Page 16 of Forged in Flames (Made of Steel 2)

The name sounded jarring to my ears. He had turned his head slightly away, as if it pained him to hear it too. It almost looked like he was locked behind that screen. Tortured. Tormented. "Tell me your name."

"V."

"And what does that stand for? Vigilante? Something else?"

He lifted his head slightly, but it didn't let me get a better view of him. "Something else."

For some reason his words gave me chills. It was like he thought I should know what it was. But I hadn't the slightest idea. "Thank you for saving me. For catching me when I fell."

He didn't say anything.

"I want to be ready for Don when he comes back. Will you help me?"

"If you delete the article you just wrote."

"Why? It's just the truth. This city deserves to know that you're not the villain."

"I'm not the hero you think I am. And this city isn't ready to see the real me."

"But..."

The screen went black. The article I had written was staring back at me. I had this feeling in the pit of my stomach that I should be scared of the vigilante. Just this small, nagging thought. He tried to tell me to be afraid. But I wasn't. And if I was being honest with myself, I was falling for him. He made me forget about the chaos. When we were together, all I could focus on was him and whatever mystery he was hiding. If he wasn't ready to be exposed for the hero he was, how could I make that decision for him?

I highlighted the article. I couldn't let go of my feelings for Miles. So how was I ever supposed to move on? Did I even want to?

I pressed delete. If only pieces of my own life were so easy to get rid of. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a glimpse of light coming through the window. I stood up and walked over to the windowsill. The moon was shining bright. Without hesitating, I shoved the window up and climbed out onto the fire escape. I put my hands on the metal railing and stared out at the city street below. The wind blew through my hair and I closed my eyes, relishing the familiar feeling. The air even smelled fresh so far above the city. I let out a sigh I didn't realize I had been holding.

Wyoming wasn't my home. Colorado wasn't my home. But New York could be. I could see a future here. Miles. I opened my eyes. He had always been my future. I turned my head up and looked at the few stars visible in the sky.

The problem was that I wasn't the same girl I used to be. He loved Summ

er. He liked Sadie. But he didn't know either one of them. I didn't know either one of them. Maybe one day I'd be whole again. Maybe one day I'd deserve a bright future. I looked down at my hands. But not any time soon. All I could seem to focus on was putting my hands around Don's throat. I had a darkness in me that I wasn't ready to let go. The vigilante didn't judge that. He wanted to help me embrace it.

I gripped the railing and watched my knuckles turn white. Even if killing Don meant living in pain for the rest of my life, it would be worth it. I had already given up on living after he had taken my last shred of hope. I placed one of my hands on my stomach. I knew there was a fine line between vengeance and justice. The only problem was that I didn't care if I crossed it. I wanted vengeance and justice. I'd go to the ends of the earth to destroy Don.

I let my tears stream down my cheeks. Years ago, I told myself I'd follow Miles to the ends of the earth. Time didn't heal anything. It just changed us. It ruined us. I would never be that carefree girl he had fallen for. I needed to give him up. I needed to learn how to walk down that hall without stopping at his door. I needed to re-imagine a future without him. And I needed to accept the fact that my life didn't necessarily have a happy ending. Because after all was said and done, I might be the one living behind bars for the rest of my life. That's what crossing the line resulted in. But I had already stepped over it and there was no going back.

Chapter 8

Saturday

"You really don't think it's possible that Don changed those records too?"

Liza was silent as she sipped her coffee.

Apparently she didn't think my question deserved an answer. And she was right. I had already asked it five times in different ways. Don really had adopted me. It made my skin crawl. It made me feel like he owned me. "Can't I get emancipated or something?"

"I don't really understand why you're so fixated on this. It doesn't really matter."

"It matters to me."

She shook her head. "Well, you can't exactly just call up a lawyer and file a suit. You're legally dead now, remember? And if for some reason that wasn't an issue, the stolen identity would be. What we should be focusing on is why Don found it necessary to turn you into a criminal. He left a very clear cyber footprint on the death certificate. It makes it look like you pretended to die and then stole this Sadie Davis person's identity."

"Why would someone assume I did it?"

"Why would anyone in their right mind assume someone else did? Is there anything else you're not telling me? Think, Sadie."

She had gone back to calling me Sadie. I think she was doing it out of spite since I kept refusing to change my name. She thought sleep would have brought sense to me. But the joke was on her because I hadn't slept at all.

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