Page 65 of The Game
“Listen to me. You have to get upstairs, to the tower, and lock the door. Do not open it unless it’s me, understand?”
Numbly, I nod, but in my panicked state, I clutch at his wrists. “Teddy,” I say, voice cracking. “Teddy, I’m—”
“I know,” he says gently, and of all things, a small smile paints his lips and tugs at my heart. “That’s why you have to listen to me, okay? Get upstairs and stay there…keep yourself and our baby safe.”
I break at his words, and he pulls me into a bone crushing hug, tucking my face into the crook of his neck as he soothingly rubs my back. I cling to him, sobbing into his soft shirt, breathing in his scent as though it is my life source. It’s bringing me back, keeping me planted in the present, and he rises up, pulling me with him, my limbs stiff and cumbersome.
“Keep your eyes closed.”
His voice grows dark, and I bury my eyes into his chest as he guides us out of the maze. The last thing I remember seeing before I fell had been a railroad spike driven through Jameson’s knee. He still hadn’t screamed.
Up the stairs he rushes me, lights flickering, the sounds of gunfire popping off a few floors above us. “What—what’s happening?” I hiss, so disoriented. Teddy squeezes me as he shoves through the door at the top of the stairs.
“I got out. You were right about that Jonah kid. Fucker hacked my system and was able to see what was happening. There’s some fucking giant here now, and I have to help them, okay?”
My heart soars at this flair of hope, but I keep it hidden, knowing that hope can be just as dangerous. We stumble blindly down the strobing hallway, Teddy pausing before the doors that lead into the circus ring, releasing me to instead grasp a handgun. He nudges open the door with his knee, peeking out into more darkness before he turns his gaze to me.
“Do you know how to use a gun, Alice?”
Throat constricting, I nod. Out of his waistband, he produces another, one I recognize; it’s Jameson’s, one I’ve shot before, the one engraved by his father. My stomach knots with the need to vomit, but I clench my jaw and hold it as the weight settles in my palm. Never again will I be a weak fucking bystander while monsters hurt the men I love. If it takes me killing someone to prevent that, I will not bat an eye. The sudden wave of rage that rolls through me is so potent it aches, and Teddy’s brows pull together as he stares at me.
After a moment, he smirks his devious little smirk like the devil he is.
“There’s my fighter,” he whispers, a sadistic note to his smooth voice. I understand him on the deepest level now, understand his thirst for murder, because watching what was happening to Jameson and Tristan hurt me as much as it ignited me. And now that I am free…
“There’s no safety except for on the trigger itself. Only put your finger there—”
“If I am willing to take a life,” I finish for him on a whisper. Vasily used to tell me that when he would watch me shoot. He nods, jaw shifting and gliding beneath his smooth skin.
“Only answer the door for me, Alice. I’ll cover. Run,” he hisses, shoving the door open wide enough for me to slip through. I obey, locking eyes with him one last time, and it’s then I’ve realized; of all the things we’ve done sexually, we’ve never once kissed. Perhaps we both knew that was somehow more intimate, more meaningful, but right now, I want nothing more than to solidifyus. But as the popping of gunfire sounds again, his gaze hardens. “Go.”
Darkness envelops me as I hug the walls and then the bleachers, skirting around the ring almost blindly as I make my way to the all-too familiar staircase. If this is the last time I have to climb them, so be it. My body on autopilot, I rise, the reassuring weight of Jameson’s gun heavy in my hand. We used to shoot on the property, his nickname for me Alice Oakley. I just pray my aim is still as true as it was then.
Pushing open the door, I quickly close it, lock it, and lean against the wood, panting and swallowing down the urge to gag. My duffel is still here, right where I left it, the office untouched, dark but with light filtering in from the grimy windows. The urge to sink to the floor and weep almost overcomes me, but I can’t be swallowed up by grief, not yet—not when there is a fighting chance. As frustrated as I am to not be helping in some other way, I instinctively know my duty. Knowing how helpless Teddy must feel has me rooted to my spot, obeying when I’d rather run headfirst into the fight.
Heaving another deep breath, I go to take a step forward, my eyes locked on the window, wondering if I can pry it open to use as an alternative escape route, but then my body freezes. There, on its usual spot, is the chessboard, the pieces set for a game. My eyes shift upward slowly, picking apart the darkness until his looming form materializes. Daniel stands against the opposite wall, and I raise the gun, aiming for his fucking head.
His sinister chuckle pulls me up short.
“You should know better by now not to play with fire, Alice,” he hisses. Rage floods my veins, and as he steps forward, the grisly sight of the brand across his forehead jumps out at me; he’s had it worked on, clearly, but the scar is prominent.
“Step closer. See what happens,” I seethe.
He chuckles, raising his own gun, aiming…aiming lower.
“Such a little whore. Can’t seem to stay away from your family, yet you resist me at every turn.”
Bile rises as tears blur my vision when he raises his other hand, my positive pregnancy test clutched in his fist. I’d brought it to show Teddy, my nerves a mix of excitement and fear when I’d packed it. Seeing Daniel’s grimy hand on it makes me want to fucking end him now, so I raise the gun higher, prepared to shoot.
“You disgusting piece of shit,” I growl, shaking with the force of my emotions. “You and your brother and your father deserve to rot in hell.”
“Careful, Alice. You may be better at chess now, but I’ve been playing longer.”
Out of the corner of my eye, another silhouette materializes, one tall and lanky and so familiar I falter and stumble backwards. “Ha-Haddie?” I whisper in shock. She smirks, twirling her knife as it glints in the dimness from the street lamps just outside the caked windows.
“Yes, you dumb bitch. You’ve made my job difficult, shacking up with that fucking freak. And now look. Killing you will be a two-for-one.”
Sifting as quickly as possible through my options, I wonder how fast I can shoot her and then Daniel. Or maybe I should shoot Daniel first and then her.