And there she is. Across the dim concrete room, sitting in a chair, is Dakota. Her cold eyes just stare at me.
“Dakota?” My voice is weak, raw.
I try to sit up, gasping as the pain in my ribs flares. My arms tremble beneath my weight.
“I don’t unders?—”
“Shut up.” Her words are clipped. She rolls her eyes.
I stare at her. She’s not chained. She’s relaxed, lounging in her chair. The room is dim, the single flickering bulb overhead casting harsh shadows across the cement walls.
“No...” the word is barely a whisper. My mind is racing. I can’t grab a single thought.
She smirks in a way that makes my stomach roil. “You can’t really think I’d just hand everything over to you?”
I can’t find the words. But she doesn’t wait.
“You were never supposed to be here.” Her tone is almost pitying. She tilts her head, voice calm like she’s explaining something simple. “You were gone. No one thought Lucian would ever find you. You were never supposed to come back. I was the daughter Lucian had. He married my mom. He trained me. I worked my ass off to prove that I’d be able to take Lucian’s place.”
“But you?” She lets out a short laugh, flat and humorless. “You just walk back in after being missing for thirteen years with your big, sad eyes and victim story. And Lucian’s ready to hand everything over to you without a second thought. I was thrown aside like a spare part; it wasall about you.”
Her words are knives. Each syllable cuts away at the memories I thought were real.
“He’s my dad. You—” My throat closes up. “Dakota, you’re my sister.”
“No.” Her words cut deep, “You were just the competition, I needed to show Lucian that I was the better choice. While you’re over here floundering, I was leading my own team on successful missions. But no, it’s all about his precious ‘Gracie’. Even when you get your team members killed. You’restillhis choice.”
Something in the back of my brain wriggles free. I suck in a breath.
My voice wavers. “You.It was you. You told Daniel about Tex.”
A cruel smile grows across her pretty face, something deranged lighting behind her eyes. Her laugh is light, like I just told her the funniest joke.
“Oh, Isobel. Sweet, stupid Isobel. He couldn’t have knocked you around that badly if you were able to figure that one out. Honestly, I thought it’d take you longer. It was so easy, just handing over your lover. Tex was a nobody by Guild standards, really. I guess I should saywas. He didn’t belong in the first place. And you, you cheap slut, moved on to his friend before his body could start rotting in the ground. Newsflash, Isobel, you’re not going to lead the Guild. Someone like you isn’t fit to lead us, you never were.”
My pulse hammers in my ears. The world blurs until it’s just her,standing there with that smug little smile like the last year of my life was nothing but her game.
“You betrayed me.” My voice cracks on the words, raw with fury. “You sat in my room. You listened to me. Made me believe you cared. Acted like you’d be my sister.”
She shrugs, almost amused. “I did care, in a way. Just… not aboutyou.”
Rage burns so hot in my chest I can’t breathe. The back of my neck tingles with heat.
“You—” My body lurches forward before I even realize it, the chains stop me abruptly and I go flying back.
Dakota tilts her head, eyes sparkling with twisted delight. “You’re no match for me. Anyways, I watched you fall apart over the last few months over him. I almost felt bad… almost.”
Something inside me rips open. My vision burns red, and the roar that tears out of my throat doesn’t sound human.
Dakota’s laugh echoes off the walls, sweet and ringing, like she’s won.
The sound of a metal door scraping open rips through the space.
Dakota doesn’t even bother to stand. Two men step into the room. Both are big, stocky. One has a jagged scar along his jawline, the other wears a thick gold chain that looks fake.
“She’s awake now,” Dakota drawls lazily.
The scarred one sneers. “Took her long enough.”
