“Chloe. I know you are wondering why I left this farm to you. It’s because I think you’re the only person who can break the ties between the underworld and Bane Falls. You’re smart and quick on your feet. I know you think you love Callum, but he’s going to do away with you sooner or later.” He lets out a long sigh and shakes his head, biting his lip with emotion.
“I might’ve fucked this up for you. I might’ve tipped them off that I set up the night you met Callum. I swear I didn’t think you two would get as far as you did. I was aiming for a one-night stand to get information out of him. I shouldn’t have bugged your apartment, and I should never have involved you in this…
“I know you weren’t aware of it at the time, but you certainly are now, if you’re still alive and have found this drive. I fucked up, and they are onto me. Everything I found on them, I’ve locked in the unnamed folder on this drive. Use the code I once told you. If you’ve forgotten, you’ll remember. And if you don’t, then destroy this drive.”
He curses and runs his hands through his hair.
“I won’t survive out here much longer. They’re coming for me. Chloe, I know you’ll find this. Take it to Mr. Holland. You can trust him.”
Arnold stares at the camera for a moment, like he wants to say more but thinks better of it. He turns the camera off, and the feed cuts.
Chloe?
He wasn’t talking about… But he had to have been.
My body reacts viscerally—heart racing and breathing off rhythm. It takes my mind a second to connect everything because I so desperately don’t want to believe it.
She lied to me.
Her name isn’t even Briar.She’s going to betray you just like Nyla.If she’s lying about her name, she could be lying about anything.
“Not again,” I whisper and press the heels of my palms into my eyes. “Not again.Not again.” My voice breaks as I curl into myself. I can’t let her put my squad in danger, and she already did last night.
Was she working with Grahm to poison me? My eyes widen. She knows I wouldn’t question it if it came from her. Bile rises up my throat, and I feel like I’m going to be sick.
It hurts. It hurts so fucking much. Why did I let her in? Why did I think she was different? I’m so goddamn stupid.
My hands tremble, and I get the overwhelming urge to hurt myself. I take out my pocketknife and forgo the powder, pressing the blade into the back of my hand and dragging a ragged line across my skin. The second the hot liquid escapes and spills over me, I let out a weary breath.
I have to get rid of her.
If only she’d listened to me the first night.
30
BRIAR
My hands and wrists ache.Why does the cold hurt so much? My fingers and toes have it the worst, and I’ve never shivered as much as I am right now.
I think about a million things other than my situation. There’s no way Roman won’t believe me. He’s going to come down here and see me cold and wrap me in his arms. We’re going to take a hot shower, and then I can rest.
Rest. Warmth. Roman.I think those three things over and over.
Hours drag on, and the icy chill sets deeper into my bones. But I don’t lose hope. I won’t lose faith in Roman.How long has it been?I wonder. Is the farm completely destroyed? I hope John passed on the note I found. Maybe they’re going there and capturing Callum without me. I keep my mind as busy as I can. But I’m so cold.
Roman is going to hold me.
He will.
He will.
“Chloe?”
I jolt at my name, and alarm tears through me. Roman’s staring down at me with the most betrayed eyes. Pain flashesthere before he sets his jaw, and everything kind and soft I’ve grown to love about him is extinguished with one harrowing glare.
He’s looking at me like I’m a prisoner.
I can’t even begin to conjure any words. Why didn’t I just tell him my real name? Of all the things to be the final straw in his trust. Of course, it’s my name.
