Page 58 of Drop His Mask

The Game Warden slammed the thought down before it could take root. It would only cause more pain.

“You need to build up your allies. Every competition has one winner. Make those winners your assets. Keep them in your pocket. Use them to ferry information in and out,” Nightingale continued.

“How am I supposed to do that? I have no power, nothing I can do.”

“You are a game warden. You may not know everything yet, but I’m sure there is some integral information you can gather. Lead the one you want to win to victory. If you choose the right contestant, they should be able to survive.”

His memory spliced, reminding him of thecoincidences.Of thehints. “Why did you want me to win? Surely you could find someone that doesn’t loathe you as passionately as I do.”

Nightingale shut her eyes, letting out a shuddering sigh, before answering him. But it wasn’t what he expected. “Griffin escaped shortly after I brought you here.”

The Game Warden shot to his feet. “Why are you telling me that?”

If only he hadn’t agreed to this, maybe he would be free by now.

“Fuck, Julian! Use that goddamn head of yours for one minute! Fuck! Just leave. Go check on Sparrow, she’s been asking for you. And you need to prepare yourself.”

He stomped towards the door but stopped with his hand out-stretched. “Prepare for what?” He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer to the question.

But of course, it would be the one she answered.

“The contestants will all be prisoners from our country. You are going to know them. A lot of them. You are going to be forced to watch as they butcher each other. You need to ready yourself. It isn’t going to be easy.”

Disgust settled in his gut. He was angry, pissed off. But she was right.

This wasn’t going to be the same as the faceless strangers he just watched murder each other. Men from countries he had never stepped foot into.

The coming bloodbath would be personal. The contestants would all be from Violencia.

“I understand.”

He cast one last look at Nightingale over his shoulder before exiting her room.

It would be the last time he saw her until he became The Host.

Chapter 31

Growing Obsession

Oleks

Present Day

Oleks carefully regarded the woman before him. She was a curiosity, an exotic creature that he had been watching as best he could.

He had grown up in a Facility similar to the one he had found her in. As a teenager, he had been mandated to submit his body to the evils that resided there.

But Oleks had neverenjoyedthose encounters. Nor had he ever been interested in anyrelationshipsoutside of those he was forced into. For the longest time, he thought he would never find someone that sparked his interest, but then he had been recruited into the Griffins. The leader had drawn his curiosity, stirred a wayward obsession that sparked into incessanturges. But Oleks had never acted on those impulses, instead following the man around, doing his bidding, until the wool was pulled from his eyes and he no longer felt any passion towards him.

But now this woman before him was affecting Oleks in a way he couldn't quite define. It had started small when he realized who she was, a mere fascination as to who she had become, but with each round, Oleks’s captivation grew. His mouth on her soft skin, solidifying what pounded into his heart.

Olekswanted her.Wanted tofuck her.The realization had surprised him, but it also allowed him to sink deeper into his mind. Into how they would fall together. Into how he could dare to be a part of her life when they made it out of here.

If we make it out of here.

After all, who was he but a broken man. Poisoned from the inside out, and thoroughly ruined by an onslaught of past horrible experiences. For over a decade his body had not been his to give freely, and when it finally was, there was no one he wished to gift it to.

“How are we going to do this?” Raven asked. Her striking sapphire eyes bore into his. She was still seated across from him. Watching him guardedly, but she hadn’t run. Hadn’t attempted to throw him to his death below.

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