Page 171 of Forbidden Fate

Raven touches his arm, warning him without words. Thank God for Raven. There’s truth to the twin thing. We’re different as night and day, but we know each other in a way no one else does. We communicate in a way others don’t understand. She knows what I’m feeling, what I need.

“This Vega thing,” I say, looking back at Belinda. “If he got Belinda an Uber here, but everyone thinks he was in Colombia, then either he wasn’t there, or he has people moving under his name, or⁠—”

“Or he’s very good at making us think he’s in two places at once,” Hawk says.

A chill moves down my spine. “He already seems able to do that.”

Falcon’s face hardens.

Because we all know.

The man Eagle killed all those years ago.

The man buried on Bellamy land.

The man everyone thought was Diego Vega.

Except the body is gone now. Dug up by Cruz, though my family doesn’t know that yet.

And maybe the dead man wasn’t Vega at all.

Still a mystery.

The relief of being home starts to buckle under the weight of everything.

For one second, I want Cruz.

My heart twists.

No.

I can’t want him.

I can’t.

Eagle is still in the hospital. Cruz put him there. I can’t be with the man who did that. How would I even explain it?

Hey, everyone, this is Cruz. Yes, he worked for Vega. Yes, he helped abduct me. Yes, he staged Eagle’s overdose and left him for us to find. But he also saved my life, and he has very soulful eyes, so yeah. Accept him.

I did the right thing.

I know I did.

At least my brain knows. My heart isn’t sure.

“We need to talk,” I say. “But I want to go home.”

“You’ll be staying with Vinnie and me,” Raven says.

“You already have a full house with Daniela and Belinda,” I remind her.

Hawk tightens his arm around Daniela’s shoulder. “She’s at my place now.”

I smile. “Oh?”

“And besides,” Raven continues, “the house is a freaking mansion. So yeah. You’re staying with me. I’ll take care of you.”

“I’m fine, Ray.”