Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 108563 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108563 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
“So you’re saying that I should have allowed her to go and given her the opportunity to potentially kill me later or kill . . . I don’t know . . . you, maybe? Maybe I should have let her live with her broken ribs and burned arm and let the brothers or Gasoline come back to finish the job in a much nastier way. She was lucky that I was the one who came after her tonight, and she knew it. Having compassion doesn’t make me weak. It makes me human.”
Shadow presses her lips into a tight line and dips her chin before slowly nodding. “I’m sorry. You’re right.”
Siren watches her through a narrowed stare, and after what feels like a lifetime, her body finally relaxes and she moves the conversation along. “What’s your plan, Shadow? How are you going to get through these next twenty days?”
She takes another bite, and I stare at her burger, shocked by how quickly she’s putting it away. “I’m a watcher,” Shadow explains. “I don’t like getting involved in all the bullshit. I’ve been trained to learn everybody’s weaknesses, and at the very last moment, swoop in and end the game.”
“And how’s that going for you?” I ask.
“So far, I don’t know. Apart from you two, there are six other contenders who need to be taken out. The brothers, Gasoline, Raven, Silver, and The Executioner. I’ve been able to figure out every single one of them and can already see how they’ll meet their end during these games. The only two I can’t seem to figure out are you two.”
“What do you mean?” Siren asks.
“Neither of you are playing by your usual MO.”
I nod, approving of this child more with every word that comes out of her mouth. “You’re clever.”
Shadow shakes her head. “Considering I’m sitting at a table across from the very two I can’t seem to figure out, perhaps that means I’m anything but clever,” she says. “How do I know you’re not working together and plan to shank me out by the dumpsters after you finish feeding me?”
“You don’t,” Siren tells her. “But like I said, it’s about trusting your gut. You can either choose to trust that Reaper and I mean you no harm, or you can choose not to. That’s your prerogative. I can’t force you to believe something, and I can’t force you to believe someone’s intentions based on nothing more than their words. This game is a fight to the end, and while I would be honored to earn your trust, the truth is, you shouldn’t trust a damn soul in these games.”
“She’s right,” I add. “The single most effective way to survive is to trust only yourself.”
Shadow holds my stare. “You’re saying you don’t want me to trust you?”
“Not at all. I’m saying to be wary. At the end of these games, there’s going to be a decision that needs to be made. Only one of us will be able to walk free at the end of the month. I know who I’d like that to be, and I assume Siren is on the same page. I trust her to make the right decision, just as she’s trusting me to do the same. It’s now up to you if you can live with that.”
“It sounds like you’re asking us to work as a team,” Shadow questions.
Siren narrows her gaze, her heavy stare locked on mine. “Hmmmm. Peculiar.”
“I work alone,” I remind them.
Shadow laughs to herself before finishing off the rest of her burger and scooping up her soda instead. “Something tells me this is going to be fun.”
Siren rolls her eyes and fixes her stare back on the kid. “Where have you been staying?”
Shadow’s carefree attitude quickly disappears, her shackles rising back into place. “Why?”
“You have bags under your eyes. You’re not sleeping, and judging by the way you just annihilated that burger, you’re not eating either. Do you know how to care for yourself? Have clean clothes, toiletries?”
“I . . .”
She glances away, not wanting to answer, and I press her to continue. “Answer the question, Shadow. I gave you money to buy yourself groceries. What happened to that?”
Siren’s brow arches, and she whips her gaze back to me. “You did what? When?”
Ignoring her inquisition, I keep my stare focused on Shadow, not allowing her the chance to slip past this conversation. “What good is having groceries if you can’t do anything with them?” she questions, her voice low and ashamed. “Apart from the fact I already told you I don’t cook. It’s not as though I have a way to transport them. Shall I pile up the back of someone’s Honda and steal their car—a car which I don’t know how to drive—or should I just carry them on my back?”
I let out a heavy breath. I fucked up.