Page 52 of Vicious Deception
We slow to a stop at an intersection, and Axel closes his eyes. The red traffic light washes over his skin. He looks pained—more than I ever expected he would. It’s yet another reminder that I don’t really know who he is.
“I can do it,” he says quietly.
“No. Just . . . just let me think this through. He’s never asked for proof of the other kills?”
“Other than me reporting back to him at the end of the night, he hasn’t asked for more. He trusts me. And since the news of all your kills have made its way back to him, he has no reason to doubt me.”
“So if you don’t have proof, it won’t be odd.”
“Correct.”
“And . . . and if youdidhave proof, but only for this one, that’d be . . . that’d be abnormal.”
Axel is silent for a few seconds before he says, “It would be.”
Part of me has been toying with the idea of sneaking in and just taking a picture of the kid while he’s asleep. Ludo wouldn’t be able to tell if the boy was dead or alive.
“Then we can’t have proof,” I say. “He’d get suspicious if we tried to go the extra mile to say I did it.”
“Are you saying you want to risk it?”
“I—” My voice falters.Can I?Can I put everyone’s lives in danger to save one?
But it’s not that simple. We got into this because Holloway killed a child. We can’t get out of it because I end up stooping to his level.
“Yes,” I say thickly, my hands gripping the folder. “We’re going to risk it.”
. . .
When we arrive at the mansion, I don’t have to fake my tears. All it takes is a single thought of Oliver, and they spring to my eyes immediately. I was a fool for thinking I could stay awake that night. I wanted to be close to him—to comfort him—but all I did was make everything so much worse.
I’ll never be able to make it up to him.
This time, Ludo is waiting in the foyer. It’s a first, but part of me was expecting it. This is another form of torture for him to enjoy inflicting on me.
“It’s done?” Ludo asks Axel, even though he’s watching me.
“It’s done.”
“Did he put up much of a fight?”
Axel hesitates before nodding. “At first.”
A sob is ripped from my throat, and I fall to my knees. It’s not an act. There’s no way I wouldn’t’ve put up a fight, so Axel can’t lie about that, but if anything else happens to Oliver or Benny . . .
Maybe if I act upset enough, they won’t even cross Holloway’s mind.
“Please,” I beg, looking up at Ludo through my tears. “Please don’t make me do that again.”
The only thing shining in his eyes is cruel delight. He comes to stand over me, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. “You’ve managed to surprise me, Hayes. I really didn’t think you had it in you.” He laughs. “Although I suppose, given the alternative, you were probably happy to do it.”
I grit my teeth, doing my best to stop my tears. Raising my head, I glare at Ludo silently.
Holloway’s smirk only grows. “I hope the image of his lifeless body haunts you for the rest of your short, pathetic life. Axel, take him to his room.”
After yanking me to my feet, Axel drags me upstairs and shoves me in my room. He doesn’t spare me a glance before spinning around and stalking down the hallway. The men guarding my room close the door, but not before I see a look of unease pass between them.
My guess is they have no idea what I was sent out to do. But that doesn’t change the fact that their report of the night will make its way to Holloway.