Page 83 of Sinner

I certainly hadn’t expected my ex best friend’s daughter. There was so much fucking baggage in allowing our twisted connection to continue. Yet as of this moment, I was experiencing the same rush I’d had only during the times I’d taken a life. There was something almost magical, ethereal about holding a man’s life in my hands, sometimes literally.

Somehow, every one of the experiences paled in comparison to fucking Jessica. Now she was curled up under a blanket in the chair I’d ordered her to sit in, her feet curled under her as she stared at the fire I’d built only moments before.

I sensed she had so many questions, ones that I wasn’t prepared to answer. In a way, she’d placed her trust in me. Perhaps I didn’t deserve it. I took a gulp of my drink, wishing the liquor would burn the back of my throat. Then maybe I could remind myself I was a man, not a monster.

Was that even possible given the heinous deeds I’d done?

As strange as the thoughts were, Jessica made everything seem possible.

She’d barely touched her drink, almost never blinking. The quiet between us meant nothing yet was everything to me. The woman wasn’t peppering me with questions and I’d seen the look in her eyes. She knew I was her Sinner. Maybe at this moment I should also be considering her my saint.

Or perhaps my salvation.

The weight I’d felt regarding Shanna had been tremendous over the years. I’d used the Obsidian Society to rid myself of the urges I continually had. Yet it was no longer working. That was the real reason I’d hungered to be a participant and not just a judge.

I found it interesting that I was thinking about salvation when I was still furious with myself I hadn’t ended Dorn’s life. He’d been given a reprieve only because Jessica had been mostly aware of what was happening. When she’d slipped into unconsciousness, a protective side I’d never known existed had taken over. Did I really think the man was stupid enough to take out his frustrations on her after my warning?

No, which meant bringing her here had been entirely selfish.

It was an interesting turn of events.

I took a sip of my drink, realizing she’d turned her attention in my direction.

“Did you love her?” she asked.

She’d already heard the answer, but needed confirmation. “As much as a man like me is capable of.”

“She mourned you.”

“I know.”

“She suffered, which is why she took her own life.”

“I know.”

When she exhaled, the sound was rattled. “Maybe I should hate my father.”

“You’re lucky in so many ways, Jessica. I never knew my father. Maybe I didn’t want to given the man I’ve turned out to be. Yourfather made mistakes. We all have. But he’s blood. I’m not.” I shook my head. Since when had I done a decent damn thing in my life?

“But he lied to me.”

“He had his reasons.”

She rested her head on the back of the chair, once again staring at the fire.

Another fifteen minutes passed. I refreshed my drink, returning to sitting on the edge of my seat.

“Who developed Dark Nights?” she asked as she pulled the blanket tightly around her slender shoulders.

“It was a collaboration, my brothers working with me. An idea that came to us almost ten years ago, but until the advancement of AI, it wasn’t feasible to try and put into a development phase.”

“So the computer can actually read a player’s thoughts.”

I laughed at her suggestion. “God, I hope not. No, but with the inclusion of the artificial intelligence module, it can anticipate moves and study past choices in a split second, which allows the player to have a catered to them experience.”

“How very dangerous.”

“So you’ve said. You fared well.”

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