Page 123 of Inferno

Do I recognize those eyes? Or are these games fucking with my head? All this thinking about Jimmy could be playing tricks on me.

“It might sting a bit.” I can hear the menace in his tone as I shrug, pushing back my chair.

The Irish twang is no longer there.

“Go ahead,” I tell him, keeping my voice neutral.

I swear he laughs as I let out a hiss of air.

“Told you.”

I keep my face straight. I don’t flinch, I just stay seated and let him do what he needs to do.

“Nice cuts. Very precise.”

Grabbing my water, I drink the entire bottle in one go.

Three more rooms to go, I guess…

Or, one room closer to my endgame.

Chapter 44

DECLAN

Watching Finn tend to Ebony makes my blood boil.

He wipes away the blood, and he says something that makes her smile.

That smile is a kick to my gut.

I look down at the balaclava on my desk. It’s taunting me.

I could go in, undetected.

I wonder if she smells the same? Or if she’s changed her perfume?

As soon as Finn exits the room, I click on the screen, ready for the next room. I’m fascinated.

Within a minute, he’s opening up my door and ripping off his mask, ruffling out his hair with his fingers.

“I’m worried,” he blurts out, pouring himself a scotch.

“Why?” I spin my chair to assess him. He’s rattled.

He knocks it back and pours another. I was wondering what his thoughts were about her arrival. He kept quiet up until now.

“She’s dangerous, Declan.”

I nod.

“We gathered that. But I saw her struggling in the last game.”

I quickly grab the remote I was using on her and toss it in my drawer.

“Not that kind of dangerous. As in, violent. A lack of emotion and reaction to pain. Probably a complete disregard for her own life. She is broken, brother.”

A sharp pain shoots through my chest as I rub it.

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