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“That was the hottest thing I’ve ever done,” I say on a breathy laugh.
Liam pulls out of me slowly and turns me around. His cheeks are so red I’d think he had a fever, but his eyes are full of emotion, like he has a million things he wants to say.
He looks at me and opens his mouth, thinks better of it, and leaves without a word.
That wasn’t hate-fucking.
I think we both realize it.
And we know we’re in deep trouble.
15
Wynn
Mornings start slow.I’m an early bird, so I’m usually up by seven a.m. and looking for things to do. Liam is the opposite. He sleeps in each morning and only rises from his grave fifteen minutes before breakfast, saying he gets too hungry otherwise.Men.
We’ve silently agreed to not speak about what we did in the spa, though I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it often.
Researching the missing people from the game has kept me entertained in the mornings, while Liam’s soft snores create a calm atmosphere in our room. The warm light from my lamp doesn’t seem to bother him at all.
The newspaper articles are far more disturbing than Liam and Lanston’s horror show. Liam doesn’t mind me snooping through his journal, so now I keep it on my desk and study it each morning. The six of them all went missing without a trace. No one ever found evidence that they’d died, but they also couldn’t prove they ever left the walls of Harlow Sanctum. Police searched, but without families reaching out and pressing their disappearances, the case went cold.
I tap my finger on the bundle of papers I brought with me to breakfast.
Liam leans in closer to my tablet and points at three of the people huddled together in a group photo. The patients stand on the steps of the rehab. I recognize them from the game photos: Charlie, Monica, and Beverly. Their faces are mischievous and a few of the orderlies are looking over at them with furrowed brows.
Lanston shuffles through the stack of paper and starts reading an article titled “Six Missing from Local Mental Hospital”.
I’ve asked myself why and how the three of us have become some hodgepodge, mentally ill trio of detectives, but you know what? What the fuck else are we going to do in a sanctum where a mystery lies unsolved? Toss pills into each other’s mouths?
Yep. Exactly.
“That’s them. Their names are on the bottom of the page,” Liam murmurs. The cafeteria is loud, so we’re not worried about anyone overhearing us at our isolated table.
“And you’ve never thought to search the grounds yourself?” I sigh as I grab one of the cherries from my plate.
Liam pops one in his mouth too and mumbles between bites, “No—of course not. This was like a decade ago, Wynn. I’m not a cold-case detective or anything, but I think it’s cute that you pretend to be.” He smiles at me. My cheeks heat, but I manage to keep a straight face. Lanston laughs and nods his agreement.
Okay, I guess I was the only one who thought the three of us were of the same mind on the detective hodgepodge thing.
“I’m not pretending to be anything.” I glare at them both before clicking the button on my tablet and the screen shuts off.
Liam raises a brow but quickly smooths his features again and sets his hand on my thigh. “Have you looked intousyet, Miss Detective?” His eyes are dark and serious, searching mine to see if I’ll lie.
“Of course not. Should I?” I click my tablet back on and pull up the search engine. He leans in close, his chest brushing against my shoulder and his lips warm on my neck. Chills course through my veins as he weaves my hair through his fingers and whispers:
“You won’t like what you find.”
I pause, instinctively tilting my head to the side as he presses a kiss to my neck.
“Why’s that?” I murmur, half desperately wishing to know and half not daring to imagine his past. My past isn’t anything I want him to look into. He’d only find a broken family and a washed-up woman who’s been through the wringer.
Broken. Like he is.
He taps on the search bar and types in his name.
Liam Waters
