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“What’s your name?”
He chuckles, tapping the accelerator a few times to rev the engine. “Is this how you figure out whether or not you trust someone? Because I hate to tell you this, baby girl, but that’s a shit system.” He drives us forward, and trees whip around the metal of the car as the wind braids my hair.
“I didn’t say that. I just want to know your name.”
“Well, it’s going to be a lot harder to get that out of me than what Row just did.”
I push into the chair, watching as the shadows from the trees and dark night dance around us. He speeds up when the road becomes bumpier, tossing me up into the air every few seconds. “Should my other question be where are you taking me? I feel like it should be.”
He doesn’t answer, and I breathe out a sigh as I quit asking questions. What was the appeal to Cooper for wanting to play this ridiculous game to begin with, or anyone who was interested? A cold chill wraps around the base of my neck and I wrap my arms around myself, looking up ahead of us. The headlights beam bright, and the only reason I know that we’re still on an actual road is the worn tire tracks from years of being driven through, otherwise it would look like we were driving through the forest.
A large tree branch slaps the front windshield before he skids us to a halt. My mouth hangs open when I take in our surroundings. There’s a large waterhole in the middle of an outstretched field, where a waterfall pours into the middle. The moonlight reflects off the water, where smaller lights trail around the edge. There’s a hill that leads up to the top of the waterfall, and I squint my eyes onto a small house that is on top of it.
“Come on,” he murmurs. “We walk the rest of the way up.”
He shuts the door, and I watch as he starts following a pebble path that leads to the base of the hill. It’s not a far walk, and the hill isn’t that high, but my feet refuse to move. I’m stuck. I never knew this place existed. In fact, I’d go as far as to sayno oneknows this place exists. Hades Landing has long since fallen off the radar for us locals, and with good reason.
“I mean. I could carry you…”
My feet start moving as I follow him up the long pathway, pushing my hands into my hoodie pocket. Everything about this is a red flag, but somewhere between the first game and waking up with Sparrow, I’ve formed a weird sense of…trust. Have I? I don’t know. Or maybe this is all a hoax to get me here to murder me.
My flip-flops slap against the base of my feet as we gain altitude. “You don’t talk much,” he says when we’re halfway up the cliff front.
The path turns from pebbles to grass, but I don’t bother to stop to answer him.
“There’s not much to say.”
I stop once we reach the top, sizing up the house. It’s more of a cabin now that I can see it properly. Trees and perfectly manicured shrubs line the garden outside, but other than that, it’s modern and clean with an A-frame ceiling that goes straight to the ground.
I take a step closer to the cliff edge, tucking my hair behind my ear when a gust of wind almost throws me off.
“Careful—” A hand is around my arm, tugging me backward slightly into a hard chest. “Would hate for you to fall.”
I turn in his grip, my eyes colliding with his. Such a weird name, yet it fits him so perfectly. “I thought you wanted me to bring you the package?”
A dark chuckle vibrates from behind Sparrow. I lean to the side, seeing the guy who drove me here smirking from the patio of the cabin. “Oh, Little One.” His shadow emerges from the front door, and my throat turns dry. “You are the package.”
I back up slightly, needing distance between us all. “What the fuck is happening?”
Sparrow cocks his head, and at any other time, it could look attractive, but a ripple of fear balances over my skin. I didn’t know what I was doing and willingly jumped headfirst into a game that I didn’t know anything about. Cooper wouldn’t have spoken about it so freely if it was that dangerous, though, and that’s what I keep coming back to like a safety basket for my terrible decisions.
“In the house.” Sparrow nudges his head over his shoulder.
“No, I’m good. I’m leaving.” I turn back the way we came, but before I can take another step, an arm is around my midsection, and I’m thrown over a set of large shoulders. “Leave me alone!” I scream so loud my throat burns.
“You can scream as loud as you want, baby. No one can hear you here.” He stomps up the stairs, and it’s not until a door slams closed and he tosses me down that I know all that screaming is doingnothing. I expect to hit a hard surface but bounce off a soft texture, my hair flying around my face.
“Ugh!” I yell, pushing up from the large sofa. “What the fuck are you doing?”
An open fireplace burns against the wall directly in front of me, with a family oil painting hanging above. It’s as though it started as a traditional cabin on the inside, as it doesn’t match the A-frame style on the outside. The couch I’m sitting on has long rectangular cushions over logs that are laid out to the side. There’s a ladder behind me that leads up to a loft style room, and the back window in the room displays what I’m guessing is the rest of whatever is outside. The furnishings are modern, yet the portrait is old. It almost doesn’t look like it belongs in here.
“Wait—” an unfamiliar voice interrupts from the entry.
I lean to the side to see who it is when ice fills my veins. I clench my jaw. “No fucking way.” Are you fuckingkidding me!Dion stupid Quinn. I knew they had to know each other somehow after I woke up in Whisper Manor, but what the fuck are they all doing together—involved in this—whatever it is.
“Fuck!” Dion turns back around and slams the door behind him.
Sparrow looks at the smirking asshole in the corner, nudging his head to where Dion just left. “Go see what his problem is now.”
