Page 99 of Forged in Flames (Made of Steel 2)

Eli picked it up. "Shit." He popped something off the top of it. "Shit, shit, shit!" His eyes darted around the apartment.

"Is it a bomb?" Liza yelled. "Throw it out the window!"

"I can't throw it out the window. There's innocent civilians out there!"

"I'm an innocent civilian!" she yelled. "Throw it out the damn window!"

"Everyone get to the bunker," V said calmly and grabbed the device out of Eli's hand. "Now."

Eli grabbed me by the hand and pulled me to the room that V always kept locked. I would have protested, but I froze when I stepped inside. It was at least twice as big as the bedroom. And the walls were covered in photos. Lines of yarn connected pictures with dates. And they weren't just recent pictures. I stared at the smiling face of an eight year old with no worries or fears. My smiling face.

My eyes shifted to my parents. Miles. Miles' family. Don. Mr. Crawford. Julie and her fiancé, Jacob. Jane. My grandmother. Kins. Patrick. Liza. Eli. The pictures of Liza and Eli were crossed out, like they had been eliminated from suspicion. V had been watching me since I was a kid. It didn't start here. It went back further than I even knew.

The door slammed shut behind us.

"Where did you put it?" Liza asked.

"The freezer," V said.

"That's not going to work! It couldn't possibly contain the blast. If it's the same bomb that blew up that car, it's going to blow up the whole apartment!"

"We're safe in here."

"Not if the floor collapses!"

"This room is secure," Athena's smooth voice said over the speaker system. "Please turn your attention to channel five while I assess the threat level."

The room was eerily silent as V picked up a remote and turned on the TV in the corner.

A reporter was on the screen, announcing the nightly news. "We just received word of some breaking news," the reporter said and placed his index finger on the side of his ear like he was listening to something. "Police believe that the fatal car crash that occurred on Broad Street yesterday was no accident. An unidentified woman was killed in the crash and several others remain in the hospital under critical condition. The lead suspect is wanted for homicide and other charges and is suspected to be armed and highly dangerous."

An image of me with my brown hair and brown eyes showed up on the screen. The picture from my fake driver's license.

"The suspect's name is Sadie Davis," the reporter continued. " Again, she is suspected to be armed and highly dangerous, so police advise that you do not engage. Any information of her whereabouts or information regarding the crash should be reported to the hotline number below immediately. Now, back to our regularly scheduled news. A new candidate for mayor has joined the race," he said in an upbeat voice. An image of Don appeared on the screen.

"Oh my God," I said. "That's not possible. He has a criminal record. How is that possible?" I thought about when I went to report everything to the police. They didn't believe me. They said Don Roberts didn't have a rap sheet.

"His slogan is already hitting the streets of NYC with buzz," the reporter said. "He's asking the people of our city to join together, saying it's 'your move', NYC."

Your move. I thought about the message written in blood on my arm. It was a nod to me. He was doing this because of me.

"Well, now can we change your identity like I wanted to do in the first place?" Liza asked. "We should probably start by cutting this," she said and lifted up a strand of my hair. "A new color too. And a new name. And drop the brown contact lenses, they're not fooling anyone. They slide too much when you cry."

"Liza, shut the hell up," Eli said. "Summer, are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" What kind of question was that? "Of course I'm not okay. How is he doing it? How is he controlling everyone? What are we missing?" This couldn't be happening. Liza was worried he was going to destroy this city as a thug. What was going to happen when he was the mayor and he controlled everything? Fire. I could already see the flames he'd unleash.

"Threat level 10 out of 10," Athena said over the speakers. "Brace for impact."

V grabbed me and pulled me into his chest. "I don't love a piece of you," he whispered in my ear. "I love all of you. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you that sooner. I love you, Summer Brooks. I love you."

A booming noise echoed around the room and I wrapped my arms around V's back. I waited for the floor to collap

se like Liza said. I waited for the room to melt. But nothing happened.

He loved me? I had broken all of their trust by telling Miles the truth. And I didn't know what they'd do once they found out. I had just set in motion a way to ruin my support system. To destroy my team. I had bet against us. I had believed that I was going to die. And now everything was broken. V had told me he loved me because for a second he let his fears take over. He didn't mean it. He couldn't mean it. I was in love with Miles. So why was I still clinging to V like he was my only source of life?

I immediately stepped back from him.

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