Page 21 of A Dangerous Game

I don’t say anything for a moment.

He’s right—we’ve never kept our prey, never even considered it. To be fair, the people we’ve hunted in the past were complete shit stains of society. Raine is the first good one we’ve found.

“Son, if you don’t want to keep her, you know we’ll have to kill her.”And the thought of doing that makes me want to drown myself in the lake.

He seems to understand the weight of my words, because he nods and doesn’t push the issue. If Ihadto kill Raine, I would, but only if it were absolutely necessary.

And I mean it when I say that I would kill myself, too.

I set our small coffee table for three and help Micah clean up before we go up to get Raine for dinner. Hopefully, she’s not too tired to eat.

We grab some warm, damp rags and fresh clothes on our way so we can clean her up, and when we reach the second attic, I unlock the door and push it open slowly. To my surprise, she’s not sleeping, but she’s definitely exhausted because that fire that’s usually there when she looks at us is gone.

My eyes immediately go to the mark on her chest. To see my name etched into her skin as a permanent reminder of who she belongs to turns me on.

"Are you ready to eat, sweetheart?” I ask gently.

There have always been two sides to me: the more dominating side that wants to ruin and destroy, but then there’s the other part that can be tender and loving. I couldn’t be any of that with Veronica, but I can with Raine. I just feel so comfortable with her.

She swallows and sits up. “Yeah. I’m so tired, though.”

“I know.” I take the cloths and start cleaning her up a bit before helping her into the clothes. Unlocking the handcuff, I expect her to start fighting, to try to run, but she waits for Micah and me to take the lead.

We walk with her down the hall to the kitchen where we sit by the fireplace—Raine and Micah sit closest to it, and I choose the seat further away—and watch the rain fall as we eat our meal in silence. I keep sneaking glances at her, and when I stare for too long, she turns to look at me, too. Her cheeks flush from the attention I’m giving her, and I don’t miss the way she squeezes her legs together and starts to squirm.

“Something wrong, sweetheart?” I ask before taking a bite of cornbread. “You seem uncomfortable.”

She shakes her head and blows on her chili. When Micah reaches out and starts playing with a strand of her hair, I start to feel… jealous.

What the hell?

I’ve never looked at my son as competition before, and so far, we’ve done fine with sharing Raine, but there’s also a small, nagging part of me that wants her for myself; a small part that wants to claim her.

But that wouldn’t be fair to Micah. She belongs to him just as much as she belongs to me. He found her first, anyway. I should be thanking him for letting me have her, too.

When we finish eating, we sit in a comfortable silence for a bit. Raine wraps a sherpa throw blanket around herself and curls up on the couch. She stares at the fire for so long that I almost ask her what’s wrong, but then she asks, “Where did your scars come from?”

I swallow hard and grit my teeth, blindsided by the bluntness of her question.

So she did see them. I thought I’d pulled my shirt down fast enough before she could.

When she notices how rigid I’ve gone, she gives me a compassionate look. “If you don’t want to talk about it, Judas, that’s fine. I shouldn’t have even asked.”

I shake my head. “No, it’s okay.”

As if on cue, the patchwork of burned skin on my back and sides starts to throb.

I look out the window and think about that night…

The fire blazedaround me mercilessly, charring everything in sight. I got down on the floor and covered my mouth and nose with my shirt, but it wasn’t enough. I was still breathing in the smoke, still trying to navigate my way through the maze of flames to find an exit.

“Judas!” Mom screamed from somewhere. I had no idea where she was; she sounded so far away.

“Mom! Where are you?!”

My heart was racing so fast, it was so hard to breathe…

I wanted to lie down for a moment, to relieve some of the pressure I was feeling, but if I did, I knew I wouldn't get up.

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