Page 151 of Love Me

I push at his chest, but disappointment settles more heavily on my chest than anger. Anger can be productive. You can channel it. Disappointment is just moving past fighting.

“I would have never thought you’d be disloyal.”

Blake doesn’t even flinch at my blow.

“Loyalty is one way. Maybe I am the most loyal among you.”

He’s either delusional or plain insane.

Suddenly, he bursts into laughter that ends hysterically.

“I am also preparing to face my best friend. Kaden won’t look at me the same.”

“And that’s on you. So what is my role, then?”

“Your mother is alive. I’ve met her.”

Everything stops. My brain halts from processing this train of thought. I am reconsidering the whole staying calm and not fighting him.

“You knew this entire time?”

“She’s the one I’ve been working to free. I needed a scapegoat to pull my plan off, and then you came along, offering the perfect cover.”

“Tell me about my mother. Nothing you will say will ever be forgiven. Stop being delusional.”

“Quite harsh, aren’t we?”

His face remains impassive. He doesn’t get sympathy or understanding from me.

“Cassandra’s alive, but…”

“Blake, I’m losing patience here.”

“They have kept her in a drug-induced coma most of the time, but she’s holding up, adapting to what Felix wants her to be.”

Tears brim in my eyes and a scream rips from my throat as I vow to make him pay.

“You allowed that to happen to her?”

“She insisted because they had to see that I am loyal. I did my best.”

“Your best means nothing, fucking nothing. Why didn’t you tell Grandmother?”

“Who would she have believed? Me or them? My father has created serums that could make you lose your mind so easily and make you compliant. He has something for everything you can think of. Felix would rather kill Cassandra than let her go. He has planned to take over for years and only Grandmother is standing in his way. Felix and Caleb are just too well organized. They have at least three plans in place if one small thing goes wrong.”

I bend over, my palms slapping at my knees. My mouth opens, trying to gasp for air. My vision gets blurry. My heartbeats turn irregular.

“I have to go to her.”

He blocks my way and I push him away, but his feet remain planted.

“That’s part of the plan.”

“You have thirty seconds.”

He’s the enemy. Don’t trust him.

“They must catch you in the act—with proof of your disloyalty. Tomorrow, you will tell the group that you have something to do. I’ll inform them when the time is right. In order for our plan to work, we need Felix and Caleb together to blow that whole thing up.” He drags in a lungful of air. “I’m sorry.”

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