Page 77 of The Game

“He told me he has a peace offering for us.”

And as my eyes catch sight of movement in a yawning window three stories above the ground, a chill takes root in my core, for any man that finds solace in a place like this should be feared.

* * *

It doesn’t take much longer for them to appear, Alice’s cheeks flushed, life in her eyes as they descend the steps together. We exit and stand just beyond the gate, waiting tensely for whatever reception we are about to receive. As soon as her big blue eyes land on us, they turn guarded, and she glances up at him, shrinking in his shadow as though he is protecting her from us. The sight sends pain straight into my heart, but I do my best to brush it aside and find the deeper meaning.

He stands tall and stoic, slender but muscled, a darkness in his gaze that is unlike any I’ve seen before. It’s clear she feels safe with him, and knowing he kept her intact from those monsters to the best of his ability tempers some of my fury and jealousy. His jaw is hard as he comes to a stop before us, his eyes shifting side to side, his gaze frustratingly unreadable.

“Here to discuss visitation rights?” he says, and his words are so startling and dark but humorous that I snort out a laugh before I can stop it. Alice’s eyes widen on my face before pink tints her cheeks, and a little grin grows there that I haven’t seen in months.

“If that is what she wishes, then of course.”

Tristan huffs beside me, but I can tell this man is joking; I can see it in his eyes, in his movements. He’s just as dominant as myself, but he’s far too possessive to ever allow his woman to be shared. I know, because I am the very same.

“Alice knows what she wants. She just doesn’t like having to ask for it,” he says cryptically, and my eyes swish down to her petite frame. Her cheeks flame to life, her eyes cast to the ground in either shame or embarrassment, I cannot tell, but something clicks into place at his words, and I feel an utter fool for not realizing it sooner.

“And why can she not speak it to us herself?” Tristan growls. Teddy’s smirk is biting and vicious, and his eyes cut through the sunny day and send another chill down my spine. With the asylum empty and looming behind him like some army of phantoms and demons, I know better than to fuck with a man like him. Tristan’s never held one ounce of self preservation, so I answer for everyone.

“Because she’s never been able to,sobrat,” I say softly. Alice’s eyes swish up to meet mine from under her brow, so full of emotions that tears glass that depthless blue, and my knees become weak with the urge to pull her to me and apologize for how we’ve handled her since the hospital. Teddy shifts, putting his arm around her, and Tristan starts forward with a growl before I stop him, gripping his shoulder and digging my fingers into his steely muscles. Teddy ignores the threat of death before him, entirely focused on Alice, the sight churning my stomach but also softening my heart. She deserves undivided attention, not a bunch of men squabbling over her like she’s a piece of fucking meat.

“Might take a bit, bunny. Still good on tetanus?”

She rolls her eyes at whatever inside joke he’s insinuating, but she nods.

“I might actually explore a little.”

Her voice is soft, angelic, and for the first time it holds a note of hope. My fingers slip from Tristan’s shoulder the moment I feel his tension ooze away. Despite how angry he is, his plan has seemed to work.

Teddy’s smile is dangerous, but when focused on her, it softens the slightest bit.

“There’s just one rule, then, and that’s no going downstairs.”

Her brows furrow, but the look in his eyes is serious, verging on unhinged, and she simmers with a nod.

“It is safe here?” I ask, more concerned about her falling through a floor than finding another human this far out. His eyes snap to mine, and his grin grows, bracketed by laugh lines that take some of his sinister edge away.

“Like I told little bunny here before; the only thing that can hurt you out here is yourself.”

Again, his words are cryptic in their meaning and delivery, but I think I am catching on. He’s similar to our cousins Maks and Niko, a combination of the two—psychotic but controlled and quietly brilliant.

“If he calls her bunny one more fucking time,” Tristan seethes to me in Russian, but Teddy’s eyes dance, a coy smirk on his lips.

“You’ll what?” he hisses back in our mother tongue, shocking us both. Even Alice’s brows raise, and it’s evident he’s not shared his full self with her yet. Perhaps he never will. Either way, I chuckle.

“We may need to hire you at some point,” I say, offering the metaphorical olive branch, for it’s clear to me Alice feels lighter, and if we can keep the exchanges between us civil, she’ll be more relaxed when we get home.

Teddy’s eyes blaze, and he pats Alice gently before prying her away from his side.

“I prefer to work alone. If you’ll follow me,” he says. My eyes go to Alice, who’s already looking beyond the gates and into the woods. Before I can command her to be safe and stay close by, Teddy speaks to me in Russian, his accent so perfect he could have been born in Moscow. “She’s safer here than anywhere in this world. That is something I can promise.”

Eyes flitting to Tristan’s, I relent with a nod, and we follow him into the belly of the beast.

CHAPTER 38

Tristan

“You do realize you’re a fucking creep, don’t you?” I hiss to the slender form of Teddy as he leads us down a decrepit staircase. The bouncing beams of our flashlights are the only source of light unless I look behind us to the gaping doorway of the stairwell, but as the clouds eclipse the sun, it throws us into further darkness. Jameson elbows me, but Teddy chuckles.

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