I jab a finger toward the window.
“You think we didn’t try?” My tone drops, rough with oldwounds. “We tried helping communities. We tried being fucking heroes. And every time, they turned us into weapons. Turned us into soldiers fortheirwars.”
The memories claw up from the dark: bodies, ambushes, betrayal after betrayal.
It was hell. So we retreated.
Closed off the base. Made it our home. Our grave. Our fucking sanctuary.
Bryn watches me, chest heaving.
“You see?” She hisses. “I could never live like that. Trapped. Powerless.”
“And Roman promised you freedom,” I sneer.
Her eyes light up, desperate, hungry.
“He promised we could build somethingreal!” she says. “Go to town, gather more women, more men. Create a new community. A better one!”
I shake my head, fury boiling over.
“Fucking hell, Bryn. Roman doesn’t give a damn about building anything. The second you become inconvenient; he’ll throw you into a cage like the rest. Use you up. Break you.”
I shove off the wall, standing to my full height. “And you’re too stupid to see it.”
The anger in her eyes burns hot, blinding. She’s not seeing reality anymore, only the fantasy she built inside her own twisted head.
She’s convinced herself she’s some kind of queen and that she’s going to rebuild the world.
Not follow anyone’s rules but, sure as hell,force everyone to follow hers.
“And where does Aspen fall into all this?” That’s the last piece of the puzzle, the last crack I need to hammer open.
Bryn rolls her eyes, scoffing like it’s obvious. “She saved me.”
I nod.
“And you convinced her to go with Knox and Max when they caught you.” I tilt my head, studying her. “But you also stopped Knox from fucking her that night. And don’t lie to me, Bryn. It wasn’t just because she was tipsy.”
Her eyes widen like she wasn’t expecting me to remember.
Like she thought she’d buried that little piece too deep.
“I didn’t know what to do,” she spits out. “I had just found out about Ethan’s plan. He said if Aspen fell for any of you, she’d be a liability. He’d have to kill her or worse.” Her breathing cracks slightly, but her eyes stay locked on mine.
Unblinking. Furious.
She was planning this for weeks, while Aspen smiled at her. Trusted her.
Fucking bitch.
“But she still fell for us,” I say, smirking now. Letting the rage bleed into mockery. Bryn flinches like I slapped her.
“At first, I thought she’d be scared,” she grits out. “She didn’t know how to handle men like you. But,” She stops herself.
I lean in. “But her innocence… her eagerness to learn… conquered us all.”
Shenods, jaw tight.
