Page 54 of Deadly Little Hearts

“What the fuck are you doing?”I ask.

Mia stops in front of us.“Sorry.I didn’t mean to sneak up on you.I saw you leave, and I wanted to come.”

I look at Amirah, who’s watching her with a frown.“From where?You don’t exactly live close,” Amirah retorts, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I was with Dominic.”Mia glances away, and I want to warn her away from him, but it’s not my place.

“So, you followed us?”I ask, and Mia nods.

“You know that sounds creepy as fuck, right?”Amirah says, scanning her up and down with disgust.

Mia bites into her bottom lip, and I notice the dark ring below her eye.Her heavy makeup covers it, but the skin is puffy compared to her other eye.

“What happened?”I ask, pointing at my own face.

Tears fall down her cheeks, and she tucks her straight black hair behind her ear.I may hate her for the way she was too close to Lucas the other day, but I’m still worried about her.

“Your brother would have never treated me like this.”She hiccups and my chest squeezes at the mention of him.As much as I hate Mia, she doesn’t deserve this.Nobody does.

“Did Dominic do it?”Amirah asks, her fists balling at her sides.

“Yeah.”Mia looks down at her feet.

Of course, Dominic fucking did this.He’s a monster.The sooner someone kills him, the better.The number of lives he’s fucked with, and the number of times he’s gotten away with it, is crazy.

Amirah steps forward, taking Mia’s hands in hers.“It’s no secret that I don’t like you, but if you feel trapped, I can get you out of here.Get you a new identity and you can be free.”

Can she do that?Here, I thought I knew my best friend, but apparently not.I could have used that info before everything that happened when Alec went missing.I don’t want to leave now.Wherever they go, I go.

“Thank you, I’ll message you,” Mia says, and Amirah drops her hands, coming to stand beside me.

“Look.since you’re here now, you can come with us.Just stick behind me and don’t say anything.Got it?”I say, and Mia nods.“And for the record, if I see you that close to Lucas ever again, I won’t hesitate to ruin you.Understand?”I stare Mia up and down, while Amirah steps up beside me.

Mia licks her dry lips.“I didn’t mean anything by it.”

I scoff, turning back around.I don’t know if I believe her or not, but one thing I do know is that my brother trusted her.He may not have loved her, but he cared for her deeply—and Alec was one of the best judges of character I’ve ever met.

I owe it to him to be kind.

“Women get the short end of the stick,” Mia says, and I glance over at Amirah, who watches Mia closely.“But it was cool that you made some headway with The Brotherhood for change.I’m here for the girl power.”

“They are just scared of the power women can hold,” Amirah says, and Mia nods.

We continue walking toward the tracks, and as we near, the air changes.Ash clings to my lungs.I cover my nose with my hoodie, trying to filter it out, but it’s useless.

The smell brings me back to the town hall.My skin tingles, and fuck, I hope I never have to go through being burned again.My arms haven’t healed yet, but the pain has subsided.

Amirah coughs next to me and brings up her arm, covering her mouth and nose.“I’ve changed my mind.Let’s go back home,” she says through the sleeve of her hoodie.

“No way.We’ve already made it this far.”

She sticks by my side.We reach the tracks where there once was an outpost with multiple guards; now it’s burned to a crisp, with one wall still standing.Broken pieces of bricks are scattered all over the road.Smoke tarnishes the air, clinging to my skin and lungs.

We come to a stop on our side of the tracks, Mia on my right and Amirah on my left.There, written in bright-red paint on the brick wall, are the words:

The Brotherhood is dead.

Amirah grips my wrist and sweat beads down my neck.This isn’t good.A war between Daringhood and Daringville is only going to end in one way—death.I’m on both sides, and I can’t lose anyone else.I refuse to.

---