Page 24 of The Psychopaths

Suddenly, I’m second-guessing everything.

What exactly is their relationship?

I grab the dossier I’ve compiled on her. It’s thinner than the others.Lilian Hayes.Stepsister. Heart condition since birth.Used by the family for sympathy at charity events. Supposed to be the weak link, the afterthought.

My research indicated she and Aries barely interacted. That wasn’t true, not at all. A faulty mistake and huge error on my part. Granted, in the few months of surveillance I did, I never saw them exchange more than ten words at a time.

I pull up the footage on my laptop—hacked security feeds from the Hayes mansion showing Aries and Lilian passing like ghosts in the hallways. Nothing in their body language suggested any kind of closeness. That’s why I didn’t waste much time studying their dynamic.Tactical error.

Fuck.I pop my neck, trying to release the tension I always carry there. It’s a remnant from years of looking over my shoulder in that hellhole they sent me to. The asylum. Institute. Prison. Whatever euphemism makes the family sleep better at night.

I click through more surveillance photos. Lilian at doctor appointments. Lilian at social functions. She was their showpiece. Fragile enough to earn pity, beautiful enough to inspire envy, and hollow enough not to complain. In the few photos I had of them together, Aries stood like a shadow beside her—present but unconnected. The kind of distance that doesn’t come from space, but from intention.

I pause and glare at the image in front of me. Lilian is watching Aries from a doorway as he works at his desk. It appears he’s unaware of her presence.Interesting.I scan her features and notice subtle hunger reflecting in her eyes.

There it fucking is.

I slam the laptop shut. If she can ruin years of planning with one dance, then I need to know as much as I can about her before I eliminate her from the equation. I refuse to let all my hard work go to shit, even if I missed a couple of things.

The security door to the holding area beeps as I swipe the key card. Solid construction, reinforced steel. Soundproof. One of the perks of taking over an abandoned pharmaceutical storage facility is that it was built to keep the good shit secure.

Now it’s keeping my dear brother secure instead.

“Dinnertime, golden boy,” I announce, my voice echoing throughout the concrete room.

Aries sits against the wall of his cell, knees drawn up, watching me with eyes identical to my own. He’s thinner than when I grabbed him months ago.Good.Physical weakness leads to mental weakness.

“You look like shit,” I tell him, sliding the tray through the floor-level opening.

He doesn’t move toward the food. “You’re wearing my clothes.” He doesn’t mention my addition of the ski mask.

Smart observation. Not smart enough.

“Not anymore.” I unbutton the dress shirt, stripping it off and tossing it through the hole onto the floor of his cell. Partially in his cold ravioli dinner. “Had a little chat with your stepsister tonight.”

That gets his attention. He visibly tenses, eyes sharpening despite his exhaustion.

“Okay?” he says, voice steady despite the fear I can practically smell on him. “She has nothing to do with any of this.”

I squat down, meeting him at eye level through the gap.

Oh Aries. You need to learn to lie better.

“See, that’s where you’re wrong. If they are associated with you in any way, they’re just as guilty in my eyes.” I study his face—my face—searching for some hint of remorse, maybe a sliver of regret. Nothing. Not even a little bit. “I will say I’m a little taken aback by her. The relationship you two...share...seemed way more clinical via my initial surveillance.”

When he doesn’t respond, I shake my head and turn to leave. I stop in my tracks when he speaks. “If you hurt her?—”

I cut him off with a laugh. “What are you going to do, huh? You’re not exactly in a position to make threats,Brother.”

Aries blinks, shock and horror in his eyes. I tug the mask off my head, revealing myself to him, officially. It’s not a revelation. He knew it was me, no doubt, and fairly quickly.

If he didn’t, well, surprise, he does now. I can’t keep my identity a secret forever, nor would I want to.

“Ar-Arson?” His voice shakes, and it feels good to get even this much of a reaction out of him. To look into his eyes, to see him realize who has him locked up, who is ruining his carefully bought world.

“The one and only.” I grin like the evil villain I am. “Now that I have your attention, I need to know a little more about our innocent stepsister. I’m even prepared to make a deal with you. Otherwise, I might just have to orchestrate an accident.”

I know I’ve struck gold when he flinches so hard his chain rattles. “Don’t you dare touch her. Don’t even look at her.”

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