Page 91 of Betrayed By Sin

Briacalled him, she said they knew where we were because of Zeik.

I gorigid, mypulse pounding in my ears.

I take a step back as she meets my eyes.Expression blank.

Unreadable.

Then she smiles.

Cold. Sharp. Calculated.

And says,“Yes.”Oh my God.

Bria’s been working with him.

Thebetrayal is ice in my veins.

Myhands curl into fists. Myentire world starts spinning.

I trusted her.

I ran with her.

And the entire time, she was an enemy.

"Are you okay?" Zeik says. "I can’t believe this is happening. Had to be the Nero’s.” He is so full of shit. “Don’t tell your brother, we need to get together and figure out exactly what happened.”

She hangs up.

Silence.

Heavy. Suffocating.

Then she laughs.

A breathless, exhausted sound.

I stare at her,frozen.

She looks at me,amusement flickering in her eyes. “Holy shit, Magnolia. You actually think I’m on his side?”

My lungs finally unlock.

I blink, shrinking away from her. “What just happened?”

Bria rolls her eyes. “Jesus, Mags. Give me a little credit.” She waves thephone. “You really think I’d betray you after all this?”

I shake my head, trying tokeep up. “Then why the hell did you just…”

She cuts me off. "He called me while we were at the gas station, when I told him we were headed to Florida…” She shakes her head, “That’s why we were ambushed. He told me to not trust you, or anyone, that the Nero’s were making moves."

Therealization crashes into me.

Bria’s not working for Zeik.

She’s been workingevery angle.

I press ahand to my forehead, exhalingsharply. “Jesus Christ. The Nero’s don’t exist.”