Page 24 of Mind Maze

Right.

“They have nothing to hold over my head anymore,” I tell him boldly. “They can’t brainwash me because it doesn’t work. And I know Megan is safe.”

“You know our family secrets,” he mutters.

“So? Even if I were to tell the world about your lunatic lodge and fucked-up games you all play, who’d believe me?”

“I guess you’re right.”

I am right. There’s more to why they want to keep me around.

“Maybe Caius just really likes you,” he offers.

The laugh that bubbles out of me is bordering on hysterical.

“I’m going to stick around until I make sure she’s going to be okay,” I admit, though I hate doing it. “And then, when I decide to leave, I expect you to help me. Do I have your word?”

He doesn’t respond, so I turn to force him to look me in the eye. His eyebrows are pinched together and pain is etched in his features.

“Theo,” I murmur. “Promise me.”

Instead of a promise, he leans in and gives me something I didn’t ask for.

A kiss.

A wet, desperate, open-mouthed kiss.

Caius

Idon’t expect to see them kissing.

It’s unlike what I’d witnessed with Gareth when he raped her. There was crying and fighting. She resisted every second of him.

This is different.

Though she is pushing Theo away from her, she’s doing it gently. As if to let him down easy. A flare of satisfaction makes its way through me. Whenever I’ve kissed her, she’s eagerly let me devour her pouty lips with no hesitation whatsoever.

I hear Theo’s murmured apology and then Romy’s soft assurances.

It’s fine. It was just a kiss. I’m not mad.

Shemay not be…

“Theo. A word. Alone.” My voice, though low, slices through the air, cutting into both of them.

Theo damn near falls off the sofa in his effort to scramble away from her. I stand just inside the doorway, having let myself in moments ago. Romy shoots daggers of warning at me. I read it loud and clear.Don’t kill him like you killed your other brother.

I ignore her warnings as I fling open the door and step into the hallway. Theo joins me seconds later. I lean my back against the wall, crossing my arms over my chest, and watch as my little brother with splotchy red cheeks paces the floor in front of me.

“It’s not what it looked like,” he explains, voice shaky with nerves. “It was my fault. I just… I just wanted to make her feel better.”

He glances over at me, eyes pleading for me to understand. And while I do understand because I know Theo’s desperation to be loved, it doesn’t make it okay.

“She’smygirlfriend,” I state in a blistery tone. “Not yours.”

“Fuck, Cai. I know, okay? I said I’m sorry.”

I crack my neck, which has him withering in response. As much as I like to keep my emotions in check, I know I have my tells, this being one of them. It’s quite a feat to get my shoulders to relax, but I manage it. Barely.

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