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After the door sealed shut in the safe zone just before Mason could enter, I barely had time to recover before the mechanical voice whirred to life, explaining the rules of Deadlock. I already knew exactly what game it would be, but what caught my attention was the monitor, which only displayed static instead of the rankings or the number of players remaining.

Even our watches aren’t working. They’ve stayed blank ever since, displaying neither sponsorship money nor messages.

Has Dante’s actions to protect me against another hunter really altered the game that much? God knows what else he’s done since I ran from him.

Or maybe I’m just looking for an explanation because the alternative is admitting that I have no fucking idea what’s happening anymore.

I’m still shaking, still unable to bring my vision into focus. Every time I blink, I see Amani’s body on the floor.

Unquenchable rage and annoyance set my nerve endings ablaze after I snapped back to reality, but the opportunity to take it out on that fucker who put a bullet in her head was taken away from me.

I lean back against the wall and close my eyes, waiting for the locks to release. I’m contemplating whether to make a run for it or stay at Dante’s side.

Fuck knows what his plan is anyway.

Muffled screams and torture vibrate from outside the room, and I’m guessing Dante’s tearing another hunter apart… or maybe Lucas.

The doors finally open and Lucas comes barreling through, his hand immediately closing around my arm as he tries to drag me toward the opposite exit.

“Come on. We need to go,” he says, but I pull myself free. He’s been dragging me around ever since Deadlock started, and it’s getting on my nerves.

I’d rather be stuck with Leo, but he’s made it crystal clear that my indecisiveness over saving friends, winning, and offing Dante has turned me into a liability—and one that’s likely to get him killed. I can’t exactly fault him for that.

In fact, I admire the honesty. Seems we’re more alike than I thought, so I don’t blame him for running off.

“Come on, man,” Lucas pesters, gesturing to the opposite door. “We’re probably close to that last safe zone.”

“Adrian doesn’t have to do shit,” Dante scoffs, flexing his fingers. “You’re not going anywhere until you explain what the fuck you meant earlier.”

Lucas swallows, eyes frantically moving everywhere except to me or Dante. “What do you mean, I—I didn’t mean anything. We just need to find the safe zone before another hunter comes through, that’s all.”

Hm. Lucas has a habit of avoiding eye contact whenever he’s nervous or lying, so what exactly did he tell Dante?

Now my interest is piqued.

I step toward him, watching sweat gather along his brow as his words tumble over themselves. He keeps repeating the same damn thing, claiming we just need to get out of here.

I study him for another moment before turning on my heel and heading for the door. Whatever the fuck Dante’s getting at, we’re not discussing it in a room where the doors can seal shut, and the only way out is for someone to die.

Lucas quickly falls into step beside me, Dante following with an exaggerated sigh that I choose to ignore.

He was ready to tear Lucas’s throat out, but despite being a very big dog, he’s still a puppy when it comes to me. If he truly meant everything he said in the machinery room, then he’ll follow and protect me regardless of whatever issue he has with Lucas.

Not that he’s off the hook.

Neither of them are.

We move through another set of doors and walkways before emerging into a vast warehouse-like space. Several rooms branch off the main floor, while a cage-like metal passage stretches along the right, forming a narrow bridge toward another section of the building.

I glance toward the opposite side, rubbing at the scar on my neck until the skin burns, but Dante reaches over and gently pulls my hand away.

“The last safe zone is through there,” he says, guiding my hand down.

I look up at him, desperate to catch his eyes, only to find myself staring into nothing but bare bone and horns.

Beside me, Lucas shifts toward the cage-like passage.

“We should just go,” he says, gesturing toward it. “Get through there and reach—”