Page 196 of Deviant

I crawl back on my hands and feet when I see a shadow looming over me.

“Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me!” I shout, my heart racing, only for a calm, low-toned voice to whisper in my ear.

“I got you, Roe. I got you,” Elias whispers softly before scooping me into his arms.

“I… I…” I stammer, unable to form words.

“I know, baby. Shh, I know.”

He then walks us back into the mansion while Lucy’s lifeless gaze stares at me in judgment.

“What the hell happened to you?” David asks, his foot already bandaged, while using crutches to help him up.

But instead of answering his question, Elias just keeps walking to the staircase.

“Hey, Larsen! Aren’t you going to at least tell me why your girlfriend is all covered in blood?”

“Tell Henry he has another dead body in the yard. WhenThe Scourgedecides to punish me, tell them they know where to find me.”

Chapter 35

Rowen

We’re in the original white room.

The one where all our secrets were revealed.

And the one where Chris attempted to assault me.

But the ugly memories born here isn’t what has me on edge when I step into this godforsaken room. It’s the fact that instead of the six chairs I was hoping to find, only one sits at its center, chains and ropes lying at its feet.

“Well, this is interesting,” Mackenzie muses as she stares at the chair, a sly grin on her lips.

I watch in panic as Henry closes the door behind us, a sad frown stitched to his face as he throws me a last glance.

We all stare at each other, waiting for our orders, like the brainwashed little deviants we’ve all become.

“I don’t like this,” Abbie whispers at my side while Elias gives her a pitying glance.

“Don’t worry, Abigail. Something tells me this chair is only formybenefit,” Elias says, squaring his shoulders.

“That’s not very comforting,” she replies, casting a wary glance at the other three villains in the room, her eyes filled with petrified suspicion.

“Elias,” I whisper, grabbing hold of his hand.

“Don’t,” is his clipped reply.

“You don’t even know what I’m going to say.”

“Yes, I do. I always do. So… don’t. Not here. Not now,” he orders, glancing up at the cameras that are focused on us.

I swallow my confession down, letting everyone continue to believe that it was Elias who killed Ruby. No one suspects that it was me. Not the rest of the chosen nor our hosts. Apparently when Henry gave Elias those precious few moments for him to say goodbye to Andy, he also turned all the cameras off. Just another reason why I suspect that maybe Henry left the iron gate open for us to make our great escape. And that maybe… he isn’t as loyal to his employers as we first believed. Maybe he’s a hostage here, just as we all are.

“Tick-tock, bad guys. I’m starting to get bored with all this waiting around.” Mackenzie feigns a yawn at the cameras.

“You’re sick, you know that?” I growl at her, hating how she takes joy inThe Scourge’sgames

She just throws me a toothy grin, completely unfazed by my remark.

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