Page 60 of Psychopath

“Zane is fine.”

“He isn’t,” Mackie hissed. “He’s obsessed with you.”

“Obsessed?”

Mackie nodded in a blur. “Yeah, he’s going to hurt you again.”

“He hasn’t hurt me.”

Mackie pointed at him. “You were pale. You were afraid.”

“I wasn’t feeling well, I thought I was going to be—”

“You don’t need to lie to me. We’re friends, and friends don’t lie to each other.”

“I’m not lying.”

“Liars deserve to be punished. I punished my dad for lying.”

Quinn’s blood ran cold. His spine stiffened, and he clenched his toes in his shoes as he tried to keep his voice level.

“Mackie…”

“Do you know what my dad said? He said he was sorry for hurting me for all those years. He said that while I hurt him, and it was a lie.” His eyes looked far away, like he was lost somewhere. “So I hurt him more so he’d learn not to lie.”

“Mackie,” Quinn repeated.

Mackie’s gaze snapped to him.

“Thank you for being concerned about me. I’ll be extra careful with Zane from now on.”

Mackie got to his feet, and for the first time since they’d started their sessions, he left the room without a thank-you or a lingering goodbye.

Quinn eased out a breath and looked up to the camera.

Zane was right. There was no one monitoring. No one would get to him in time if anything happened. It was the first time, sat opposite a killer, that he’d feared for his life.

The week rushed by in a blur, and before he knew it, Quinn was waiting in his office for Zane to arrive. He didn’t know whether to demand an apology for the blind spot proposition or pretend it never happened. Quinn bounced his foot on the floor as he waited. The room felt hotter than unusual, and sweat prickled his nape.

Zane rushed into the room and braced his hands on the table. He leaned over, staring straight into Quinn’s face, breathing hard.

“Z—Zane?”

There was anger swirling in the depths of Zane’s eyes, and his hands rattled the table as he tried to keep hold of his rage. Quinn side-eyed the red button and subtly slid his arm closer.

“You need to get Mackie off the study.”

Quinn frowned. “What? Why?”

“He’s obsessed with you.”

Quinn pointed to the chair, but Zane didn’t sit. He continued to glare down at Quinn with his nostrils flaring and body trembling.

“Look, I’m not kicking him off the study—”

“He’s dangerous.”

“He’s saying the same about you!”

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