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The space between Laurence and I feels like a distance not worth keeping anymore.
Arriving back in his room, I found him standing, waiting. His hands were in his pockets, his hair disheveled. He looked too perturbed for how handsome he was.
Only a day has passed since we’ve had a true moment alone, and that already feels like too much. I don’t know at what point I started to really feel thisneedfor him, to have him close, to know what he’s thinking, but it was starting to take over. I’ve fought it because I didn’t want to be influenced by the events of the games, but I couldn’t deny thedrawI felt toward him, especially when he was filling up the room with his commanding energy, so palpable I could lick it.
But when I take a step toward him, his unpleasant expression doesn’t change. He’s still upset with me, but even when he was upset, he still helped me, still kissed me the way he did. It’s a kiss I can’t stop thinking about and want more of. Finally having him alone again in his rooms, I crave something so much deeper.
I just have to find a way to topple this wall between us.
When I take another step, he halts me with a hand. There’s a steady moment of silence, and a measured breath as he closes his eyes for a second. “You were being targeted today,” he says quietly, and my hands turn to fists at my sides.
“What do you mean? It seemed like the whole game was designed to be a trick.”
“Exactly.” Laurence’s eyes land on me, blue and dangerous. “That wasn’t how I designed the game. They were trying tocatch you on a technicality, and by throwing Carrick in there…” He halts himself, his own hands clenching into fists at his side. They unclench as he steps away, beginning to pace the room. I’m glued to my spot as he continues, more flustered than I’ve ever seen him. “Carrickshouldn’thave been in the contestants. They were only supposed to be Advocates, but whatever strings he pulled got him a chance to be with you, to alter the game.”
“So they changed the rules you wrote?”
“The ones Vaughn and I came up with, yes.” He rubs his temples. “I’ve been spending time in the processing center, per Terrence’s request of our deal, but also to investigate it more. I sent one of the expire Players to you.”
“I know. Aurelia. She couldn’t share much with me. She was too afraid.”
Laurence looks up from being lost in thought. “I sent her to you because Carrick was her Advocate.”
“Well, that explains it then,” I say, her fear starting to make sense. When I asked her to tell me everything she knew of the Echelon Society, she froze, her eyes widening as she started to panic so badly I steered us away from the topic. She was more content to do my makeup. I always knew Carrick was a shady guy, but the more time I spend around him in these games, the more I think he’s not up to anything good. “So what does this mean?”
“As far as I know, Carrick appears to have a trend of developing relations with women and recruiting them for the games. He’s very particular about who he chooses, and very adamant about ensuring they’re his Players.”
“But why? What do Aurelia and I have in common?”
Laurence’s brow pinches together. “Didn’t she tell you?”
“No, when I asked her to tell me everything she knew about the Echelon Society, she could barely get a word out. Shepractically fled the room. I thought I had her close, but it was too much.”
Laurence turns to face me, closing some of the space between us. He meets my gaze, and says, “Both of your fathers are in jail for the same thing.”
I think my heart stops. Aurelia and Iareconnected. The truth of that sinks in, but only barely. I don’t have enough information to assume what Laurence is insinuating about Carrick. “For money laundering?”
Laurence gives one nod, my thoughts churning at a million miles a minute.
“Are they innocent?” I ask with surprise, my breath short. If my father was innocent… then I had no reason to even be here.
“No. Unfortunately, they are very guilty. But from what I have been able to dig up, their crimes were connected.”
I cross my arms over my chest, my thoughts stirring at a pace too rapid for me to make sense of the information Laurence is telling me, and why, and what Carrick has to do with it all.
“Are you saying…” I couldn’t finish the question, could barely even finish the thought. To think that Carrick intentionally tracked me down,manipulated me, attempted to ensnare me as his Player in order to put me in a position of blackmail, to potentially be trapped here forever… I looked up at Laurence, rage boiling up within me, “How many of his Players are trapped here?”
“All of them from the past five years. I’m in the process of digging up their connections to you and Aurelia.”
My head starts to spin. The floor starts to tip. Anger pounded my heart so fast I could hear its throbbing pulse in my temples. The walls started to feel too close, this island too small, all this more elaborate than I thought.
I’ve been ensnared in a game I didn’t even know I was signing up for.
Stupid, stupid, stupid,I told myself, dropping my face into my hands and dragging them up and over my hair.
“What about the other girls?” I ask, my voice turning frantic. “What about Lily? Are they wrapped up in this, too? Are they connected?”
“As far as I can tell, it’s just you. You are Carrick’s target. He attempted to get you as his Player today. He’s threatened by you, Blue. His biggest mistake was underestimating you from the moment The Bidding began, and how many men would desire you. I don’t think he ever imagined you getting stolen right out from under him.”
