Page 69 of The Psychopaths

I have one week to figure out how to play this game better than the monsters who created it. Otherwise, they’ll start eliminating people, and the first person will be me.

Arson

The security feed flickers as a black SUV appears outside the warehouse.

Expensive. Tinted windows. Familiar.

The coffee mug I held in my hand shatters against the concrete floor before I register dropping it.

No. No. No.

I lean in a little closer to the monitors, fingers white-knuckled on the desk as I watch, terrified, at what happens next. A second passes, and then the passenger door opens.

A small body appears on the screen, and the moment I catch a glimpse of her face, I know something is wrong.

What the hell are you doing, Lilian?

The back window on the SUV lowers just enough to show Mr. Alvarez’s profile. That perfectly engineered smile. The casual adjustment of his watch that signals a deadline. Horror mixed with dread zips down my spine.

I should’ve known it was them. They’re the only ones who would show up here like this.

They’re sending a message. Making it clear they can reach out and touch anything, anyone, in my carefully constructed revenge.

Including her.

The SUV pulls away, and Lilian stands there, her features a mixture of anger and fear. She doesn’t understand. Doesn’t know what these men are capable of. What they’ve done to others who complicated their “investments.”

My hands shake as I pull up the other camera feeds. I quickly check sight lines and scan the area for additional vehicles. They’re never alone. They never make only one move.

Seven days.I’ve ignored her for seven days. After the confrontation with my brother and our meeting in the garden, I knew I needed to get my head on straight. Lilian’s presence in my life has fucked everything up. I knew I needed a couple of days but didn’t expect it to take this long. I spent the time researching every possible individual the Hayes family had a part in incarcerating, which gave the Alvarezes an opening. Considering I still don’t quite understand what they want out of our arrangement, it’s even more dangerous.

For days, I tried to remind myself that she was nothing but a pawn, just another way to hurt Aries. Tried to forget how perfect she felt pressed against me, like she was made for me, her darkness calling out to me like the siren she is.

Nothing I’ve told myself over the past seven days matters now.

They’ve taken notice, made her a variable in the equation. Even though I tell myself it’s nothing more than attraction I feel for Lilian, the thought of letting them get their hands on her, of letting them hurt her the way they’ve hurt others makes me irrational.

It makes me murderous with rage.

I’ve been trying to figure out what these bastards want ever since they showed up offering money. Seeing them with Lilian terrifies me on a level I didn’t even know I could feel anymore.

The convenient accidents. The untraceable poisons. The clean disappearances leaving no evidence, asking no questions.

I can’t let them do that to her.

She’s mine to break, mine to corrupt, mine to?—

Fuck.I press a hand to the side of my head, trying to slow the chaos forming there. I need to bury those thoughts.Drown them. Kill them.Until I don’t recognize them anymore. This isn’t about possession or desire. It’s about control. About keeping my revenge on track. About?—

Lilian’s entire body shudders as she breathes, and then she walks toward the entrance, her head held high, her stride purposeful.

Like she’s walking into a business meeting instead of a killer’s lair.

Stupid, brave girl.I don’t know if I should reward her or strangle her for being so stupid.

I’m moving before I can make a conscious decision to do so, fury and fear driving me toward her.What is she thinking? What happened?

I hit the warehouse floor running, all pretense of control abandoned. The metal stairs rattle under my boots as I take them three at a time. No more calculated movements. No more careful performance. Pure instinct drives me now.

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