Page 42 of Heart of a Villain

“What choice do we have?”

Joel tossed his head back and groaned until the veins in his neck stood out like the electric wires that surrounded them.

“Fuck! Whatever. Let’s go.”

They moved fast, banking on the idea that if they did encounter an electrified path, they would be able to avoid much of the charge. It wasn’t at taser level, and it wasn’t like being electrocuted, but it wasn’t minor as Mo had suggested. Their bodies, covered in sweat, only exacerbated the sharp pops and stings.

“I think I see the finish line,” Joel said, seconds before he spotted it himself.

Mike and Julien emerged from their corner of the maze. All four of their gazes connected, and he was sure he and Joel looked just as much “going through shit” as Mike and Julien did. Then Giorgio and Thanasis appeared from their side.

Adrían sprinted.

Joel kept pace with him stride for stride, but he didn’t know what kind of Android alien mother had birthed these Alpha fuckers—plus Thanasis. Neither he nor Joel could let up, even a little, until they crossed the finish line where their friends and families waited, waving and cheering.

Adrían growled as a cramp kissed his calf.

Joel let out an irritated, “Fuck, not now.”

“FYI, Lattimore, I would rather die than lose,” he said.

“I see we’re on the same page.”

When they crossed the finish line, they immediately collapsed onto their backs on the grass. The cramp seized Adrían’s leg, curling his toes inside his shoes, but he could do nothing except lie there and let it take him.

“Want to…know something…fucked up?” he asked. “I think…I want to do…this shit again.”

Joel laughed.

A shadow darkened his side, and he reached out to pull Sayeda down on top of him, but she resisted. If his muscles worked again, it would be after a shitload of begging, pleading, and bribing with protein and glucose.

“‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,’” she sang, releasing the tie on his rope.

“Really, querida?”

“Come on. I’ll help you up.”

Using the last bit of whatever strength he’d had remaining, he toppled her on top of him.

“Ugh.” She wriggled. “Unhand me.”

“Am I covered in sweat?” He held her tighter. “Well, you will dry me.”

“You really can’t get up, can you?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Everyone else is already on their feet. I don’t know,” she clicked her tongue, “you don’t look all that manly right now.”

He raised his voice to a falsetto. “That’s fine.”

She swatted his chest and made a sound that gave him the visual of a laugh shyly peeking from behind a heavy curtain. A smile or a laugh, it didn’t matter—he would take either one if it meant, in that moment, she was content.

“Ouch…” He grimaced. “So rough with me.”

“If you stay on this grass, I might never get to be rough with you.”

Grunting, he let her go and staggered to his feet.

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