He stops me. “You good?”
My heart skips a beat. “I’m great.”
Except I’m not. Because this relationship has an expiration date, and I just fell in love with a man who won't feel the same when the Games end.
28
HAYES
Ablack bag encases my head, as myself, Finn, and Ethan are driven through the tight city streets of downtown Boston.
It’s some sick hazing Killian came up with, grabbing us off the street, roughing us up a bit and then driving us to a select location. Ethan and Finn shift beside me, but we’re all silent, bodies sore. My ribs ache and there’s a cut over my cheek.
After a week following Collins around her campus and the hospital, I could almost forget life was normal. Then it came back with a vengeance.
The Games are starting; this is the first trial. I’m not sure what my competition thinks, but I’ve been using the time counting minutes, judging where we are in the city based on the potholes and the curbs.
Boston’s streets are suffocating, chaotic, built during a time before cars and when necessity said to live close together, privacy be damned. Living here long enough, you know the layout without looking, remembering which potholes means which road and how many turns tells you the direction.
My shoulder throbs and I exhale against the ache in my side.Fucking Linwood.
The van stops abruptly, all of us surging forward in the cramped space. Someone elbows my chin and I feel another to my side. A bunch of clumsy men, but I don’t let it bother me. I use my ears, listening to the crunch of gravel and the hushed, stoic tones outside.
The creak of doors alerts me to movement, then hands all over my body, yanking me out. Disgust wars in my gut but I smother it. Without seeing, I can smell Killian’s signature scent of mint and decay. He pulled me out with rough hands, dropping me on the concrete. Glass shards bite into my knees.
“Fucker,” I curse, sensing his smile. A few more drops next to me and the bag is pulled off. Blinking against the streetlights, I look at the empty alley as the cold air nips at my nose and lips.
Snow’s coming and I shudder as a breeze blows right through my jacket.
Just like me, the two other contestants are on their knees, hands behind their backs tied with zip-ties.
The alley is dark, abandoned, and with only two exits. Both streets around us are quiet. Puddles of water and waste sit in the shadows, smelling like urine and fur, most likely stray cats. This is the perfect place to kill someone and dump the body with no one the wiser.
Before me stands the reaper, two other guards, and Maeve. Like a typical mob wife, she stands tall, eyes shadowed by the night. She glances at me, worried, but she conceals it. It’s a weakness to show you care.
“First trial,” she begins, voice cracking.She still isn’t sleeping.“Bruno wants a war, boys. He keeps pushing into clan matters where he doesn’tfuckingbelong. Taking a runner was just one step, but his second mistake?” She pulls out her favorite knife, picking her nails with it. “His second mistake was comingafter my family.So. We’re going to remind him why we don’t mess with O’Brien.”
The air crackles with tension, all the men chomping at the bit to prove to Maeve how ruthless we are. Willing to avenge her family, forher, to prove our loyalty.
“We’re in the middle of Boston. In any direction, you’ll find Bruno’s store house,” Killian explains, he and the others cutting our bindings. “Pick a direction. Find a store house. Destroy it. The person who destroys the most—and causes the most financial ruin—to the new Capo, wins this round.”
“Any rules?” Finn asks, standing and rubbing his raw wrists.
Killian smirks, looking down at the man, his frame a good four inches taller.
“Innovation is the first virtue. Be creative. Do what you can to make a big splash and don’t get caught. If you don’t make it home by sunrise, you’re out.”
Ethan looks at Maeve, ignoring the reaper. “Any tools?”
“Be inventive.” She smiles, a hint of the viciousness in her shining through. “This is where you shine. Show us how your mind works when faced with a challenge and no resources.” No resources?Cake.
Maeve and I used to do this as kids. It was easier to think on the fly than to carry explosives around. When I gave her the idea, I never knew she’d give me this advantage, but here we are and I’m fucking taking it.
“Choose a spot to leave,” Killian directs. “You leave all at the same time on my mark.”
I stand after the two move away. With the stars overhead, the sound of traffic and the various signs shining down on us, I know where we are. As they head to one mouth, I decide to take the opposite. I’ll have a better chance of destroying Roman’s business without interference.
“Be careful,” Maeve whispers, watching me rub my wrists. “Do you have your knife? Gun?”
