Page 59 of Forged in Flames (Made of Steel 2)

"That wasn't why and you know it. Twenty minutes."

He had reached out to me just like I wanted. "I can't. I'm sorry, Miles." And I had stomped on his effort.

"I'll be waiting."

I placed my phone down beside me. Stop waiting for me. I buried my face in my knees and let my tears roll down my shins. Miles Young was the happy ending I would never get. I had four days. That was it. He had a whole lifetime to forget about me. I had ruined my life. I just hoped I hadn't ruined his too.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed when I started to hear a clanging noise growing closer to me. I knew the vigilante was climbing the emergency escape stairs up to the roof. But I really didn't want to see him. I quickly wiped my tears away just as he stepped onto the roof.

He walked over to me and stopped when he was directly in front of me. I blinked as I stared up at him. He put his hand out for me.

I shook my head.

He kept his hand out, waiting for me to grab it.

"I'm watching the meteor shower. I don't want to go in." I sounded like a petulant child.

"Okay," his voice rumbled as he put his hand into his pocket.

"How was your date with Liza?"

"That's why you're up here? You're jealous?" He didn't smile or laugh. Really, he showed no emotion at all. It shouldn't have surprised me. I knew what we were. A moment in time.

I sighed. "I'm not jealous." Maybe a small part of me was, but what did it matter? "You can do whatever you want."

He slowly knelt down in front of me and placed his hands on my knees.

I swallowed hard.

"I want you." He spread my thighs with his hands and leaned forward until his lips brushed against mine. "I need you." This time when our lips touched, it wasn't gentle. His hunger was back.

I put my hand at the base of his neck, pulling him closer. I needed him too. He so easily took away the pain in my chest. I knew that I was out of my mind. But I also knew that whatever this was could get me through another day.

Chapter 25

Tuesday

Something was seriously wrong with me. I had issues, but the vigilante did too. That's why it felt right. But that wasn't a good reason to run into his arms. Especially when I clearly had feelings for Miles too.

I bit the end of my pen as I stared at the words the pro

fessor was writing on the board. I should have been paying attention, but everything the professor said seemed to pass over my head. What was I even doing in this class? Despite what Liza thought, Sadie Davis wasn't talking about the four members of our group. She was counting down the days. I was running out of time to figure out what it all meant.

I shoved my notebook into my backpack and slipped out the back door of the large lecture hall. The professor didn't even turn around. No one's going to miss me. I immediately shook away the thought.

The leaves were just starting to change color. I took a huge breath of fresh air. The bright green of campus was slowly fading away. Just like I'm fading away. Stop.

Eli was supposed to meet me after class to walk me back to V's, but I couldn't make my feet stay still. There was no time to wait around. I needed to move, to feel the burn of my muscles. Three days wasn't enough time to learn how to defend myself. But it wasn't going to stop me from trying. Hopefully V would be up for a training session.

I started walking toward V's apartment when I saw her. Sadie Davis was sitting on a bench reading a book, like she was just another college student on campus. It was like she knew that I was going to walk by here after class. Did that mean she knew where V lived?

Unlike the other times I had seen her, this time I didn't freeze. I actually started walking faster. This could be my one chance to speak to her. I needed to understand why she was doing this. And what exactly she was doing.

As if sensing my presence, she closed the book and looked up at me. The expression on her face made it seem like she was surprised to see that I was coming toward her. She immediately held up three fingers. There was no smile this time. She looked like she was panicking because I wasn't stopping.

Hoards of students suddenly started to pour onto the walking paths between us, blocking her from my line of sight.

By the time I reached the bench, she was gone. But the book she had been reading was still there. I lifted up the tattered copy of Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. I had read it for an English assignment in high school. It had no connection whatsoever to what Sadie Davis was doing here. It was about a group of men sailing the Congo. The book itself did have a connection, though.

---