Page 65 of The Psychopaths

He’s a victim of circumstance, just like me.

Even his—Aries’s—usual parking spot has remained empty all week. The Range Rover hasn’t moved from the warehouse, according to the tracking tile I magnetized to the bottom of it.

It’s all verystrange.

Does this mean Arson has stopped pretending entirely? My heart rate picks up, but not from my condition. If he’s abandoned the pretense of being Aries, something big has happened.

The carefully orchestrated performance I witnessed that first night at the charity event has been discarded.

All of my thoughts shift to Aries.

Has something happened to him? Is he okay?

I don’t know all of Arson’s plan, but I know enough to believe he would hurt his brother, just to prove a point. Maybe not kill him,not yet, but injure him, yes.

Could an injury be keeping him away?

Bile climbs up my throat at the thought. As much as Aries’s dismissal of my feelings and cruel words hurt, the idea of him suffering makes me sick.

I check the campus security feeds from my phone again.

The last footage I have is of Arson leaving the botany building after our encounter. His expression is unreadable in the grainy video. I chew on my bottom lip, weighing my options.

If I go to the warehouse and nothing has changed…it could be a trap for him to lure me there, but then… if something happened to Aries…

I watch a group of students enter the Mill House, where Aries’s room now sits empty.

Lee told me Arson cleared it out last week. Only took a few things and left the rest to whoever moves in next. Why the sudden change? Could it be the conversation we had? The evidence I offered him? Or is it something else entirely?

I can’t wrap my head around it.

Without thought, I trace the fading marks lingering along my throat. The memory of his touch still burns, desire unraveling low in my belly.

Was any of it real?Or was it my imagination, my own personal want and need for his twin brother manifesting? As I play it back in my mind, it looks real, it feels real. His hardening cock, grinding against my core, his eyes burning with a desire mirroring my own.

There’s no faking that kind of want, even if it was only lust.

No amount of acting can hide a person’srealfeelings.

“I’m going to ruin you.”

Even the memory—that deep growl—I can still feel the effects of it. His words, a promise of something both terrible and exciting.

Now, nothing but silence.Something must be wrong with me.

If only it worked that way. I understand the sayingcuriosity killed the cata lot better now. The silence and disappearance have only left me with more questions and worries. Has Arson moved on to the next step in his plan without me? Is he going rogue?

My hand clenches a little tighter around my phone.

This isn’t just about family secrets anymore. It’s not even about revenge. Something else is happening, something I’m missing.Arson wants my help. I remember how he looked atme, that disturbingly beautiful face twisted with surprise and excitement.

It was like for one moment he saw me as more than leverage, as more than a pawn. There was no missing the recognition. He saw my darkness, the thing I’ve hidden behind my fragile exterior. I realized then that I had a way in with him. If I made him see me as his equal instead of the fragile, broken girl they had all made me into, I could potentially save Aries.

I wasn’t lying about exposing the Hayes family secrets or airing out their dirty laundry for the world to see. I still want them all to pay. Richard...my mother. Everyone.

If I can get closer to Arson, close enough to get Aries free, then help Arson bring them down, then what’s the harm? All I have to do was survive his mind games and make him realize exposing the family’s secrets is more important than his hate for his brother.

Before I can do any of that, I need to figure out what is going on.

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