Page 31 of Forged in Flames (Made of Steel 2)

"I thought we were on the same page. You said you forgave me."

"That was before I realized you were lying." I squirmed in his grip, but it just made him tighten his fingers on my arm. "Seriously, Eli, let me go." I pushed back against his torso with all my might. My action had no effect on him. He stayed completely still.

"I think we need to have that talk that we put off yesterday."

"I have nothing to say to you." That wasn't true. I had a million things I wanted to say to him. But his fingers on my skin made it hard to concentrate on anything but the fire spewing in my chest. Let go of me.

"Would you take a breath? I don't know what you think you know, but I'm not trying to hurt you."

"Bullshit." I tried to elbow him in the ribs, but his grip just tightened on me.

He sighed. "Fine, I guess we have to do this the hard way." He pressed his fingertips into the side of my neck.

My vision immediately started to go blurry and my head started to spin. I lifted my foot so I could stomp on his, but my body seemed to collapse forward. I was just...so...tired...

***

Slowly my eyes focused on Eli's face. I tried to stand up, but something dug into my wrists. Did he seriously tie me to this bench in the middle of Central Park? I pulled on my arms. It just made the rope dig into my wrists even more.

"Now, can you please tell me what the hell is going on?" He was crouching in front of me. Pretend concern on his face.

I peered over his shoulder. We were far away from the walking path and the sun had definitely set awhile ago. I didn't exactly have any option but to talk to him. "You made me believe that you were the vigilante, asshole." I glared at him. I tried to move my leg to give him a swift kick in the nuts, but found that my ankles were also tied to the bench. Damn it! I clenched my teeth together.

"I said I had been watching you. I never said I was the vigilante."

"Yes you did. I said it was you and you didn't deny it."

"Those words never came out of your mouth. I thought you were saying you understood where I was coming from. And forgave me."

"Eli, untie me." I pulled on the rope again.

"You said you were falling for me..."

"Because I thought you were the vigilante!"

He lowered both eyebrows. "Wow. I guess I misread that." He put his hands on his knees and slowly stood up.

I shouldn't have cared if I had hurt his feelings. He was a fucking traitor. But for some reason, I regretted my words. Maybe it was just a game, but the look in his eyes seemed real. I had clearly upset him. "I was happy when I thought it was you," I said. "I wanted it to be you." And I think it was the truth. I was relieved when it was him. I wasn't even sure why.

He put his hand over his mouth and looked down at me. He nodded his head and then dropped his hand by his side. "So that's the only reason why you slept with me? You thought I was the masked psycho roaming the city streets at night?"

"He's not a psychopath."

Eli shook his head. "Jesus, Summer, I put my whole career on the line for you."

I twisted my wrist, ignoring the burn from the rope, as I tried to untie the knots. "What do you want from me? It's like you expect an apology when you're the one that should be apologizing to me. I know that you're working for Don."

He shook his head, completely incredulous. "I'm an undercover cop. I've been trying to bust Don Roberts for over two years."

My breathing seemed to slow. "That's not true. I'd recognize you from back home."

"Does the word undercover mean nothing to you?"

"So, you don't really look like that?" He was more like me than I realized. Hiding his true self. But not because he was scared and weak. Not because he was on the run from a monster.

"No, I do. I was incognito in Colorado. I pretty much do look like this. Minus the preppy clothes. I was trying to blend in as a student."

"So...you're not really a student here?"

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