Page 75 of Reverie

“No, open your fucking eyes and look at me!”

She snaps her eyes open.

“Do you want to know how many times I fucked and killed and drank and shot up to keep him happy? To protect Ella? To doyourfucking job?”

She scans my face, and then it morphs.

“Oh, Hunter.” She covers her mouth. “No….”

No pity. No, she only gets to feel my fury.

“I just want to know why,” I ask, and my voice cracks, which makes me livid. “Why didn’t you come back for us? For me?”

The secondstick-tick-tickon, and the word bursts from my lips, “Why!”

She jumps, but she doesn’t look afraid. Pity radiates from her in violent waves.

No, no, no pity.

Taking in the scene, I make the decision I’ve been fighting against, ignoring.

If I can’t beat them and joining them is untenable, then I have only one option.

We have to run.

I turn to storm out of the room when Ella runs smack into me.

“I can hear you fighting from the hallway!” She’s breathless, as if she ran all the way from wherever she was into the room.

“Sorry, Ellie,” I say gruffly. I grab her upper arm, ready to escort both of us somewhere else. Anywhere else.

We need to run.

Forget what I told Winter. We can’t stay here, because if Misha has his way, Ella would be thrown into the hands of The Legion and I can’t risk it. I can’t lose anyone.

I won’t risk it.

“Ella, a word, please,” Misha says. His tone is congenial and bright, and he’d seem gracious if he didn’t have a streak of blood trailing from his nose to his ear.

Ella raises her eyebrow at me as I continue pulling her toward the exit.

“H?” she asks, clearly confused.

Amelia inhales and exhales slowly, loudly, and I allow Ella to pull her arm from my grasp.

“We need your help, Ella,” Misha continues. He walks over to her, and when he’s less than a foot away, he grabs her elbow and guides her to sit at the table.

Ella’s eyes stay transfixed on his face, and I find myself mute, unable to say anything at all.

“There’s a long backstory, but perhaps you have heard that you were also a target for the abductors at the raid at Amelia Manor. Were you aware?” Misha leans against the table, caging Ella in on one side with his casual pose.

“Yeah,” Ella says, and she begins to chew her lip.

Leo shifts across the room, and the stormy look on his face must mirror mine.

“The people who attacked are part of an organization called The Legion. There are a few reasons why they want you, but that’s actually a good thing. Because these people are dangerous, and they must be stopped. Not just for you and your family’s safety, but for the safety of all humankind.”

Ella’s eyes widen as she follows Misha’s words.

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