Page 28 of Forbidden Fate

I almost laugh.

Trust?

Vega doesn’t trust anyone.

“Is there a problem, Señor Moreno?”

Yes.

A massive one.

“No,” I say, making sure the word sounds nonchalant.

Adriana nods. “Good. You’ll begin this afternoon.”

11

ROBIN

My throat burns.

That’s the first thing I’m aware of when I open my eyes again. If I even slept. It doesn’t feel like sleep.

Cold floor. Metal bars. No sense of time.

I haven’t cried in a while. Not because I don’t want to. Because I can’t. My body doesn’t have anything left to give.

Good.

I don’t want to cry anymore.

Tears are weak. Wasteful. I won’t give them any more of me.

Instead I feel rage. It sits low in my stomach, coiled tight, and it gets stronger every time I think about that asshole Zabala.

The way he looked at me. The way he laughed. The way he⁠—

I squeeze my eyes shut.

No.

I’m not giving that moment any more space in my head. I can’t afford to.

I curl my fingers into fists.

Why?

Sure, I was snooping around that woman’s house. I shouldn’t have been there. I shouldn’t have been digging into things that clearly didn’t want to be found.

But I wasn’t doing it for me.

I was doing it for Hawk.

For Daniela.

For us.

Something is wrong. I know it is. I felt it before all of this happened. Something needed to be done before more terrible things befell us.