the spade brothers' little sister

twelve

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I followed Larson and Jace out of the front door of our temporary home. We had one car at this house, and at the request of Jace, Brady and Charlie had taken it to go get food for us. I was about to ask where we were going with no car, but at that moment, a sleek, all-black Escalade pulled up on the sidewalk in front of us. Jace didn't even knock on the door or try to look at the person who was sitting in the driver's seat behind the darkly tinted windows, he just opened the passenger's door and climbed right in. Larson opened one of the back doors and motioned for me to climb in in front of him. I did.

The interior of the car was all black, with leather seats and small computer screens on the headrest of every seat. I had never seen a car so fancy, and I was so confused how my brother knew people who were rich enough to afford a car like this. 

"Sit," Larson spoke, pointing at a seat. I sat. I tried to look at the driver, but all I could tell was that it was a bald man wearing dark sunglasses, and because I was sat right behind him, I couldn't exactly tell what he looked like or how old he was. 

I wished that I was alone with Jace and Larson so that I could ask them what was going on, but for some reason, the man in the driver's seat intimidated me and his presence made me stay quiet. I guess the driver got the memo that we would be staying silent the whole car ride, because he didn't say one word since we got in the car - not even a "hello".

I glanced over at Larson to try to read his body language, but he sat straight in his seat, back completely against the seat and no emotion on his face. Every few seconds his phone would buzz and he would quickly type a reply. 

I tried to crane my neck over to be able to see what he was writing or who he was messaging, but I guess I was too obvious, because Larson put his phone in his lap and gave me an angry glare. 

"Lars," I complained quietly, trying to not let the man in the driver's seat hear me. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see, Brenna," he responded. "I'll tell you when we get there."

I rolled my eyes. I had heard that way too many times before. All of my brothers said they would tell me some information in the future, and then when the future came, they suddenly "forgot" or were "too busy" to be able to inform me of absolutely anything. But then again, Jace did tell me about why we had to come to this new house, so maybe things were changing. 

"Promise," Larson spoke, as if he could read my mind. "This time, I promise."

I nodded, happy with the answer he gave me. We all were silent for the remainder of the car ride, and I tried to guess where we were going, but I knew my guesses were probably all wrong. Back at the house, Larson and Jace had a sense of urgency, but now they weren't even talking and both leaned back in their seats, very relaxed.

"Here," the driver spoke up. His voice was very deep and he had no emotion on his face while he spoke. He just put the car in park and then hit the unlock button on the doors. 

 "Thanks," Larson replied. He unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned forward to whisper into Jace's ear. "Benny texted me and told me where to go. Just follow me."

Jace nodded and thanked the driver as well. He walked around to my side of the car and pulled the door open. I unbuckled and climbed out. Right as I climbed out, he grabbed my hand and pulled me close to him.

"When we get into the room, we'll tell you what's going on. But you need to stay very close to me. Got it, Brenna?" he spoke to me. I nodded in response. "I'm serious, B. Do not let go of my hand." I squeezed his hand extra tight and my mind raced with all of the reasons why Jace was so serious about me not leaving him.