you here, in King, where the man you’re running from’s daughter happens to be? Everything started because he was obsessed with the death of his daughter, and here you are, best friends with his other daughter? It’s all just a little convenient if you ask me.”

I connect the dots he’s laying out. “You think they put me here on purpose?”

Aiden’s jaw ticks. “It’s just way too coincidental.”

After everything I’ve gone through, would Agent Dylan actually do that to me? Put me somewhere Tony has a vested interest in? The wheels in my mind spin.

“You know,” I start, “when I called Agent Dylan yesterday morning, something felt off. He was being really vague. I couldn’t figure out why I felt so weird about that whole phone call, but if what you’re saying is true . . .” My thoughts drift off. Are they actually planning on relocating me? He didn’t seem all that worried by the video, and relocating me didn’t seem like it was too urgent. “It felt like he was stalling.”

Aiden’s grip tightens on the steering wheel before he moves a hand to shift gears.

“Maybe they’re stalling because they want him to find you.” He scowls. “I did some searching on Tony, you know, and there’s public outcry for him to be found. He shot at the cops. He killed a security guard at the mall. People are mad he hasn’t been found yet, and every time something new about his past comes to light, it puts more pressure on them to catch him. Maybe they can’t offer you up to him as bait legally, but why not plant you somewhere in case he happens to find out about Anna and comes to check her out?”