Forged in Flames (Made of Steel Series Book 2) by Ivy Smoak

Author:Ivy Smoak
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, romantic suspense, thriller, suspense, mystery, college, new york city, superhero, love triangle, new adult romance
Publisher: Ivy Smoak

Chapter 23

Monday

"That brings us to our next topic," Liza said. She pressed a button on her phone and the picture of Miles disappeared. "We need to figure out who the mysterious Mr. Crawford is."

I wrapped my arms around myself and rejoined them at the table. Maybe analyzing my life was easy for them, but it wasn't for me. And just thinking about alienating Miles made me feel so cold. I had accidentally done that before. I wasn't going to do it again. Not when I finally knew the truth about what had happened. He hadn't abandoned me at all. In reality, he and his mom were the only ones who even cared whether or not I was still breathing.

"Earth to Summer," Liza said and waved her hand in front of my face.

"What?" Apparently I had missed something.

"How did you say you got in touch with Mr. Crawford in the first place?"

"I didn't. He approached me on the way to my shift at the local diner back home one day. He said he had been sent by the foster care system to check up on me. He claimed that they had recently been notified of the abuse."

"And you believed him? Don't those people usually come to the house to check in with kids?"

"I thought maybe because of the abuse he didn't want Don to be present." I knew it sounded stupid now. But in the moment, it felt like someone was finally on my side.

"Plus, if he worked for the foster care system, why didn't you think it was odd that he was also handling your time at the witness protection program? Clearly all red flags."

"I was scared. The day before Mr. Crawford came, Don had tried to kill me. I didn't think..."

"No, you didn't think at all." Liza pushed her glasses up her nose. "Well, he's definitely not a member of either the foster care system or the witness protection program. And we don't have any photos because he never set foot in Don's house. Or else Eli may have actually been of some use."

Eli leaned back in his chair. "Tear me apart all you want. But cut her some slack, Liza. You know what she's been through."

"I just don't understand what kind of person blindly follows a strange man when they've been previously assaulted," Liza said. "That's insane."

"He promised that I'd be safe," I said quietly. The now familiar chill seemed to run down my spine and I looked over at V. He hadn't said a word since the discussion of Mr. Crawford had begun. And he had said those exact words to me about an hour ago, promising me something he couldn't really ensure. It couldn't be him though, could it? I had just thought about the fact that V seemed older than the boys my age. But Mr. Crawford was probably in his forties. That was too old, right? V couldn't be older than 40.

V locked eyes with me, as if sensing my question.

"We need more to go off of than hair color, possible age, and height," Liza said.

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