Page 54 of Riot

“But she is a girl,” Maylie counters.

I ignore them both. There’s barbwire around my throat, choking the life out of me. “Did someone put it in there? I don’t remember seeing it before.”

I hear how paranoid I sound, and Maylie’s smile falters slightly.

“One of the nurses probably gave it to her.”

Right, because hospitals are known for giving away free toys.

“Why would they do that?”

I hold it out, and she takes it, turning it over.

“She was really upset. Maybe they thought it would help.”

“I don’t think so.”

“It was probably Riot then.”

“He would have said.” There’s no way in hell he would have snuck a teddy into her bag. He would have given it to her himself.

“Maybe he just forgot to mention it.” Maylie frowns. “Things were pretty hectic.” She doesn’t sound convinced.

And neither am I.

Someone was in her room.It’s the only explanation.

Someone put that fucking bear in her bag.

Someone wants me to know they’re watching, waiting.

And there’s only one person psychotic enough to torment me like this.

Her fucking father.

I let my fear bleed through, raw and sharp. The nightmares I have every night are nothing compared to the swelling terror in my chest.

“What if it was…Link?” I whisper his name, as if speaking it will invoke him like a demon.

“Ivy… no.No.” She grabs my hands in hers, squeezing them. “Whatever you’re thinking, please stop.”

Does she think I’ve lost my mind? Maybe I have. Maybe this is a slow decline to rock bottom.

“But itcouldbe him.”

“It’s not,” she says.

“He wouldn’t dare to come here,” Toby mutters. “Mace would batter him.”

He would. So would Riot. But that bear still got into her stuff.

I tune out Toby and focus on my sister. She knows how evil Link is, the things he’s capable of. My brother will never hear the horror of what I endured.

“He’s still out there, May. And this? It’s not a coincidence that it’s in her stuff.”

Her throat bobs, and she lowers her gaze back to the bear, as if she can’t look at me any longer. “He couldn’t have left it, Ivy.”

I want to believe her because the alternative is terrifying. “This is what he does, May. He plays games.”

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