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VERONA COULD FEEL THE ADRENALINE COURSING THROUGH HER VEINS AS SHE CHARGED TOWARDS THE LIBRARY. The way she was feeling was unexplainable as her eyes landed on Palermo. She had no idea what was said when he had first been brought into there by Denver, Florence, who were followed by Nairobi and Helsinki. But whatever it was, the leftover emotion still lingered across the man's features. It was undeniable that someone struck a cord within him. His composure was rigid. His eyes glistened against the dull lighting. The hurt clouded through them. Regardless of the fact that testing him wasn't smart while he was vulnerable, didn't make Verona bite her tongue, wanting to voice every ounce of frustration she had in her.
"What the hell was that?" She yelled out, her voice echoing through the capacious library. Palermo's gaze flickered up at her, but no words left his mouth. It was almost as if he was trying to get a read on her. His whole demeanor had shifted. Verona fought off the uncomfortable feeling that shot up her, swallowing thickly before adding, "I'm talking to you asshole!" She took a few steps towards him, the sound of him chuckling lightly made her throw him a questioning look.
Unbeknownst to her, Palermo had been served a reality check by Nairobi. The conversation lingered in his mind, taunting his every thought. He knew the group didn't trust him. He knew they were hesitant about him being the leader. He was unhinged, and they all saw it-- Verona especially. She read him like a book the first second she met him. She knew he wasn't fit to be in charge. But he needed the compliance of his team-- blind allegiance to him. Someone to get them all back on his side. In his mind, that person was Verona. The girl who was good at getting people to listen to what she had to say. The manipulative one.
"I may have lost most of my vision, but my other senses have heightened, Cayetana." He finally spoke up, completely disregarding her previous question. The way her real name spit off his tongue with a certain hostility to it, made her chest begin to tighten up. She didn't even notice when she took a few steps back away from him, which Palermo declared as fear that he could play on. "You're on edge. Growing more and more uneasy everyday." A long pause followed after his assumptions, the tension in the room was suffocating.
As much as Verona didn't want to admit it; he was right. She wasn't anywhere near the same girl she was three years ago. Whether that was a good or bad thing was left open in the air. She had blood on her hands now. Her facade had slowly chipped away, unable to fully repair it again. Her mouth opened as if she was going to offer a rebuttal his statements, but all her words got caught in her throat.
