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“How do you know about them?” she asked. Neither answered quickly enough, and Angel laughed bitterly. “You investigated me.”

“Angel—” Ghost started.

“You fucking investigated me?” she spat.

Jackhammer stepped forward. “We were worried about you.”

“You knew me for one night!” she reminded.

“One night was enough,” Jackhammer said. She stared at him. The words landed harder than they should have, and she hated him for that. She hated both of them, mostly because a tiny part of her was glad they were standing there.

“You had no right,” she insisted.

Ghost pushed away from the wall. “You're right.”

That surprised her. “What?”

“We had no right,” he repeated.

“Ghost,” Jackhammer warned.

“No. She's right.” Ghost met her eyes. “We had no fucking right to dig into her life.”

Angel crossed her arms. “Thank you.”

“But I'd do it again,” he admitted.

“You’re an asshole,” she said.

“Probably,” Ghost agreed.

Jackhammer sighed. “Not helping.”

Ghost shrugged. “She already knows I'm an asshole.”

“I knew that five minutes after meeting you,” Angel said.

“See?” Ghost said as though proving his point.

“Ghost,” Hammer warned. Jackhammer stepped between them. “We know your father was Viper.” Angel flinched because she hadn't heard her father's road name spoken aloud in years. “We know he was Prez of the Nomad Knights,” Jackhammer continued. “We know he died in the war with the Reapers of Ruin.”

“Stop,” she begged.

“And we know about Shadow,” he breathed.

“Stop,” she said again.

Ghost's expression changed. “Angel.”

“I said stop!” she shouted. The words exploded from her, and silence followed. Angel turned away from them. Her hands shook, and she hated that. She didn't want them seeing her afraid. She'd spent too many years teaching herself not to be afraid.

Jackhammer's voice softened. “We know they blamed you.” Angel closed her eyes. There it was—the part that always came eventually. It was the accusation, and it was usually followed by the whispers and then the judgment.

She turned around. “Do you think I killed him?”

Jackhammer didn't hesitate. “No.” Ghost did, and that hurt more than she expected.

Her eyes locked on his. “You do.”