Page 77 of Fool Me Twice

“That’s when I learned about it, too,” Naomi says tiredly, resting her forehead on her hand. “JJ found me that night to ask for acting advice. Wanted to make his ‘defection’ look convincing.”

Numb horror ripples through Roma. “You knew what they were going to make Chester do to him, and youstill‍?—‍”

“You didn’t see JJ’sface,”Naomi hisses. “He believed every lie the Council told him. There was no way I could convince him. And if I couldn’t convincehim,then there wasn’t a chance I could convince you or Bryant.”

Something sharp twists through Roma’s chest. It’s not anger or bitterness this time, though‍—it’s more like‍?—

More like a sensation of not being seen. Ofneverbeing seen.

You really thought you couldn’t convince me? You were all I had. Of course I would’ve believed you.

Did you ever even know me at all?

Roma swallows the words down. “You could’ve found a way. You could’ve‍?—‍”

“And what if we were wrong?”

The words are so unexpected‍—and so familiar‍—that Roma starts with surprise. “What?”

Naomi’s eyes are blazing. “Look, I believed our evidence, okay? So did Sawyer. For the first time in years, everything made sense.” She leans forward. “But what if we werewrong,Roma? What if it reallywasa test of our loyalties from the Sanctum?What if Micah and Gregorio were playing us? What if our first act of rebellion was going to be our last?” She shakes her head sharply. “There was no way we were dragging you four into that. Not happening. Yes, we believed in our research, but God, Roma,what if we were wrong?What if we got all of you killed right along with us?”

Nausea licks up Roma’s throat. “Naomi‍?—‍”

“There were a lot of reasons why we left without you four,” she cuts in, her voice hard and final, “but notoneof them was because we didn’t care about you. Okay?”

Roma’s heart feels raw. “Yeah, okay,” she says curtly, and she looks away. “But the counterspell looks good to you?”

For a long moment, silence crackles between them. “Yeah,” Naomi says eventually. “Yeah, the counterspell looks good.”

“Great,” Roma says stiffly, and she takes a deep breath, forcing her eyes back to Naomi. Her posture is rigid and her face is impassive. Same goddamn hunter Roma always knew. “And I‍—I want names. For those other families that you claim the Sanctum killed. The other neophyte hunters.”

Naomi’s eyes flicker. “Yeah, of course,” she says, and she motions Roma forward. “I have them memorized. I’ll write them on the back of your counterspell. Yeah?”

Roma’s throat feels dry. Reluctantly, she digs the paper out of her pocket, trudging back to Naomi. “Yeah.”

And, as her sister scribbles out an endless column of names and locations, Roma has the sick, sinking feeling that this is about to turn into her next nightmare.

34

Ez swings her second-favorite safe house’s door open wide the second Roma knocks. “Well, don’tyoulook like garbage,” she says, stepping aside to let Roma in.

“Bite me,” Roma says tiredly, walking into the entryway. Almost immediately, she tips her head back, sniffing the air suspiciously. “What is that?”

“I’m making a pizza for dinner,” Ez says, motioning her towards the kitchen table. “Come on.”

Eyebrows furrowed, Roma follows her. “Why are you making a pizza? You don’t need to eat.”

“Yeah, but you do,” Ez fires back, collapsing into her chair and casting a glance at the oven timer. “Should be ready in a few minutes.”

“You… made a pizza for me?”

Her phrasing makes Ez’s heart do something funny. Actually, Roma’s merepresenceis making Ez feel a little short of breath right now. It’s their first time seeing each other since their shift ended yesterday‍—they both wanted to take today to work out the kinks of their counterspells, so the Chain and the Sanctum foundthem coverage‍—but Ez didn’t realize just how restless she felt without her hunter until now.

And Roma looks the same as always standing there in her button-down, tactical pants, and ubiquitous ponytail, but somehow, she makes Ez’s lackluster safe house feel full of life, full ofcomfort.

Like having Roma here really makes it feel like home. Ez forces the thought away. “Yes, I took a frozen pizza out of a box and stuck it in a preheated oven for you. You should be honored, Gutierrez.”

Roma rolls her eyes, settling herself in the seat across from Ez. “Uh-huh. So where do we stand with the reversal?”

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