Page 148 of Kiss of Deceit
“Call my bluff,” I shot back without looking at him, keeping my eyes on who I just accused. “You were there the night I was chased. Kept me close as a friend. I will say, you getting stabbedtook you off my list—until I learned there were two of you. After I found out what this town was, I was convinced it was a local. Because they were already criminals. I should know better than most not to judge someone by their history. If I’d looked at the interns more closely, maybe I would have figured it out sooner.”
I swung my gaze to the other one. “But you’re not an intern, are you, Hallie?” No one answered, so I just kept going. “You two kept your distance until Miles got hurt, then you realized it was harder to keep up with everything when he was injured. You’re the one who pulled my attention to the window at the café that day—the first time I saw my monster in this town. Because you knew he’d be there. Another way to fuck with my head. You’re the one I went down the stairs with, the night you two broke into my house, and now I understand why it was so easy since you weigh as much as I do. It was why you had a gun the night you killed Natalie. You knew you didn’t stand a fucking chance against me if you only had a knife.”
Kole cursed under his breath, but I didn’t chance looking at him. I let out a callous laugh. “I made sure to put that all in the email. But please, kill us both if you think I’m lying.”
Leo’s chuckle had a chill ripping down my spine. He circled me, studying me with his predatory gaze. I twisted my sore wrists uselessly as he stopped in front of me. It took all my self-control to remain still when he ran his knuckles down my face.
“So smart,” he praised in a dangerously soft voice. “It’s too bad your hate for me will never fade. I could have shaped you into the perfect killer.” He raised his voice. “Take the masks off.”
I peered around him, seeing them both pulling the cloths off. My pulse thrashed when I met Miles’ gaze first. His eyes were burning with anger, the scowl on his lips a stark contrast from the boyish grin he’d perfected. He clenched the mask in his fist, tearing his stare from me to look at Hallie. Her hair was a messfrom being under a mask, and she fussed with it, not meeting my eyes.
“What now?” Miles snapped. “If she’s telling the truth, none of this will work. I didn’t spend months here to get sent to prison.”
Leo dropped his hand from my face, turning to look at them. “Calm down, son. We’ll fix it.”
“Son?” I choked out, my eyes widening with shock.
“I guess you didn’t figure everything out, did you?” Leo grabbed my arm, ignoring my protests and dragging me toward Miles. “I taught my son everything before I got caught up in an armed burglary years ago. I was never connected to any of my murders and became a candidate for this program. I was in prison, waiting for an opening in town. My son is an expert in technology and weaseled his way into the internship.”
I fought against his hold, letting out a yell when he shoved me into Miles’ arms. His fingers dug into my hips, keeping me tight against him. I tilted my head back, meeting his gaze. I searched his face, not seeing any resemblance to my monster. I never would have guessed they were related.
“You were the first of your kind,” Miles said, tilting his head. “According to the records, all interns are law abiding citizens…except you. I’m the reason you’re here. Just like I’m the reason my father is here.”
“What the hell does that mean?” I hissed through clenched teeth.
“Everything is done on computers now.” His fingertips dug into my hips as he spoke. “And I’m an excellent hacker. Once I got into the files about this town, adding my father’s name to the waitlist was simple. Making me an intern to pay off my college debt? Even easier. But you? They had you at a maximum security prison. Then you were thrown in solitary after you killed your roommate.”
My face paled when he spoke of my time in prison. The woman I bunked with was a horrible monster. Not only was she doing life for murder, but she worked with the guards who liked to abuse and harass the other inmates. Standing by and letting that happen wasn’t in my nature. Unlike when I was free, hiding the fact that I killed her was impossible. At that point, I hadn’t cared. Until I was thrown in solitary where I slowly went insane.
“So I added my own notes, acting as a doctor who used to be on this experiment before his untimely death. About letting interns enter who have a criminal record but could be useful.” Miles grinned smugly. “I made a list of choices with your name on it, along with a few others. But I knew they’d choose you. You were more skilled than all of them put together.”
My heart shattered, my breaths coming out ragged. My fresh start was a ruse—created by the monster I’d been chasing. A weight slammed onto my chest as my stare remained locked with Miles’s. For the last twelve years, I turned myself into the predator. But the entire time, I was still being stalked by the very monsters I was searching for.
Miles dropped his head, his lips brushing my ear as he whispered his next words. “Once my father got locked up, I made sure to keep you close. I know everything about you, Dani. I can see why my dad was so obsessed. When you got caught, I was worried that was the end of our story. We’re going to have fun once we leave this town.”
Nausea swirled in my stomach as I attempted to pull away from him. Miles might be worse than his psychotic father. Because he could blend into society. He played the role of a fun-loving guy perfectly.
“Can we go now?” Hallie asked, nerves in her voice. “This is taking much longer than planned.”
“Who is she, your daughter?” Kole sneered. “A whole family of fucked-up assholes.”
“No,” I answered once Miles let me move back a step. “I bet she’s in love with one of them. Miles, I’m guessing.”
“He’s been mine for years,” Hallie snapped, her eyes sparkling with hate as she looked at me. “I got locked up here so I could be here with him. He needed my help to deal with you.”
“Of course you did,” I muttered. “You fit the statistic.”
She scowled. “What does that mean?”
“Women commit less crimes than men,” I explained as if speaking to a child. I was stalling as much as I could. “And while it hasn’t been studied much, there are trends of women falling into heavy crimes because of the men they are in love with. Tell me, Hallie. Were you a criminal before you met Miles?”
“Shut up,” she screeched, aiming her gun at me. “He loves me. I’d do anything for him.”
There was my answer. She was in as deep as Miles and my monster. There would be no swaying her opinion of them. She wouldn’t help me get out of this. Leo frowned, grabbing her wrist, forcing her to lower the gun.
“And the burn scar you have—the ones you blamed Lucas for?” My gaze traveled to Miles. “He did that to you, didn’t he?” No one answered my question, but there was no need. I wanted to know something else more. “Why did you tell me it was Lucas?”
That question had Leo chuckling. “Hallie pretended to date him at my request. I was curious.”
