Page 78 of Psyop Kings

Theo waves to Gareth and then starts driving back toward Caius’s house, glancing several times my way to check me over.

“You okay?” he asks, concern in his voice. “Did Gareth…” He trails off, leaving me to fill in the blanks.

“Hit me? No. Though I think he wanted to,” I spit out bitterly.

“But he didn’t, you know, do anything else?”

I’m momentarily confused until I realize he’s asking if he sexually assaulted me. This doesn’t cause fear in me but instead fear for his young daughter.

“No,” I say slowly. “Is that something I should be worried about?”

Theo shakes his head and flashes me a boyish grin. “Nah, just making sure.”

I’m reminded of the time Gareth took me to his bathroom at the lodge. Caius was irrationally pissed about that whole situation. Maybe he was afraid Gareth would take advantage of me. Again, Caius’s perceived nobility annoys me. Why does he have to be a protector in my eyes?

Theo pulls up to Caius’s house but doesn’t shut off the engine. He does reach into the back seat and retrieves a box that rattles in his grip. When he hands it to me, I grin stupidly.

“You got me a present.”

He laughs. “It’s just a puzzle.”

“No, it’s not,” I say quickly, inspecting the box. “It’s a thousand-piece Paris Locks of Love jigsaw puzzle. This will keep me busy for hours.” I can’t help but grin at him. “Thank you.”

I swear he blushes, unable to hide his own smile. “I tried to find a complicated one since you’re so good at them. It says the average person needs about five to twelve hours to complete it. But you’re not average, are you?”

Shaking my head as I admire the box, I say, “No way. I think I can get it done in three. I’m going to try.”

Theo, though he’s definitely crushing on me, reminds me some of Bastian. My brother was the one who got me involved in puzzles in the first place. When I was a young girl and having trouble coping with horrible things I went through, he brought me a jigsaw puzzle meant for an older child. He sat with me for an entire day as we put it together. That day was the first one in a while that I was able to turn off all the bad stuff and completely zone out. After that, I was addicted.

“Thanks again for the rescue,” I say to him before leaning over the center console to kiss his cheek. “Want to come inside?”

He grunts before adjusting himself in his jeans. “Not a good idea. You should go.”

I follow where he points and discover Caius standing under the carport, staring at us from the shadows. What a creep.

“Ugh,” I groan.

Before I can climb out, Theo grabs my arm, stopping me. When I glance over at him, his eyebrows are pinched with worry. “Be careful. What you just did… That stuff can’t happen. It’s dangerous.”

“Because of Caius?”

“He has demons,” Theo says softly. “They’re deeply hidden, but we all know they’re there. Just don’t push him too far. I don’t think I could protect you from him.”

So Theo can protect me from the burly, slightly unhinged, possibly sexual predator Gareth, but the cold, calculating Caius is the bigger problem. Somehow, I fail to see that logic.

“You know it’s going to have to be you who gets me out of here one day,” I tell him softly. “Soon.”

Theo hangs his head, neither agreeing nor denying. It’s comforting to know that I’m at least penetrating his heart. One day maybe I’ll fully convince him.

I blurt out a goodbye to Theo and then climb out of his vehicle. Rather than walking straight into the house, I make my way over to Caius. I’m compelled to look him straight in the eyes, letting him know he can’t intimidate me by hiding in the shadows wearing his sourpuss face.

“I thought you ran away,” Caius states, voice sharp like a blade.

“You didn’t put much effort into finding me.”

“Survival out here is impossible. It would’ve been a fruitless effort.” He inclines his head to the side. “Either you’d come back, or you’d die.”

Does he mean the elements, the wildlife, the unbearably cold temperature? Or is it more sinister than that? Could he know what sort of feral beast lurks beneath Gareth’s carefully arranged facade?

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