Page 31 of For Wrath

"Explain?"she spat, cutting him off. "You've got files on an ex-con who ended updead. Do you know how that looks?" Her chest heaved with each breath, herfury making her feel almost lightheaded. She couldn't, under any circumstance,signal that she knew more about Darren's death than she did.

She sure as hellcouldn't signal that she had been the one to kill Darren.

She knew wherehis gun was. She'd buried it herself, hid the evidence.

"Of course Ido," Derik said, his voice taking on a desperate edge. "But I swear,it's not what you think."

"Then tellme what it is!" Morgan shouted, her face inches from his. "Tell mewhy I should trust you when you're hiding things like this!"

"Trustme?" Derik echoed, his own anger flaring. "You went through my stuff,Morgan! How can you talk about trust when you're snooping around behind myback?"

She could see thehurt in his eyes, but it only fueled her rage. "You're the last person whoshould be talking about trust, Derik. You've been keeping secrets from me andGod knows what else. And now you're lecturing me about being reckless andputting my life on the line? What kind of partner are you?"

"Dammit,Morgan," Derik hissed, clenching his fists as well. "I'm trying toprotect you! Can't you see that?"

"Protectme?" she scoffed, disbelief etched across her face. "By hiding thingsfrom me? By treating me like I'm some fragile little doll, you need to keepsafe? I don't need your protection, Derik. I need the truth."

Silence hungheavily between them, a chasm of unspoken words and unshed tears. Morgan'sheart raced in her chest, her emotions a tangled mess that threatened to chokeher. She stared at Derik, willing him to say something, anything, to make senseof the chaos.

But he remainedsilent, his gaze dropping to the floor as he struggled with his own demons. Andin that moment, Morgan realized that whatever trust they had shared wasshattered, possibly beyond repair.

"Getout," Derik said, his voice low and cold. "Just get out,Morgan."

Morgan hesitated,her fury momentarily eclipsed by surprise at the harshness in his tone. She hadnever heard him speak to her like that before. But as she looked into his eyes,she saw no warmth, no understanding – only a wall of stone.

"Fine,"she spat, turning on her heel and storming from the room. The door slammed shutbehind her with a resounding echo, leaving Derik alone in the sterile hospitalroom.

Good riddance,Morgan thought. She'd rather be alone than have apartner she couldn't trust.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Derik stared atthe blank white wall across from his bed, his heart pounding in his chest. Thefight with Morgan replayed over and over in his mind, every word and gestureetched into his memory.

He felt a mixtureof anger and fear churning in his gut. How could she have gone through histhings? He thought he could trust her, but now he didn't know what to believe.And as much as he hated himself for it, part of him wanted to tell hereverything – about Darren La Roux, about the secrets he'd been keeping.

But he couldn't.Not when there was so much at stake. Not when revealing the truth could putboth their lives in even greater danger than they already were.

"Damn it,Morgan," he muttered under his breath, clenching his fists in frustration.He knew she was just trying to get answers. She had every right to look for them.Derik knew that Morgan had lost ten years of her life locked behind bars. Herown dad had passed away, and she hadn't been able to attend his funeral. Ithaunted Derik too.

But she didn'tunderstand the consequences of digging too deep, of unearthing truths that werebetter left buried.

As Derik laythere, trapped in his own thoughts, he couldn't shake the feeling that theirpartnership – and perhaps their friendship – was irrevocably damaged. Andthough he desperately wanted to fix it, he had no idea how to begin.

The silence ofthe room seemed to press in on him, suffocating and oppressive. But it wasnothing compared to the weight of the secrets he carried, the burden of knowingthat his silence might be the only thing keeping Morgan alive.

And so, Derikstared at the wall, willing himself to find a solution, a way to mend what hadbeen broken. But as the minutes ticked by, his hope dwindled, and the roomremained as cold and lifeless as the secrets locked away in his heart.

Derik's eyesremained fixed on the sterile white wall, his mind a whirlwind of emotion andunresolved conflict. The sound of his own heartbeat filled the room, each thumpechoing louder in his ears than the last. He couldn't shake the image of Morganstorming out of the room, her fury as palpable as the cold air that nowenveloped him.

The sudden shrillof his phone jolted him from his thoughts. He hesitated for a moment beforereaching out to answer it, his hand trembling slightly.

He knew thatnumber.

No, I don'twant to talk to him...

But I haveto...

"Hello?"Derik said, his voice barely above a whisper.

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