Page 48 of Betrayed By Sin
The words hit harder than they should. Because part of me wonders if they’re true.
“I don’t know who to trust anymore,” I whisper. “Everything I thought was solid just turned to smoke.”
Zeik finally looks at me. “Then don’t trust anyone yet. Sit in the smoke. Wait for the wind to clear it out.”
I let the words settle. Let them root. Because, oddly enough, they make more sense than anything else I’ve heard lately.
We drive in silence. Milkshakes. Rain. Smoke.
The world fills quiet.
Not fixed. Not safe.
But quiet.
When we pull up to the Rusco home, the lights are still on. Cameron is waiting in the foyer, arms crossed, eyes narrowing as soon as I step inside with Zeik behind me. Dressed in his clothes.
He looks surprised. Suspicious. I tell Zeik thank you and walk upstairs.
“Is she okay?” Cameron asks, voice low.
“She just needed a ride,” Zeik says evenly.
“From where?”
Zeik shrugs. “That’s her business to tell you.”
I pause on the stairs. Just for a second. Listening.
Maybe Zeik Caputo is still dangerous.
But maybe, just maybe, he’s not the danger I need to fear or the ear I shouldn’t trust.
TEN
The city is loud today.
Or maybe it’s always this loud, and I’m just more aware of it now, more aware of everything since last night.
The honking of taxis, the rush of conversations, the distant wail of a siren, it all feels sharper, more intrusive, like the world is moving too fast around me while I stand still.
Last night is a doozy of emotions. One second, I was in Sin’s presence, drowning in the weight of my thoughts and desires.
And the night ended with Zeik taking me for ice cream, getting me home safe.
So when Bria called this morning, insisting we meet for lunch, I agreed without hesitation.
I need to get out of my own head before I lose my mind.
The café Bria picked is small, tucked away from the busier streets.
It’s the kind of place where no one pays attention to anyone else, where conversations get swallowed by the hum of espresso machines and soft indie music.
She’s already here, twirling a straw in her iced coffee in the back of the shop.
Her expression is unreadable, and I don’t know if she’s spoken to Sin.
I thought I would wake up to a barrage of calls from him, but I didn’t. A simple text was all I had.
