Page 106 of Never the Same

“Yeah.” He kept his eyes on the damp pavement. “None of the ravers seemed to recognize Gideon when we talked to them. They only ID’d you and Kylo, but . . .” He looked up at me. “Weird thing is, now that we have the street footage outside the library where the ravers took off after, I can see Benjamin and his security making a run for it, but they didn’t have Kylo with them.”

“Then where the hell is he? Who has him? He wasn’t on that video with me when Gideon put me in that van.”

“There had to be a second side exit or another tunnel system aside from the one Constantine found, since there was only one set of footprints back there. Kylo had to get out and come up top somewhere else.”

“Does that mean . . .” I didn’t even know how to finish that thought; the battle of who’d done this raged loud in my head with uncertainty.

“We’re working on running Kylo’s face through our software to try to get a hit on where he was between the time his flight landed and the rave. Retrace his steps that way.” He jerked his chin toward the suite. “We’re also running facial recognition on the three men with Gideon as well. No hits yet, but something will come up.”

“What about the Czech Republic?”

“There’s no CCTV footage near the monastery since it’s abandoned. They covered their tracks for a reason, which means whoever brought you there had to be on a camera at some point. Flight records don’t indicate shit, though.”

“So all we know is that someone’s moving us like pawns in their game. If they used Gideon to attack me, then what’d they want with me? Why’d they change their pattern and drop me off in that coffin? Why erase all of my memories?”

“Because you were onto them.” He blinked, then dragged his knuckles along his jawline, seemingly lost in thought before he startled his head upright. “If this was used on Gideon, who’s to say it wasn’t used on me? Or Mum? Dad’s in the clear, since the memory drug wouldn’t work on him, but . . . I’ve, uh, been forgetful lately, and I just thought it was from a lack of sleep, but what if it’s something else? What if no one mirrored my rig to steal the source code, but I willingly gave it away and explained how to use it myself?”

“Rig?”

“That’s just what I call my laptop, sorry.”

Before I had a chance to voice my thoughts about everything, Gwen yelled, “I found something.”

Julian caught my arm, guiding me into the suite to hear her out.

Ryder, Alex, Carter, Sebastian, and Easton lingered near the doorway, a solid wall of muscle and suspicion behind Gwen, who sat with her laptop balanced on her thighs. My brother dropped next to her, leaning in to study her screen.

Easton wasted no time in joining them. He slid onto the cushion on her other side, completing the triangle that always seemed to form around her.

Jason cut across the room to join me, anchoring himself at my side.

“Your source code’s been active in other places.” Gwen’s fingers flew across the keys before she angled the laptop toward Julian. “Every time it’s used, it leaves your anonymous signature.”

Julian’s mouth curved at the edges. “What can I say? Gotta mark my territory.”

Easton rolled his eyes. Didn’t blame him there.

“That ego of yours worked in our favor. I traced seventeen instances in the last year alone. You’ve been a busy boy. Were all of these you? Well, aside from Rome, the Czech Republic, and Hollis’s trip to her grandfather’s?”

Julian’s eyes narrowed as he pulled the laptop closer. “Nope. And definitely not . . .” He went still, then looked at me, his tone weighted. “I know where you were while you were missing.”

A cold ripple ran down my spine. “Just tell me I didn’t kill someone.”

“No.” He spun the screen toward me, showcasing an image of a sprawling medieval-looking estate under gray skies. “You were in Florence. Probably to get something from our vault.”

“Why use me for that? If whoever’s been pulling our strings—”

“Only two members of our family at a time are allowed access to it. Dad, and he chose you as the other.” Julian handed the laptop to Gwen and stood. “Everything in that vault is bound to Dad’s line. The drug wouldn’t—”

“Work on him since it’s tied to Mum’s side.” Was that the first time I’d called her that? I wasn’t sure why that realization even hit me. “Did they just knock me out in the crypt and drug me later then? How else would I have . . .” I shook my head. “Muscle memory. They kept my skills and all that intact, because then I could open it under the power of suggestion without any pushback. Stole my memories, not my mind.” It had to be in that order; I’d have resisted otherwise. Then again, Gideon and Julian had also been used without losing all their memories, so I wasn’t sure what to think at this point. “Can we recover the footage from there? See who was with me and find out what they had me steal?”

“Working on it now,” Gwen said, eyes never leaving the glow of her screen.

Jason brought his hand to my back, his thumb sweeping in small circles, steadying me.

“Are we leaving Gideon locked up?” My voice dropped as I shared, “He was drugged, too.”

“He was?” Jason side-eyed me, and I forgot that Julian and I had come to that conclusion alone on the balcony.