Page 283 of Forged in the Fire
Every hair on my body lifted when I felt the presence emerge from behind.
Dark and ominous.
Slowly, I shifted to find Phoenix in the doorway, his black eyes roiling with something I couldn’t fathom.
“She wasn’t supposed to see that.” His words scraped the air that had become acid.
Toxic.
“What? The proof of your treason?” It heaved like stones.
He stepped forward.
I gauged him, prepared to counter his attack, though for once, there was no aggression in his movements.
Just surrender as he lifted his giant hands.
“It had to happen. She blinded you,” Phoenix rasped. “I did it to protect you. To protect us.”
I felt like I was bound in barbed wire. “You went behind my back? Betrayed me? Because I fucking fell in love?”
“She was collateral,” he gritted. “Not to be touched by any one of us, and you fucking claimed her.”
A hoarse scoff left me. “And that gave you the right to do this? Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
I wanted to crumble, but I took a menacing step forward instead. In it, I felt my heart splintering.
This was Phoenix. With me from the beginning. The one who was there the night everything changed.
“Give me one reason not to put a bullet through your skull.” I spat it, though it was thin and wheezing.
He barely shook his head. “Don’t you see it, Silas? This is a setup. She was there. It washer,” he emphasized low, angling toward me, trying to get me to see something that remained blurry.
“The fuck are you talking about?” I demanded.
His jaw went rigid. “It was her. The night we went for Kent.”
Flashes came at me in shockwaves.
The energy.
That connection.
I swayed, nearly fucking brought to my knees when it clicked.
Phoenix gripped me by the shoulder, leaning down to get into my face.
“And there’s no way it’s a fuckin’ coincidence that her brother didn’t have this thing planned. I don’t know why or how, but my gut tells me he’s gonna flip, and this whole thing is going to be an ambush. I had to stop him before it was too late.”
FIFTY-NINE
SILAS
FIVE YEARS AGO
“Areyou fucking sure it’s them?” Phoenix hissed it beneath his breath where their bikes were hidden behind a giant spruce.
The sweeping darkness and heavy fog camouflaged the menacing metal, the powerful motors silenced two hours ago.
