Page 74 of Deadly Little Games

“Hey,” the guy yells and races back out, but before he can reach me, I’m flying down the driveway, onto the road, and out of the estate through the still-open gate.

With the wind blowing past me, I feel as though my cheeks are being showered with a million kisses. Hazen will likely be furious with me for taking his bike, but I don’t care. Nadine is going to pay.

If what the messages say is true, Nadine started my mother’s habit all those years ago and got us kicked out of Daringville. I always thought it was Dominic, never her. It changed our lives forever. I need answers, and I’m going to get them from that bitch’s mouth.

Leaving the bike next to Gage’s car, I run down the trail into the forest. The sun dips behind the trees, casting shadows all around me and turning the sky a marshmallow pink. I continue walking until I finally arrive at a massive pair of wrought-iron gates, the entrance to the cemetery, and push them open.

Before me, there are countless headstones arranged in perfect rows on the grass. I stick to the paved pathway that leads me through the rows of graves as the sun dips farther beneath the horizon. Soon it’ll be dark, and the thought of experiencing this place at night fills me with an eerie sensation of excitement and nerves that runs through my entire body.

Movement catches my eye up ahead, and I catch a glimpse of Nadine’s long blonde hair disappearing through the large archway of an imposing mausoleum-type structure. I hurry the last hundred yards across the graves and follow her inside the building. Ahead is a dimly lit tunnel, and I creep along the descending path until it opens up to reveal a massive tomb. Three hooded figures stand before a large gravestone with three skulls, surrounded by rows of graves.

I freeze just outside the tomb’s entrance, unable to move as I observe what’s happening before me. Nadine is completely out of my mind as I see the guys getting initiated, one by one. The air is heavy with the acrid smell of burning flesh, making it difficult to breathe. I feel an overwhelming urge to rush over and offer comfort, but I’m frozen in place. This is a special moment for them, and I can’t ruin it.

Hazen is the final one to undergo the ritual, and once he’s done, the older man I spotted earlier in the car glances in my direction, so I step out of the shadows.

Nadine spins around and glares at me with intense hatred, almost making my knees buckle. It all comes rushing back to me—the drugs she gave me, the cause of my mother’s addiction, and the resulting consequences.

I clench my fists and sprint over the gravestones until I’m face to face with her. I push her and she loses her balance, her eyes growing wider.

“You bitch!” I scream, and hands wrap around my waist, pulling me backward into a warm body.

“What are you doing?” Lucas snaps, holding me against his chest.

“She tried to feed me drugs and did the same thing to my mother all those years ago. She’s the reason Mom’s an addict and our whole life got turned upside down.”

Lucas releases his grip on me and moves closer, fixing his gaze on his mother. She vigorously shakes her head while putting on a fake smile.

“She’s lying. I’d never do that. You’ve now completed the initiation—you are a leader, and it’s time to celebrate. Don’t let this little rat ruin it for you,” Nadine says, glaring at me, then softening her eyes as she shifts her focus to Lucas.

“Don’t call her that,” Lucas says in a low growl.

Nadine laughs. “Oh, don’t tell me you’ve fallen for her?”

The only sound during a long pause is my pounding heart in my ears.

“Yes, she’s one of us now,” Lucas admits, pulling me under his arm.

“Stupid, stupid boy. Have I taught you nothing?” Nadine throws her head back, her laughter echoing through the room. Suppressing the urge to lash out, I grit my teeth and keep my fists clenched tightly by my sides.

From behind us, a voice bellows, “Enough!” and I spin around to see the older gentleman from the car holding a walking stick. His gray hair is slicked back above his pale, drawn face, and he coughs a few times. “This has gone on too long, Nadine. Lucas deserves to know,” he says.

“Know what?” Lucas asks, glancing between his mother and father.

My heart beats faster. What does he know?

Lucas’s father moves until he’s within arm’s reach of me. His jawline resembles my brother’s, and he has the same nose. He looks so much like Alec it’s scary. “Alec LeClair is my son, and she killed—” He pauses and tears well in my eyes, spilling down my cheeks. “I’m so sorry,” he whispers, reaching out, and his hand lands on my shoulder. My battered heart is squeezed by an invisible vise as I try to process what he’s just said.

A loud scream echoes through the tomb, and Lucas’s father’s eyes go wide before there’s a sickening crack, and then he’s falling forward. I catch him, but his weight is too much, and we both collapse to the ground, his body on top of mine. Blood oozes from a wound on his skull and his eyes start to close. My hands are covered in red. More yelling and screaming pierces my ears, but I can’t hear what’s being said.

It all happens too fast. I catch sight of Nadine from below her husband’s body as she drops something to the ground. I move his body off me, and he falls to my side. From her boot, Nadine retrieves a gun and pulls the trigger, hitting Lucas’s father right in the chest. He groans with finality as blood blooms across his shirt from the bullet wound. With a scream, Lucas rushes toward him, falling to his knees at the dying man’s side.

“What the fuck have you done?” Lucas yells, clutching his father’s shirt. Nadine’s hands quiver, yet she maintains her grip on the gun.

“You killed my brother,” I whisper mainly to myself, but Nadine turns my way, the gun pointed at me, and she nods with a sly grin.

My ears ring and I can’t think. I can’t breathe. All I see is her—everything else blurs into the background. I rush at her, and she cocks the gun, but I snatch it out of her grip. Turning it around, I aim at her heart and pull the trigger.

The deafening bang pierces my ears and Nadine falls to the ground. Lucas leaves his father’s side and staggers over, his gaze shifting between his lifeless mother and me. He drops to his knees, his whole body shaking as he desperately clutches his mother’s hand and checks for a pulse.

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