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They looked around at each other, all of them curious.
“You were in the military before you joined us here,” Hunter spoke up. “Every soldier has things he’d rather not talk about.”
I barked out a laugh at that. “Really? Tell me something horrible you remember from your days in the military!”
I knew I had him on this point. He frowned, clearly trying to remember something.
“You can’t do it, can you? That’s because everything you know about the military is what she’s written about you!”
“Who’s she?” Jackson asked.
“Giulia. She’s the woman writing all these novels, and she’s forcing us to live our character lives the way she wants.”
“Character lives?” Cara asked. “What are you talking about?”
She was the perfect example. I rushed over to her, grabbing her hand until Sinner cut between us and he glared at me. I backed off, but didn’t give up. “Do you remember being held hostage?”
“Watch it,” Sinner growled.
“Just give me a minute, okay?”
He looked to Cara, who nodded her consent.
“Do you actually remember being held hostage by that madman?”
“Of course I do. I dream about it still.”
“Right, I know that, but do you actually remember it or is it just you retelling the story?”
“You think she made it up?” Sinner snapped.
“No, I think she remembers what she’s been told to remember. And I know she’s told you the story of what happened, but that doesn’t mean she actually remembers being there.”
“Now, listen up—” Sinner said, advancing on me. He grabbed me by the shirt, hauling me up against him.
“Mark!” Cara stopped him. Her eyes shifted to mine in a flash. “Tell me more.”
“You said you dream about it all the time. Again, do you remember waking up every night in cold sweats or do you remember that you’ve said that it happens a lot?”
I waited for her response, praying she could break the barrier like I did.
“I’m…”
I pried Sinner’s hands from my shirt, which wasn’t hard since all his attention was on his wife. “It feels like you’re trapped in a bad dream, right? Like you have no control over what you’re doing. Something inside you wants to act—think differently, but you just keep doing things as you always would. Am I right?”
Her lips trembled as she stared up at me. “Oh, God…”
“This is ridiculous,” Cap cut in. “You’re saying she didn’t experience anything that’s happened to her?”
“Exactly. You guys have to remember. You did the interviews! You have to remember.”
“I don’t,” Cap spat. “Because none of what you’re saying is true. We’re not following some script.”
“Yes, we are!” I laughed, tugging at my hair. “Don’t you see? All of this has been orchestrated. She wants us to do what she wants! None of this is real and I can prove it!”
“How?” Cara asked.
“By blowing this place up.”