Page 68 of Drop His Mask

“He’s not Player 5 any longer. His name is Miko, he is my friend.”

“No,” The Game Warden countered. “He is a Guard. He used to be your friend. Don’t let your previous feelings cloud your judgment.”

“True,” Felix heaved a sigh before punching him lightly on the shoulder. “You’re an asshole, but I’m glad you’re here.”

He paused, his other hand going to his pocket, before tugging something out.

“Here.” Felix threw the item at The Game Warden.

The Game Warden examined it. A block. “What’s this? Something to beat you over the head with?”

Felix quirked his lips. “It’s a camera. Old miss Nightingale said to give it to you when The Host started acting up. Said you would know what it was for.”

Swiping his thumbs across the block, sure enough it lit up, a red light blinking on the top.

The Game Warden leaned back against the sink, examining the device in a new light. “Do you ever feel like we are just puppets on strings? That she and everyone else are pulling us in every direction they can?”

Felix’s eyes darkened, his jaw clenching. “I hate her, too, you know? She brought my brother into the Brutality Faction. They rounded both my brother and me up for it and forced us both into the first year’s game. Made us go against each other in the second round.” He clenched his fists. “We promised each other we would give it our all. And he was a big guy, I shouldn’t have won, but he misstepped.” Felix shuddered, clenching his jaw. The pain was evident in his voice as he continued on. “At least that’s what he made it look like. But in actuality, he sacrificed himself for a chance. A chance I would live. And so, no matter how many times my strings are pulled, no matter where they take me, I will allow it, as long as it keeps me alive. I owe my brother at least that much. Even if I am nothing but a puppet.”

The Game Warden examined Felix in a new light. “I’ll go visit Sparrow right after this next game.” Standing to his full height, he side-stepped the man. “Come on, let’s get out of here. I have the files in my drawers with the new players. There’s a few I think you might be interested in.”

Felix didn’t say anything for a few moments until he mumbled under his breath, “Patient. We just have to be patient.”

For the longest time, The Game Warden thought Felix had escaped mostly unscathed. That he had won the first year’s game with his sanity and soul still intact.

The Game Warden was beginning to realize that wasn’t the case at all. Felix–The Guard, the winner of their country’s first game–was just as fucked up as he was.

Chapter 37

Griffin Gang

Raven

Present Day

“Griffin. You’re Griffin? Why are you here? You had escaped our country! Why would you come back?” Unease settled in my stomach as I readjusted into a more comfortable position. My hand was under me, wrapped around a knife I had found, but I pushed it further under the pillows, hiding it.

Now that I had a moment to breathe, the pain in my side was noticeable.

How had I let it go on for so long?

197–Griffin–walked around the bed before carefully sitting down. He laid back slowly until his head rested lightly on my lap. He had maneuvered perfectly to where he wasn’t exacerbating my injury.

“That’s a long story, but the short and sweet of it is, I made a promise to a man that helped me through my darkest hours.” Griffin’s voice vibrated through me. The deep husky baritone stirring up unwanted feelings.

I am sick in the head. That is the only explanation for why I feel this way about so many of these men. These murderers.

“To who?” I asked, my hand moving on its own, tangling in Griffin’s shaggy hair. I should have known with certainty who he was before he removed the mask, but I had never put too much thought into it.

It made sense though. His men had betrayed him, turned against him when they were caught to reduce their own sentences. Instead, they had all gone away for it. Everyone of them except Griffin, who had escaped his death sentence and found refuge by leaving our country. At least that was what I had gathered from the intel I collected. He was infamous, and the leader of the Griffins disappearing from prison in the dead of night had caused quite a stir inside the Facilities.

My fingers dug in hard, massaging him. My heart ached after being separated from Jayce and Levi. From Enzo and Maverick. But it was soothing to touch Griffin, it wasn’t the same, but there was a steady thread of reassurance that he provided, of protection and strength.

Knowing who he was only caused that feeling to intensify.

The Griffin gang was always on the right side in the past, led by their dogmatic leader. And I wouldn’t admit it out loud, especially not to him, but he had my begrudging respect.

Griffin shut his eyes, and for a moment, his entire face transformed. His brow relaxed, his forehead smoothed out, a lazy grin adorned his mouth.

---