Page 182 of Stay Scared

This time I let him.

The pull spins me halfway around, and Rook drags me toward him. His free hand comes up toward my face.

I slam both palms into his chest. “Come on.”

He does.

Exactly what I need.

I retreat another step, and Rook advances. The chamber mirrors multiply him until beaked faces surround me. His breathing has gone ragged. The polished broadcast voice is gone.

“You think a camera changes anything?”

“No, I don’t.”

Another step.

He follows.

“You think Mercer can save you?”

I leave the question unanswered.

His hand reaches for me.

I move just beyond it.

“Owen?” I call.

Rook snaps toward the mirrors.

There is no visible Owen, only his own reflections.

I smile.

Rook whips back toward me. “You needed all three of them.”

“No, I didn’t.”

My heel finds the maintenance rope.

There it is.

Rook comes closer, too close, and his hand closes around my jacket.

I look past his shoulder, not toward Cade yet.

Rook pulls me against him.

The scratched beak fills my vision.

“You should have stayed inside the story.”

I feel the rope beneath my boot.

I look directly at Rook.

Then I step backward across it.