Page 116 of The Beta's Bargain

I snarl. “She’s not like that woman.”

Falcon paces closer. “I know she’s not. Do you?”

I open my mouth but don’t answer because the door opens, and Silas walks in.

“What are we talking about?”

“Falcon’s got an idea that, in my mind, I've been associating my kidnapper with Onyx.”

Silas tilts his head to the side. “Are we finally having this conversation? Thank god. Well, Gray, it makes sense. And your level of anger is way over the top. Like, way.”

I shove at him, but he slings an arm around my waist and pulls himself back to me.

“Calm, Gray. It’s not a criticism. You suffered horribly when you were a child. You trusted that woman, and she betrayed you. Onyx is the first woman you’ve trusted since then, isn’t she?”

I stare at Silas in shock. That can’t be true, can it? I think about it and finally breathe the answer. “Yes.”

“My mother is a terrible person when she wants something. I'm more inclined to believe that she had more to do with this than what we think.” Silas lets me go and paces the space between Falcon and I.

I exhale and close my eyes. Are they right? I pull myself free and get back on the treadmill. My thoughts run around and around in my mind. Reliving everything in a matter of seconds.

“We need to find out what happened,” I say out loud.

Silas and Falcon stop talking and look back at me.

“How?” Silas asks. “My mother isn’t talking.”

“Find Silver,” I say.

Falcon, the smug prick, just grins and walks out of the gym.

Silver crosses her arms under her breasts, and for the first time since I’ve met her, she doesn’t try to impress us. No, she’s closed off and defensive. She is angry at us.

“We need to know what happened with you and my mother,” Silas says.

She shrugs. “We became friends.”

Falcon growls. “Talk and talk fast, Silver, or I’ll make sure things go awfully for you.”

Her lip curls, and she narrows her eyes. “You don’t deserve her. You just assumed she was bad. Fuck you.”

I lean over the table and slam my hands on it. “Was that you in the security footage?”

She leans back and snorts. A huge smile spreading across her face. “What footage? Be specific.”

I growl, but it doesn’t deter her at all. “Do you pretend to be your sister?” I hiss in rage.

She smiles. “That was the right question. Bingo, we’ve got a winner. Yes. I do pretend to be Onyx, a lot, actually. She has far more freedom than I have.”

I hate this woman. My temper is so close to snapping.

“Falcon,” I hiss. I have to go, I'm going to hurt her. Crush her.

“It's all right, go,” Falcon says calmly.

I close my eyes and rush from the room, ignoring the woman at the reception desk. I go outside and put my hands on my waist and stare up at the sky. It’s taken two weeks more to find this bitch, and now she’s playing games.

Fuck this.

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