It had been four days since Jessica disappeared and things were grim. Jared's video hadn't been any help of telling us where she was and neither did he. No matter what Finnigan did to him he wouldn't spill anything. None of us had slept since she left. That definitely didn't help our patience. Finnigan had finally gave in and decided to go with Zach to find some food and rest. I dialed my pin into the pad and opened the basement door. This was probably my only opportunity to talk to Jared alone.

He was in really bad shape. The vervain slowed his regeneration so the majority of the damage Finnigan had done wasn't going to disappear any time soon. It made me sick to my stomach to see him this way but my rage that Jessica was gone overruled my pity. Jared's non-swollen eye sized me up as I walked down the stairs. "Where are the other two Stooges?" His voice was raspier than normal.

"Not important." I kept my answer short. Anything that wasn't about Jess wasn't worth my time right now. I grabbed a chair and sat backwards on it, resting my arms on the back rest.

"If they're out of the house, you should untie me. I can help you, Tan. Let me help you find Jess."

I just starred at him. If he thought I would dignify that with a response he clearly doesn't realize how pissed I am at him. We have been friends for over a hundred years and I have never wanted to kill him until now.

Jared wheezed out a sigh, "it would be a lot easier if you would work with me. This can be a long term thing or a short term one. Everything depends on you and Finnigan. The faster you get rid of him the faster you'll get her back."

"Why should I believe a word that comes out of your mouth," I finally spoke. This ordeal had clearly taken its tole on me too. I didn't even recognize my own voice. It was so numb, so low.

"Because I'm your best friend, your brother. The one you should be working beside. Not that asshole and his wannabe sidekick."

I stood up and kicked the chair out of the way. It slid and hit the wall with a loud thud. "No. My best friend wouldn't have gone behind my back and forced the girl I love to get rid of my kid I never fucking knew I was going to have. My best friend wouldn't have gotten that same girl taken away from me because he couldn't set aside his own bullshit agenda to torture her. And my brother, of all things, wouldn't have ripped that girl out from under me and sent her into danger or hell, maybe even death! You, Jared Chavez, are not my brother!" I walked toward the stairs. Coming down here without Finn had been a bad idea. I was hungry, tired and ready to rip his heart out.

"She's still alive, T. I wouldn't do that to you. Whether you think I am or not, I still consider us brothers."

"How do you know," I turned around.

A chuckle echoed through the room. "She's in friendly hands. Friendly but unreachable hands. I made certain of that."

"What do you mean by —" A buzzing sounded from somewhere in the room. Not just any buzzing, a cell phone.

"God damnit," Jared muttered.

I sped beside him and fished a flip phone out of his pocket just as the call went to voicemail. "This isn't your phone. I took that from you three days ago. Where did you get this?"

"I'd hate to sell her out but little Kara went and got it for me. She's been a gigantic help lately."

"Kara," I growled.

"Don't be mad at her, Tanner. She was only doing what she was told. I couldn't have gotten things done without her actually. Maybe you ought to replace her for Jess. She is a lot—."

"Shut up!" I reached over and snapped his neck, rendering him unconscious. It was a good thing Finn wasn't here to see what I was about to do. Kara won't survive the day.