Page 115 of Wicked Nightmare

"Why should we believe a fucking word you're saying?" Cam's voice was almost a growl. I wanted to grab him and kiss him and stab Sarah all at the same time. Always protecting me. Protecting us.

Sarah looked at him. "Because I'm the only one who can help you understand what they did to you. And why they're still after you now."

I laughed, but it came out more like a sob. "Fuck you. Fuck you and your 'help.' We don't need anyone but each other. Besides, apart from this fuck, no one knows where we are."

But as I said it, doubt crept in. What if she was telling the truth? What if there was more to our past than we knew? Then could we remember? I glanced at Cam again, saw the same conflict on his face. We were both torn between the instinct to lash out and the desperate need to understand.

"Tell us everything," I finally said, my voice barely above a whisper. "And if you're lying, I swear to God I'll carve out your fucking heart."

Sarah regarded us for a long moment. Then she sighed, "I faked my own death. It was the only way to protect myself and to watch over you two."

My jaw clenched so tight I thought my teeth might shatter. "Watch over us? Like some guardian angel? You fucking left us to rot, Sarah. I don't think that's very nice." I kept my voice light, but my insides were twisting. Part of me wanted to believe her. Wanted someone to have cared enough to look out for us. But trusting people only led to pain. I'd learned that before I could tie my own shoes.

"I've been tracking Chimera's movements, gathering intel," Sarah continued. "I couldn't intervene directly without risking everything, but I've been there. In the shadows."

Cam's hand found mine, squeezing hard enough to bruise. I welcomed it, grounding myself in the pain as everything I thought I knew tilted sideways.

"Bullshit," I hissed, but my voice lacked conviction. "If you cared so fucking much, where were you when—"

"When they took Cam to prison?" Sarah cut in, her face contorting. "I tried, Lakey. I really tried. They wanted to see if he could survive. The things that happened to him in there—"

Cam's voice cracked through the room like a gunshot. "You shut the fuck up right now!"

I looked up at him with a frown. "You've never said anything."

He looked down at me, bent to kiss my forehead. His lips lingered there, warm and firm, and I closed my eyes for a second. Something about the way he held his mouth against my skin told me more than words could. Whatever happened in that place, it had carved itself into him deep enough that he wouldn't let it see daylight. Not even for me.

"Because it doesn't matter," he said against my skin. "I survived. I made it out. I made it back to you. That was my goal from day one. So don't you speak another fucking word, Sarah, or Chimera will be the least of your concerns."

At least Sarah had the decency to nod before looking over at Rose, who had been quietly observing all of this, her face pale. "Hello," Sarah said, her expression softening.

Rose didn't reply. None of us said anything for a while. The silence sat heavy in the room, thick with blood and bleach and too many revelations.

"So, uh, how do you know Rose?" I made the fatal mistake of using her name when I spoke, internally chastising myself at the fuck-up.

"Rose." Sarah said it almost reverently. "That's such a pretty name."

I blinked. "I'm sorry, how the fuck do you know her?"

"I don't. Well, not directly at least. Rose is part of a special project that my husband and I have been tracking. It's a next-gen tech that developed because of you and Cam, but you were both too unstable. Too unpredictable to test it on. They had decided to keep you as they'd originally designed you." She looked sad as she spoke, as if she didn't want to relive whatever was playing out in her head.

Something shifted in me. A kinship I didn't want to feel. Her eyes held the same haunted look I'd seen in my own reflection. She was damaged. Just like us. For a moment, I let my mask slip.

"We need to protect her," I said softly, my usual playful tone gone. Just raw determination.

Sarah nodded. "That's why I'm here. To help. Not just Rose. But you and Cam as well. There's so much you don't know, but we don't have a lot of time."

Before I could respond, a harsh laugh cut through the room.

"How touching," Beaver sneered from the table. "A reunion of traitors."

I'd almost forgotten about our captive. My head snapped to him. "Shut your fucking mouth before I shut it for you."

Sarah stepped forward, her face hardening. "Hello, Christian. Still Chimera's loyal lapdog, I see."

Christian's eyes widened in recognition, then narrowed. "Sarah fucking Miller. I should've known you weren't dead. Always were a sneaky bitch."

There was history here, ugly and raw. Sarah's composure cracked just enough for me to see the hatred underneath.