Page 63 of Carved in Ice (Made of Steel 3)

“Long story. Just wait right here,” I said. The window automatically shut behind her as soon as she stepped into the apartment. “I’ll only be a minute.” I followed V into his bedroom.

He immediately slammed the door behind me. “I thought you’d go see Miles! Or Eli. Not…Kins.” He said her name like she disgusted him more than I did. And the rumble in his voice terrified me.

It was like I was standing in front of Don. Like I was transported back in time. The blinds in his room were drawn closed and we were bathed in darkness. He morphed into Don. His leering smile. His haunting gaze. I winced and turned my face away from him. I was waiting for the fury. For the pain.

“What are you doing?”

I closed my eyes. I wanted to tell him that Kins was in trouble. That she needed to stay here. But my throat constricted. I took a huge gulp of air and my throat squeaked.

“Sadie.” The anger had thawed from his voice. “You’re alright. It’s just me.”

Just me. I opened my eyes.

“It kills me that he hurt you.” He put his hand on the side of my face.

I wasn’t going to have this conversation with him right now. He was manipulating my life. He made me believe that Miles had given up on me. He twisted everything I thought I knew. I had absorbed whatever anger he had just released. But for some reason, I didn’t push his hand away. “She’s in trouble, V. Don’s been following her.”

“Why would he follow her?”

“To get to me? I don’t know. But she’s not safe in that dorm. I wasn’t safe there. She should have been here with us this whole time.”

He sighed. “Fine. She’ll sleep in your room. You’ll stay with me.” His hand dropped from my cheek.

Before I could protest he had walked out of the room. “Where the hell did she go?” he said from the hall.

I followed him out of the room. Kins’ boots had been kicked off by the window, but she was nowhere in sight.

“Kins?” I called as I followed V toward the kitchen. When I turned the corner Kins was standing in our headquarters staring at the target on the wall. She reached out and ran her finger along one of the arrow tips.

“Don’t touch those,” V said.

She jumped and turned around. “So…so all this is real? Everything? You’re really the mysterious vigilante that’s been terrorizing the city streets?”

“I’m not terrorizing the city.”

“That’s not what the news says.” She looked over at me. “But I know they lied about you. So I don’t exactly trust them anymore.”

“V is saving this city, not tormenting its citizens,” I said.

Kins nodded. “I won’t tell anyone who you are. You can take off your mask.”

V didn’t move.

“Even if I did tattle, no one would believe me.” Kins walked over to the couch and sat down. “No one believes anything I say.” She stared at V. “What, you don’t trust me?”

“No.”

“It’s nothing personal,” I said. “He doesn’t trust me enough to take it off either.”

She looked back and forth between us. “So you two live together and he never takes off his mask? Doesn’t that get uncomfortable? And I don’t just mean the awkwardness of lack of trust. I mean literally that material doesn’t look comfortable.”

“It’s fine,” V said. "It's a proprietary blend of Turkish cotton, Pakistani cashmere, and Peruvian llama wool." He smiled.

What the hell was that?

Kins laughed. “If you say so. You look really familiar by the way.”

Are they flirting? My stomach churned. Why does my stomach hurt at the thought of them flirting?

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