A reminder that I’m still here.
The hallway is dim, quiet, the kind of silence that suffocates. When we take a turn, Levi, Koen, and Sylus are standing there, waiting. Hill pulls me to a stop in front of them.
“You’re right. She won’t talk.” He releases my arm, and I straighten myself, rolling my shoulder as I pull away from him, gathering my dignity.
“See?” Levi says, his gaze is fixed on Hill. “Told you we can trust her.”
Trust me?
Trust me?
The pieces slot into place.
Without thinking, I step right into Levi’s space. Sylus and Koen stand behind him, but I ignore them as I lock eyes with him and let my anger bubble over.
“Trust, huh? That’s rich.” I take a step closer, coming toe-to-toe with him. “Real fucking richcoming from a liar.”
There’s a pregnant silence before Sylus’s voice cuts through it. “You fuckinghither, Ez?”
Sylus’s gaze is heavy on me as he inspects me, darkening when he takes in the handcuffs, his lips pulling into a hard line when he zeroes in on my reddened cheeks.
He takes a step toward Hill.“Answer me, Ez.”
Hill is his brother?
Ezra?
Ezra doesn’t react to the accusation besides a slight tightening in his jaw. “You think Veronica Harrington’s people would be gentle with her if they caught her?”
Sylus takes another step toward him, his entire body vibrating with fury. Koen is quicker, pressing a hand against Sylus’s chest, holding him back. “Not you,” Koen murmurs, his eyes never leaving Ezra. Then, louder, he repeats the question,“You fucking hit her?”
I look between them all, feeling beyond over this night. “Yeah,twice. Thanks for the brilliant teamwork, dickhe?—”
Koen’s fist connects with Ezra’s jaw, the sound cracking through the hallway, cutting off my insult. Ezra stumbles back and grabs his face as Koen winces, shaking out his knuckles. “Fuck,” he mutters, pain creasing his brow.
What the hell?
A laugh bubbles up from my chest, raw and full of disbelief. “Your form is shit, Koen.”
Sylus’s chuckle is dark and humorless. “So much for trained in hand-to-hand combat.” Then he grabs Ezra by the collar and shoves him hard against the wall. “Give me the damn keys to the cuffs.” Ezra’s hand drops to his pocket briefly before he slaps them into Sylus’s waiting palm. “Thanks. Andfuck you,brother.”
Sylus turns back to me, his expression softening as he reaches for my wrists, unlocking the cuffs with a gentleness that surprises me. The cuffs click open and fall to the floor, and I flex my sore wrists, the sting ebbing as Sylus’s hand moves to my face. His fingers brush lightly over the bruise on my cheek, and I flinch at the contact, a hiss slipping past my lips.
“Ouch.”
Sylus’s eyes search mine, concern and anger mingling there as he murmurs, “I’m so sorry, baby.” He leans in, pressing agentle kiss to the spot that hurts the most. “I shouldn’t have agreed to this.”
I allow myself to savor it for a moment, closing my eyes to better soak in the comfort he offers before I push him away and face what they did. “What even was that? Another test?” I glance from one to the other, but none of them open their mouths. “Is Nicholas in on this too?”
“He’s not.” Koen steps forward, his expression somber. “I’m sorry?—”
“Yeah, you’re sorry. I get it.” I cut him off with a scoff, followed by a hard glare. “Fuck you, anyway.”
“You’re right,” Levi speaks up. “We’re assholes. But we needed to know if we could trust you.”
“Let’s go somewhere we can talk.” Koen reaches out to touch my elbow, but I pull away.
“Stop fucking lying to me.” I snap. “Thenmaybewe can talk.”
