Page 222 of The Dark Stranger

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And again.

And again.

My face is on fire. My ears are ringing.

But I don’t break.

I won’t break.

“Enough,” Lionetti says.

His voice cold now. Final.

Jenna steps back, breathing hard. Her hands shaking.

Lionetti looks at me.

“Last chance,” he says. “Tell us who rescued you. Tell us how you know where Inez is. Tell us everything.”

I close my eyes.

And I think of Silas.

Of his hands on my skin. Of his voice in my ear. Of the way he looked at me like I was the only thing that mattered.

I think of Inez. Of her laugh. Of our childhood. Of the promise I made to protect her.

I open my eyes.

“No,” I say.

Lionetti sighs.

“Very well.”

He nods to Cesario, then turns to Jenna and Izzy.

“Come,” he says. “Let’s give her some time to think.”

They leave.

All of them.

The door closes.

I’m alone.

I look around the room, searching. Thinking.

The rope is tight, but not impossible.

I start working my wrists, twisting and pulling. The rope burns, cutting into my skin, but I keep going.

Five minutes.

Ten.

Then I feel it.

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