Page 31 of Forbidden Fate

My pulse spikes.

The metal clicks.

The door creaks open.

And Cruz steps inside.

12

CRUZ

Robin doesn’t flinch. Not a bit.

I hate this.

Every step I take toward her feels wrong. But I keep going anyway because that’s what I do. Because that’s what I’ve always done.

Follow orders.

Even when they rot something inside me.

“I meant what I said,” she tells me, her voice rough but steady. “You’re not doing this without a fight.”

Admiration flicks through me. She’s exhausted. Dehydrated. She shouldn’t have anything left in her.

But still she’s ready to fight.

What would she be like outside in the world? Not locked up and at my mercy?

I’ve always wanted kids.

And Robin… She’d be a good mother. Firm. Unyielding when she needs to be. But not cruel. Not like the men in this place. She’d know where the line is. She’d make them behave without breaking them.

Like my mother did.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Her voice cuts through my thought, and I blink. I shake off the dread I’m feeling, burying it where it belongs.

“Get up,” I say.

“Make me,” she shoots back.

I step closer.

If I do this fast enough, I can keep it contained. Control the damage. Get her restrained without⁠—

Without what?

Without hurting her?

That’s already out the window.

She’s going to get hurt. But if I’m in control, I can minimize it.

I reach for her wrist. When I close my fingers around it, she moves, raking her nails across my skin before I can adjust.

“Damn it,” I mutter, tightening my grip.