Page 30 of Rogue’s Reckoning

"She's awake," I hear someone say.

Footsteps approach, and then Ezra's face swims into view. For a moment, I think I see a flicker of concern in his eyes, but it's quickly replaced by that cold, detached look.

“You should have told the truth,” he says thickly. “You wouldn’t have been hurt as much had you just told the truth.”

The bitter laugh that escapes me fills the air. “I’ve told you the truth.”

Storm enters the room, his footsteps heavy and his presence intimidating. “See, this tells us differently.” He throws a picture onto the floor beside me.

My heart races as the face of my sister stares back at me from the picture. Ivy. She’s the one who has stolen the information from them.

I raise my head and look at Ezra. He knows that I have a sister and he still thinks this is me? How can the man who claims he cares about me do this?

“Nothing?” Storm growls. “No more lies?”

If I tell them it’s Ivy, what will they do to her? I can’t let them hurt her.

"I don't know anything about this," I say, my voice hoarse from screaming and crying. "Please, I've told you the truth. I'm not involved with any of this."

Storm's face twists in anger. He roughly grabs me by the hair, forcing me to look at him. The rage in his eyes has me flinching. "You expect us to believe that? We have proof it was you meeting with the Hawks!"

My eyes flick to Ezra, silently pleading with him to understand. But his face remains impassive, cold. Nothing like the man I fell for.

"It wasn't me," I whisper. "I swear on my life, it wasn't me."

Storm throws me back to the ground in disgust. "Lock her up," he orders the men in the room. "Maybe a few days without food or water will loosen her tongue."

As two men drag me to my feet, I lock eyes with Ezra one last time. "I loved you," I say, my voice breaking. "I trusted you. How could you do this to me?"

For a moment, I think I see a flicker of emotion in Ezra's eyes. But then it's gone, replaced by that icy detachment. He really doesn’t care. Did he ever?

"You brought this on yourself," he says flatly as he walks out of the room.

Once I’m alone, I think about the baby that’s growing inside of me. I have no idea if they’re alive. The brutality of Storm is more than I could have ever imagined. He’s hell bent on getting me to own up to the fact it was me, but what’s going to happen when I don’t?

Will he kill me?

It’s beenthree days and I’m in agony. There’s not a part of my body that doesn’t hurt. The branding on my hip hurts more than anything.

I’m heartbroken. The Ezra I knew is long gone. Hell, I’m not even sure he existed. Three days they’ve questioned me. For three days Storm has hurt me, demanding answers. But no matter what I say, they don’t believe me. I doubt they ever will even if I told them the truth.

I’m tired, beyond so. I haven’t been able to sleep, unless it’s when I’ve been unconscious, but even then, it’s not giving my body the time to heal.

The door creaks open and my heart hammers wildly. I listen for the footsteps and raise my head to see Ezra standing there, his gaze focused on me.

“The cut on your cheek is still bleeding,” he says as he crouches down in front of me. His hand reaches out as though he’s going to touch me, but I shrink away from it. I don’t want him to touch me. I don’t want to be anywhere near him.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he tells me, and I want to laugh so hard at that, but I’m too damn tired. Does he truly think he hasn’t hurt me enough?

I don’t answer him. Instead, I stare at him. Everything I felt for him has evaporated. He was the man who treated me like he cared, the only person to do so, and then the real him surfaced and it showed me that no one cares. I’ll always be the girl who is second best.

I hear more footsteps, and I know that one of those sets belongs to Storm. My body tenses, ready for whatever that monster is going to do next.

“You still keeping with your story?” he asks with a raised brow as he steps into the room.

I don’t answer. There are only so many times I can repeat myself.

Storm crouches beside me, grabbing my face roughly, no doubt leaving even more marks on my body. The anger in his eyes makes me flinch. “You really shouldn’t test me more than you already have,” he growls, his fingers digging harder against my cheek. "Let this be a reminder of what happens to those that go against the Saints," he spits. "You're lucky we don't kill you outright."

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