Treachery

“Who’s got the absinthe?” I ask.

We spike it with a little something special so the ru

“I’m not drinking it,” Clayton roars, but I jam my elbow in a little harder.

Leaning down so I’m talking quietly against the bag over his head, I explain, “We have proof you tried to have your ex-wife run over in a parking lot, dipshit.”

Actually, we don’t. All we have is Melody’s word. But he doesn’t know that.

“That’s conspiracy to commit murder. Good for twenty years in prison now that your daddy can’t save your ass anymore. So, unless you want that going public, too, I’d become a hell of a lot more cooperative.”

Several seconds pass before he whimpers, “I’ll drink it.”

A grin stretches my lips. “I thought you might.”

I pull him up into a sitting position, rip the bag from his head and take the bottle from Sawyer’s outstretched hand. Shaking it in Clayton’s direction, I can’t help the feral smile on my face.

“You shouldn’t have tried to kill Luca or trashed her apartment.”

I slam the bottle against his chest, but confusion flashes across Clayton’s expression.

“I didn’t trash her apartment.”

“Don’t lie-“

“I didn’t,” he insists. “I’m not lying. Yes, I did the parking lot thing, but I didn’t trash her place.”

Then who the fuck did that? My thoughts wander back to our fathers, but now is not the time to worry about it.

“Just drink the absinthe, and shut the hell up.”

He brings the bottle to his lips but hesitates to drink, his brows tugging together, pure hatred leveled on my face.

Tugging it away without taking the first sip, he narrows his pathetic stare on me.

“Why do you even care? You hate Luca. You did everything you could to ruin her life.”

I don’t answer, but then I don’t need to. My expression says it all.

Clayton lunges forward, almost spilling the bottle, but Jase grabs it while Sawyer puts Clayton in a chokehold from behind.

“You son of a bitch! You’re together with her! I fucking knew you always wanted her for yourself.”

His words cut off when Sawyer tightens his arm, Clayton’s eyes bulging as red hatred colors his skin.

Grabbing the bottle from Jase, I hold it out to Clayton again.

“I’m giving you one more chance. I suggest you drink, or your life is about to get a hell of a lot worse.”

Sawyer eases his hold and Clayton snatches the bottle from my hand. He tilts the bottle to his lips and chugs it down while his eyes are locked to mine.

I take it from him when the liquid is a third of the way down.

“That should do it. We wouldn’t want to accidentally kill you in this process.”

Beneath us, the van’s tires bump over uneven ground, tree branches scraping the sides with a sick metallic sound as we squeeze down a narrow road to the location the twins found.

Eventually, the road opens up to a larger field, the van lurching to a stop. Gabriel throws it into park and kills the engine. I watch as Clayton’s pupils dilate as the alcohol takes effect.

I smile at him. “How are you feeling, Clayton? Ready for a run?”

It’s not fair, this game. It never has been. But the gauntlet was never intended to be an easy choice when a person didn’t want to pay. If anything, it was meant to be a deterrent, but some people seem to think they’re capable of overcoming the terror we’re capable of delivering.

They’re not.

“We all ready, boys and girls?”

All seven of us turn to look at Gabriel.

Jase is the first to say something. “There isn’t any pussy in this van, asshole.”

Gabe grins and nudges his chin at Clayton. “You sure about that?”

Low laughter fills the space, and we start the process of climbing out. I drag Clayton along, noticing the fact that he’s already stumbling, while the rest of them gather up the last of the props such as the horn and our masks. Shane runs ups to join us after parking Clayton’s car.

When we reach the trailhead where the twins set two torches on either side, Ezra runs up to light them and I lead Clayton to the front.

He’s terrified already. Really, I could just drag him home now, tuck him into bed, and he’d piss himself in his dreams. But that would be too easy.

Snapping my fingers in his face, I get him to focus.

“You remember the rules, right?”

When he doesn’t answer, I make sure we’re all on the same page.

“First horn gives you thirty minutes to run and hide. Second is when the first wave comes after you. Third is when the second wave moves in. And the fourth time you hear the horn blow, the last three of us start the chase. You have two hours to hide from us. But if you’re found...”

I shake my head and leave it at that, my eyes tipping up to look at Sawyer from over Clayton’s shoulder. He grins and tips the horn to his mouth, his chest expanding just before the first loud bellow sounds.

Clayton flinches, and I tap his cheek.

“Run along. Let’s hope we don’t find you.”

Clayton takes off on unsteady legs, disappearing into the darkness of the woods with only moonlight to light his way. He won’t get far. They never do. Usually just the shadow of the tree branches is enough to freak them out and make them cower.

What we make them drink works to our advantage and not theirs.

Ezra, Damon and Shane strip off their shirts and slip on their devil masks to take first round, all nine of us waiting quietly to listen and determine what direction Clayton took.

Sawyer tilts his head left when a twig cracks in the distance, the corner of his mouth curling up.

When the time is up, he blows the horn, and the first three take off on heavy steps, a loud stampede as they head in the same direction as Clayton.

We listen for a while, all six of us standing around while the wind whips the fire in the torches.

“Damn, it’s been forever since we’ve done this,” Gabriel says as he steps beside me. “We should start it up again. I kind of miss it.”

I glance at him and laugh. “Are you saying you want to chase Ivy through the woods?”

“Not with you jackasses, but on my own wouldn’t be too bad.”

Laughing at that, I watch as Jase, Mason and Taylor strip down, smirks on their faces when we hear a high-pitched shriek in the distance.

“Fuck,” Jase complains. “I hate when they find him so quick.”

Catching his gaze, I remind him, “They’ll let him go again. It’s more fun when they’re ru

“Second round, gentlemen. Have fun.” Sawyer blows the horn and the three of them slip on their masks to take off.

Only three of us are left waiting to enter.

Immediately, we hear shouting in the distance and know Clayton was released so they can round him up again.

“This really is pretty shitty of us,” Sawyer comments. “I’d feel bad if it wasn’t so much fun.”

“You say that every time,” I joke.

He shrugs. “It’s fun every time.”

In the distance, we hear more yelling, and I wonder if Clayton got caught up in any of the net traps we set.

I let my head fall back as I round my shoulders.

Even if this finishes things with Clayton, it doesn’t finish things entirely. Not if someone else trashed Luca’s apartment. Tension sets into my muscles as my thoughts chase that particular thread.

“What’s on your mind?”

Glancing at Gabriel, I grin because the son of a bitch knows me so well. “Clayton didn’t trash Luca’s place.”