Will knelt beside me. I wished I could have taken a holo of him at that moment and played it for him the next time he kicked me out of his room. He never would believe he was the same brother who had once tried to knock me out with a pillow.

It made me angry that people could simply kill other people, take what they wanted, and ignore the cries of the sick and hungry. The world wasn’t like that— or it shouldn’t be like that—even though I hadn’t seen enough of the world to know what it was really like.

The rules only applied to
people who couldn’t afford different rules.

Of course Will was right again. But I realized clearly for the first time how desperate our plight was. It has been foolish to think we could rescue Kai. Now, wherever he is, it couldn't be worse than being held captive by pirates. Even cannibals were more trustworthy.

Wouldn’t hurt if you used your connections to grease the wheels.”
“I can do that. But damn, Cole how hard is it to just ask?”
“Hard,” Cole said, pushing his hand through his hair. “Especially when you’re afraid asking is going
to blow up the family.”
Cade nodded. “So we both know.”
“Yeah.”
“And Lark doesn’t.”
“Nope.”
“Keep it that way?”
Cole tapped the side of his beer bottle. “I don’t know. I don’t like being a part of the deception.”
“We didn’t lie, Cole; he did.”
“But we know the truth. Do we keep covering for him?”
“He never covered for us. He’d tell Mom on us, and then she’d whup our asses.”
Cole laughed. Sometimes the memories were still good. They still seemed intact and not just like a
facade that hadn’t meant a damn thing. “Yeah, he did. But he’s not alive to answer for it, or learn from
it.”
“How about we drink alcohol and make no decisions?”
“I’m cool with that.”
Cade took the bottle opener off the fridge and popped the top off his beer, taking a long drink

What the hell, Cade? You knew, and you never thought . . . ‘Hey, maybe I should tell my
brother’?”
“No, Cole, I never thought that,” Cade said, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
“And why the hell not?