Page 62 of The Game

But who the fuck is he?

Dick claps his hands, striding over to me after padlocking the doors that shut Alice in the maze, and my eyes jump quickly over my computer as I think of every single possibility there could ever be of us leaving here alive.

Leaning back, I close my eyes and take a deep breath, sinking into the monster that resides deep in my dark soul. It takes mere seconds for my brain to find the connections it seeks. When I reopen them, a biting grin paints my lips.

“Smarter than you,Dmitry.”

The gun slips from my temple as he spits something to Dick. The connection makes sense now, a relative of Maks Volkov—his own fucking brother. After I’d found him and Alice’s little friend, I’d done my due diligence, figuring out quickly he couldn’t be the rat. But I’d familiarized myself with those surrounding him. The jump was an easy one to make, and judging by his reaction, my shot in the dark hit its mark right in the bullseye.

“Hands on the chair, you fucking freak,” he spits as Dick chuckles. I obey, my eyes flicking up to the live feed of Alice in the maze. The videos will trigger and begin at a certain point, and she’s doing well, taking every right instead of every left, but…my hope is dwindling. She will become so disoriented once they begin that my chances at getting to her soon are slim.

Fuck.

Dmitry straps my wrists to the handles with zip ties, same with my ankles, and wheels my chair backwards so I am forced to watch every screen, every swish of Alice’s thick hair as she slowly creeps around the mirrors, clutching at her stomach in an odd manner…

Dick stands beside me, arms crossed, face locked in awe on the live feed.

“You’ve always thought you were better than me, Teddy.”

I snort.

“Because I fucking am, loser.”

His jaw wobbles in fury, but he refuses to give in at this point. I’ll break him without even fucking touching him. My heart beats steady, strong thuds in the cavern of my chest, my eyes skirting back to Alice as Dmitry chuckles.

“I’ve known of your little tryst for a while. I warned her I had eyes everywhere.”

I roll mine, sweat beginning to pool between my shoulder blades the closer she gets to tripping the sensor. I have to keep my cool in front of them.

“Should’ve guessed you found a way to put cameras in a girls’ dorm room.”

His face flies to mine, and the sinister grin there has my heart clenching.

“Cameras? No, son.”

Light footsteps come from my right near Dmitry. Unable to resist, I glance toward him and nearly double over in shock. There proudly stands Haddie, Alice’s roommate.

“You think I’m hot?” she says seductively as Dmitry grins, throwing his arm around her waist and pulling her close.Play the game, I demand of myself, trailing my eyes up and down her body, watching the way she subtly shifts under my dominant gaze. The smirk forming on my lips is disguised; she thinks it is my attraction toward her, when in reality, I’m conjuring up a thousand of the most brutal ways to kill her.

I wish I could say I’ve never killed a woman, but some are just as monstrous, and I cannot discriminate when it comes to my impulses. That, and their screams are so much more beautiful to my ears. Haddie will die at my hands, and the thought alone is cathartic.

Shrugging as best I can, my smirk widens. “I’ve seen better. You’re too fucking hairy for me, but it must work with baldy.”

Her brown eyes ignite as her lips twist into a sneer, and she’s quick to lash out, slapping me across my face, the sting as insignificant as a bug bite.

“Knock it off,” Dick hisses, eyes glued to Alice. His obsession with her goes beyond insanity. He wants all women to suffer, but her in particular. A payment for the incarceration and death of his fucked-up son. “Get upstairs and keep an eye out.”

His words calm me slightly, for it seems he still doesn’t know of our message to Jonah. I hope this kid is as fucking smart as Alice promised he was, because if not…we’re well and truly fucked. The merry pair disappear up the stairs, but I don’t relax until the thud of the doors resonates into the basement. Alice rounds another corner, our eyes glued to the screens, my fingers flexing subtly as I attempt to slip from my cuffs. If I can draw Dick closer, I can get us out of here, but I’m suddenly distracted as Alice hunches over and gags, gripping at the corner of the mirrored wall.

Face slackening, mask slipping, it hits me like a fucking bullet to my brain, knocking the breath from my lungs and banishing all discernible thoughts from my mind. Tears of fury clog my throat, my jaw snapping shut so quickly my teeth make an audible clack. I’m not sure how it happened…but I think she’s pregnant.

My face flies to Dick as he watches her and grimaces, turning pale at her vomit, so fucking stupid he’s missing all the subtle cues; her sickness, her tears, the way she’s holding her stomach. My breathing turns erratic with a surge of panic no matter how hard I try to keep it down, shove it aside and focus. How can I fucking focus when she is in there, carrying my child?

“Everyone’s always underestimated me, Teddy. They’ve seen what I’ve made them see; an old man, a simple teacher, a businessman. The moment I laid eyes on you, I knew our souls were…similar, to say the least.”

He doesn’t tear his eyes from the screen as my chest begins to heave, Alice standing straight, her shoe toeing the line as she starts forward again. My head thuds back and I fight to keep my eyes open as the first video starts, her little yelp of fear so full of innocence that will soon be destroyed.

She’s carrying my child, and she is about to witness the monster that I really am. My hands and wrists strain against the plastic ties, but it’s not enough, not yet.

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