Page 195 of Forbidden Fate

Raven turns to him with a look that is far too innocent to be innocent. “What?”

“I purposefully left,” he says. “I spent years escaping my grandfather in Europe.”

Raven smiles. “I know. But then you went back to him.”

“Only so I could destroy his business from within. I earned his trust so I could betray him.”

Robin tilts her head. “Isn’t that what Cruz is doing right now?”

“Hardly,” Vinnie says. “I came back for Savannah. To save her from having to marry Miles McAllister. It’s not the same thing at all.”

“Isn’t it?” Raven licks her lips. “Cruz came to save Robin. You came to save Savannah.”

Hawk makes a sound of disgust. “This is not the same thing. Vinnie wasn’t a part of the crime. He left to get away from it. He only came back because⁠—”

“Enough!” Robin clenches her fists. “Who cares? Maybe the pieces don’t line up exactly the same. But Vinnie showed us his loyalty. And now, so has Cruz.”

I should stay silent.

I don’t.

“I was an employee. Useful to Vega. Taken in by him, yes. Trained by him. Used by him. And I know his weaknesses.”

The second I say it, something crawls up the back of my neck.

I don’t know why.

Maybe because I’ve spent years telling myself I owed Vega a life of service for what he did.

Vinnie studies me. “You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

Before he can respond, a phone rings.

Not a cell.

A landline.

For one second, no one moves.

Then Falcon turns toward the small table near the wall where the phone sits. “Unknown caller,” he says. He picks up the receiver. “Bellamy residence.”

Silence.

Then his gaze moves slowly to me.

The back of my neck goes colder.

“It’s for you.”

Every face turns.

Robin’s hand finds mine again.

I look at the phone.

I know who it is before I take it.