Page 235 of Sweet Dominion

“I think he might be a psychopath.”

Terror surged through me, cold and immediate.

My skin prickled and I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. “W-why would you say that?”

She tilted her head slightly, as if contemplating whether or not to continue. “I read about it in one of those books in your closet. The really thick ones you keep in the box.”

“My old college books?”

“Yes. There’s one about psychology and stuff.”

“Yeah. I’m sure that was from my Behavioral Science course.”

“It said that psychopaths. . .they can be really charming. They know how to say the right things, make you feel safe, even when they don’t actually care. It’s like they put on this mask and most people don’t even notice.”

I swallowed hard. “Yeah. That’s correct. . .”

She was talking about this like it was some casual fact, like Leo’s charm and coldness were just another puzzle piece she was putting together.

And well. . .that was better than her being absolutely terrified like I currently was.

She touched the puzzle and then glanced back at me. “The book said that not all psychopaths hurt people, at least not in obvious ways. They’re good at hiding it. I read that psychopaths don’t feel emotions the same way we do. It’s like they. . .know how they’re supposed to act, but they don’t actuallyfeelit. It’s just. . .mimicry. Like pretending to laugh at a joke they don’t think is funny or being sad when they’resupposedto be sad.”

I tried to wrap my mind around what she was saying but it was hard to hear her talk like this—so detached, so analytical. “And you think Leo is like that?”

She nodded. “Yeah. He smiles all the time but it never reaches his eyes.”

“True.”

“His eyes are cold. He doesn’t get angry the way other people do, like when something goes wrong, he doesn’t yell or scream.He just. . .acts. He’s calm about it, but not in a normal way. It’s like he already knew things were going to go wrong and doesn’t care because he has a plan for everything.”

TT’s words were terrifying in their accuracy.

All I could mutter was, “you’re right.”

I had never thought about it like that but now that she said it, I realized she wasn’t wrong. Leo’s charm had always unnerved me but I hadn’t put it together like TT had. That calm, calculating demeanor. . .the way he could switch from being friendly to deadly without warning.

It all lined up.

“They don’t feel guilt either,” TT added, her tone matter of fact. “That’s why psychopaths can do terrible things and not feel bad about it. They don’t have that voice in their head telling them it’s wrong like the rest of us. They only care about what benefits them. It’s like. . .”

“What?”

“They’re playing a game and everyone else are just pieces on the board.”

A chill ran down my spine.

“But. . .Moni, I think thatyoucan trust him.”

“Why?”

“Because when he talks about you. . .and when he looks at you. . .it is the only time his smile is very close to real. He likes you. . .I think and he really loves his son. I can tell. You both are probably. . .his favorite pieces on the board.”

“You got all of that with the small amount of time you spent with him.”

“Yeah.” She bobbed her head. “And I’m one of his favorite pieces on the board too because of this map.”

“I bet you’re right about that.”

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