I laughed. It came out sharp and hysterical.
“No. No, you’re insane. Jacob is — he’s — he’s nothing like —”
“He’s exactly like him,” Eight said. “Because he is him.”
My chest tightened until I couldn’t breathe.
“Why would he — why would he pretend —?”
“Because he wanted you,” Two said. “He built this whole game to get you alone. To back you into a corner where you can’t say no to him.”
I pressed a trembling hand to my forehead.
No… no. I wouldn’t believe this. Jacob was sweet. Kind. Gentle. Conflicted. Real.
“Ben Stonewood is?—”
“A monster,” Eight finished my thought quietly. “That’s why we’re here. We’re getting you out of here before he decides to ‘punish’ you again.”
I flinched.
Two nodded toward the hallway.
“Come with us. We’ll show you we’re telling the truth.”
I knew I shouldn’t go, but I pulled on a sweater and leggings and boots and followed them anyway because my anger, the betrayal ripping me apart, was stronger than my sense of reason.
They led me to the West Wing, an area that was off-limits to contestants, usually guarded and locked. But the security staff were all asleep and Eight slid a keycard into a panel and the door clicked open.
Inside was a room full of monitors, screens tracking every contestant, tabs of employee files, schedules, and security feeds.
And then I saw my name. There was a file labeled Christina Nicole Jones. I opened it with shaking fingers. My entire life was spelled out on those pages. Things I never told anyone. Things Ben Stonewood had no right to know.
A record of my grandmother’s nursing home bills. My assault and divorce mediation cases. My emergency contact list. It was a full dossier, like I was prey he’d been studying for God only knows how long.
My stomach twisted and I fought back a gag.
“No,” I whispered. “This isn’t — he wouldn’t —”
“He’s obsessed with you,” Two said. “Dangerously. We’ve tried to stay out of it, but after last night… we couldn’t let this keep going with a clean conscience.”
Eight nodded.
“You need to leave before he decides you’re not playing his game the right way… before he locks you in here for good and never lets you out.”
I backed away, shaking.
“He wouldn’t?—”
“Chrissy.” Two’s voice softened for the first time. “Please. The ice storm finally broke last night. The roads might finally be passable soon. Ben doesn’t know that yet… he’s still asleep, for now. Probably exhausted after what we heard between the two of you last night. If we move now, we can get you to the barn. There might be something we can use for snow chains. Salt. Something. But once he realizes you’re gone?—”
I held up a hand and didn’t let him finish. Choking back a sob, I reached for the desk to steady myself, nails biting hard into the wood.
This wasn’t real. This had to be a nightmare.
I wasn’t going to believe these two assholes over Jacob, was I?
My gaze snapped to the desk I’d just been gripping.
