Page 60 of Property of the Hellfire Riders

She doesn’t resist as I hold her there until the surrounding area clears. I take a long breath, turning to face the little snitch.

My hand presses against the tree, trapping Izzy between my arm and the rough bark. She looks small and vulnerable, hereyes pleading for mercy. My whole body is full of rage coursing as I hold her in place, making sure she can’t run.

“You think you can play us for fools?” I ask coldly, studying her features.

She swallows, shrinking back as my eyes rake over her.

“I—”

“Don’t fucking lie to me, Isabella,” I hiss, gripping her chin roughly.

She flinches but doesn’t try to pull away.

“I told you, I’m here because I need your help.”

Her words hang in the air, mingling with the sounds of the forest. Part of me wants to believe her, to trust the spark of honesty I see in those bright blue eyes. But the anger, the betrayal—it’s hard to shake.

“You think showing up with a story is going to fix this?” I snarl, my grip tightening slightly. “You think that’s enough?”

Izzy stares at me defiantly, her chin trembling but still holding my gaze. It's damn infuriating. “I know it’s not enough,” she says. “But it’s a start. Please, just give me a chance to prove it.”

The raw sincerity in her voice tugs at something deep inside me, cutting through the fog of my anger. Damn it—I need answers. I need to know the truth.

"Bullshit. You infiltrated us and led your guys straight to our fucking crop. What the hell did you expect to achieve? We put this test right in front of you, and you fucking failed.”

Her eyes widened in horror. “N-No! I swear?—”

My hand grasps the back of her neck and a handful of her hair. I loom over her. Each one of her shaking breath’s falls on my lips.

“I’m going to give you one chance to tell me the truth, and that’s it.”

Tears well up in her eyes, but she doesn’t break my stare.

“I didn’t do this. I swear.” She searches for the words then. “I work with the police, okay? But only as a forensic photographer, but everything about Laina and the Puppeteer is true! You have to believe me. I’m being hunted, Hawk.”

The vulnerability in her voice softens me, but only ever so slightly. I step back and look at her, my face impassive. Call it a fucking miracle, but I believe her. The sun’s dying light casts long shadows around us, the forest a mix of orange and deepening twilight, and there she is.

I want to believe her.

“Prove it.”

She scrambles then, reaching into the purse slung over shoulder then pulls out a piece of some marionette doll, holding it up. The sight of it gives me the creeps. “This was left for me. It’s a message, a warning. Whoever did this is trying to get to me, and they’re willing to burn everything down to do it.”

I snatch the doll’s hand from her, examining it with a sneer. The note attached reads:Seems you’ve made new friends, Izzy. But not all friendships last. Watch your back.

Again, this could all be some made up lie to mess with my head. My anger boils over. I toss the hand aside, glaring at Izzy. “This doesn’t prove anything. For all we know, you planted it yourself.”

“Why?” she asks, staring at me square in the eyes. “You really think this is a lie?!”

Damn her for making me doubt myself. Exasperated, I pace back and forth, unsure what to do with her.

Fuck. I know the desperation in her eyes, the wild look. She’s cornered and running out of options. I’ve seen it enough times in the mirror.

But my choices are limited and the evidence in front of me is starting to stack up fairly high. All I have to go off are her words, and she’s already lied to us before.

“Hawk, please,” she begs.

The sound of her plea tugs at something deep inside me, stirring emotions I’ve tried to bury. Love, fear, anger—they’re all tangled up, making it impossible to think straight. I want to trust her, to believe that she’s telling the truth, but the stakes are too high.

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