Page 43 of House of Deceit

“I could take you.”

“I’m in a caffeineless rage, it might give me super strength. I have something to fight for.”

“The preservation of my coffee gives me something to fight for.”

“Don’t worry, if she tries to kill you, I’m your witness,” Rebel says from beside me, toying with her oatmeal as well. “That and the probably fifty cameras pointing at us right now.”

Neither Keith nor I acknowledge her, locked into a demented staring contest over his breakfast. Despite my threats, he continues shoveling food in his mouth before taking a slow bite of his crispy bacon.

He chews, moaning in pleasure.

“Keith, you’re walking a thin line, my friend.” I try to take another bite of my oatmeal, but it gets stuck in my throat. I push my bowl away from me. Food is devoid of all joy right now. I barely ate yesterday. After three days of bland food, I’m ready to commit murder for a piece of crispy bacon.

Courtney would come and visit me in jail if I snapped.

Keith has a giant smile on his face as he swirls a bite of pancake in front of my face. The soup spoon holds a pool of syrup beneath the pancake, making my mouth water. Not only can I not have seasoned food, but the stupid deceiver has also taken to hiding all the cutlery in the house except the spoons, adding to my frustration.

I feel someone walk in, but I’m focused on the buttery bite in front of me.

“What’s going on here?” Parker asks.

“A test of wills,” Keith says, popping the pancake in his mouth, smiling as he chews.

“You’re an ass,” I tell him, turning to Parker. He’s dressed in workout gear, a towel hooked over his shoulder. “Where have you been?”

“The gym.”

“We have a gym? Where is it?”

“Red, maybe you should stop looking at my food with goo-goo eyes and pay attention to your surroundings a bit more.”

I turn back to Keith and flip him off. “Did you know we had a gym, Grandpa?”

“I guess you’ll never know.” He mops up every last drop of syrup before popping the final bite of his breakfast in his mouth. He winks at me as he picks up his empty plate and takes a slurping sip from his coffee mug on his way back to the kitchen.

“Hey, sorry. I can’t seem to focus when people are waving pancakes in my face. But seriously, where’s the gym?”

“Can’t say I blame you there, babe, and I’ll show you the gym sometime. Are you ready for the competition today?” Parker asks, his smile not reaching his eyes.

“About as ready as I can be. Are you okay?”

“What?”

“Something just feels off,” I say, touching his forearm lightly.

“Oh, yeah. Today’s just a hard day for me. Don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Sure.”

Parker turns to leave, but I reach out and stop him. “I’m here, if you need anything.” He nods, rubbing my hand, and continues on his way out of the kitchen.

“Price, to the interview room,” the disembodied voice says.

My curiosity beats my hunger for a second. Alec never calls me to interview this close to a competition.

“Run along to your handler,” Keith says, popping his head around the corner. I flip him off again and make my way out of the dining room.

“Bite me.”

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