Expiration Date (Books 1 and 2)

69 Betrayal

Jonas~~

This is the second safe house we've been to and Erik is clearly not here.

His house is a shack out in the middle of nowhere. Nothing else is around for miles, and inside, it looks like no one has been here in years. A rat squeaks as it runs away from the beam of Riley's flashlight.

Beside me, Eli jumps and a roach falls to the floor. This is disgusting. "So . . . Vegas?" Eli asks.

"Yes." I sweep the beam of my flashlight over a rafter covered in cobwebs. "Let's see if Erik's left anything that can help us."

Brydan's flashlight shines on the tip of his tennis shoes. We changed into casual wear before leaving the Estate in Wyoming. "Are you sure there's any point in this?"

My beam reflects off a spider. "Yes, I'm sure. These are Erik's safe houses."
"His old ones," Brydan says. "The ones before we moved to the other side of the country. He has a house in Baltimore that isn't on any of the maps. Erik's planted new ones, and I'm sure he would have gone to one that he could have gotten to fast."

I swallow. "These are all I have to go on." I've thought the very words Brydan said. They keep creeping into my head. But I don't know where his safe houses on the east side of the country are, and he wouldn't go back to Baltimore. I'm praying that in one of these houses I'll find another map, one with a clue as to where his new ones are located.

"Eli, Brydan, why don't you search the house?" Riley covers his flashlight with his hand, causing his skin to look a pinkish-red. "Jonas, can we talk outside?"

"Of course." I follow him to where Eli parked the car next to a rotting log. The sun has not yet risen, but the air around us has turned from black to a bluish gray in preparation for it. Because of that, I can see that Riley is not looking at me, that he raises and lowers his fingers in a wave pattern. I've seen that before. He'll do it when he's nervous.

"What's wrong?"

"Sebastian called me yesterday." Riley's fingers move rapidly. "In the morning. I've been trying to figure out how to tell you, and I don't know how Sebastian knows, but it seems like it's running through the Order."

"Riley, what are you talking about?"

"He said Brydan had checked a bus that Erik and Iris were on." Riley finally looks at me, his fingers coming to a stop.

"Brydan checked a bus, but Erik and Iris weren't on it."

Riley's finger twitches.

"No. Brydan wouldn't have let them go." I run a shaky hand through my hair, tugging at it.

Riley looks apologetic. "Sebastian is sure of it. After what Brydan said inside, I knew I couldn't wait any longer to tell you." If what he says is true . . . the implications . . . Iris is alive and my best friend betrayed the whole Society, betrayed me.

There's only one way to know for sure though.

I head inside, leaving the door open to break up the darkness with early morning light. I want to see his face.

"You think it's pointless to keep checking the safe houses?" I ask.

Brydan shuts off his flashlight. "Yes, I told—"

"I know what you said, but is it the truth?"

Brydan flinches. "Yes, why wouldn't it be?"

"It's not because Erik asked you to keep us away from him?" my voice comes out weak.

His flashlight clatters to the wood floor. "Jonas?"

"My Order is saying that the bus you checked had Iris and Erik on it."

"You don't understand."

I turn away, my head shaking, my hands trembling. My heart feels like it's been punched, and a fist is grinding into it, wearing it away, as if the initial violation wasn't enough. "This is . . . It wasn't enough to leave them on the bus and lie to me? Did you really have to try to steer me away from them? Is Erik in contact with you? Is that why you don't want to go to Nevada?"

"No," Brydan's voice is surprisingly firm. "I owed Erik a debt. I paid it. I've not heard from him since I saw him on the bus."

"You truly believe going to these safe houses is pointless?"

"Your brother does."

I turn back around. Eli and Riley come to stand at my sides.

"What?" I tighten my hand into a fist.

"He told me he knew. He said if I didn't keep you away from Erik, then he'd tell you I lied to you. He said Erik's heading west and to stay away from anywhere near Utah."

Eli crosses his arms. "Erik doesn't have a house in Utah."

Colton went after them. After I told him no. I step into the doorway. I have to get to Iris before he does. "We're going to Nevada. Now."

"It's nearly six in the morning," Brydan says. The floor creaks, and I turn around. Riley and Eli hold Brydan in place.

"You don't get a say. You're a traitor, Brydan." I step up to him, hands behind my back. "I hope whatever the debt you owed Erik was worth our friendship."

"Jonas," he all but whimpers.

"You all better be in the car in less than two minutes." I hold up my hand, and Riley tosses me the keys. My fingers close around the jagged metal, and I head outside to the car where I start it, setting my phone in the cup holder. I tap my foot. The blank screen on my phone is vexing. I shouldn't.

But a lot of people have been doing what they shouldn't do.

I pull up Colton on my phone and start typing before I have a chance to tell myself to let it go.

Jonas: Is this really worth it?