Page 87 of Forged in Flames (Made of Steel 2)

I woke up alone in my bed. The last thing I remembered from the previous night was being in V's arms. On the floor. He must have put me on the bed after I fell asleep.

I took a deep breath. I had an aunt I never knew about. My babysitter from when I was a little kid was missing. And Don was out there, still trying his best to ruin my life. Or end it. I shoved the covers off of myself.

Today could be it. My whole life could culminate in this one moment. My stomach growled. Eating would be a good start. I couldn't brush aside the eerie feeling that this might be my last meal as I made my way out of the room.

"Good, you're up," V said.

I turned toward him. He was sitting at the table rummaging through papers that were scattered everywhere.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"We're playing up the new angle."

"The angle of Sadie Davis being my aunt? I hate to break it to you, but it's not a new angle. She's been my aunt the whole time I've been alive. She's just decided not to be a part of my life. That's not going to change today."

"Well, we think it might. Especially if you hit a nerve. If we can get the two of you close enough to talk, you can ask her about what happened that day in the woods. You can get her talking about where she disappeared to. We might be able to piece together some things with a little more information."

I walked over to him. "Maybe we should just have a really fun day. Like, I don't know...sky diving or something."

V looked up from his notes. "No."

"You're going to deny a dying girl's last wish?"

"You're not dying."

I sighed. It was odd that he was the one in denial and not me. "V..."

"And I can think of a million better things to do than that," he said and stood up. "Your breakfast is in the oven. Eat it and then we'll go set our trap." He pushed the papers into a sloppy pile. "We're meeting everyone in half an hour."

"I don't get a say in this at all?"

"If it was your last day, you would. But it's not, Sadie. Not even close." He grabbed the papers off the table. "And besides, we're a group. We decided with a majority vote that this was the best course of action."

"You didn't even ask me."

"Three to one vote. Half an hour, Sadie." He walked away from me, disappearing into the room I had never been in.

Talking to my aunt wasn't going to save me. The only thing that would save me was putting a bullet in Don's skull.

***

"This isn't going to work," I said.

Eli's fingers tightened around mine. "It's worth a shot."

"I don't have anything to say to her."

"What if Don was holding her against her will for all those years everyone thought she was dead? If she lived with him, she might know his weaknesses."

"Weaknesses?" I almost laughed. Don didn't have any weaknesses. "I lived with him for a long time and couldn't tell you a single one. If that's the information you're looking for, you're not going to get it."

"But you were just a kid. You could have missed something."

"I grew up pretty fast, Eli."

"I know. I'm sorry." He gave my hand a gentle squeeze. A beeping noise sounded through the hallway and Eli touched something on the side of his watch. "Class is going to let out in a few minute

s. Hopefully she'll be early and we can do this fast before anyone sees."

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