Page 29 of Cut Her Strings (Fractured Puppets #1)

Chapter 28

Rabbit Hole

I was beginning to think it wasn’t bad luck. The Sponsors or whoever was in charge were out to get me. Maybe it was the Host?

I shivered. He’d called me bunny, something I hadn’t been called since I was a little girl. Quick and quiet, like a bunny. I shook the thoughts from my head; I didn’t have the time to go down that literal rabbit hole.

I realized Maverick and Levi were just staring at Enzo. “What the fuck was that?” Maverick demanded.

“Not now,” Enzo rasped out, his typical light voice was drenched in misery.

I could tell that Maverick wanted to keep prodding. “Let up, will you?” I cut in, grabbing hold of Maverick’s wrist.

Maverick easily shook free from my grip and turned his wrath onto me, “Do not tell me what to do. This is your fault! They clearly targeted you in this. And now my brother is going to be in that fucking sleepover with you!” he spat in my face.

I gritted my teeth but didn’t give him a further reaction. His words were exactly what I had been thinking—I was targeted.

“Knock it off.” Jayce shoved Maverick away from me. “We are all upset. Tensions are high. But instead of turning on each other. As they. Clearly. Wanted. Us. To. Do,” he bit each word off. “We need level heads. They’ll have the majority in whatever this is with 195 as an ally.”

“But can we even trust him?” It was Jayce’s turn to be on the receiving end of Maverick’s fury.

“Maybe not, but 197 will direct 195 to keep her safe at the very least. And she can use that to keep Enzo in the fold. Now stop being a jackass. We’re all upset. We have a lot to process,” Jayce continued. Had he swapped bodies with Maverick? The typically hot-headed Jayce spoke with chilly determination.

“The longer we are here, the more secrets will come out,” I stated, putting my attention on the still ashen Enzo. “We can’t let them break us, at least not until after we make it through this.” I turned my attention to the rest of the men. “Any clues on who 87 is? I can’t put a player to the number.”

Maverick finally seemed to get his emotions under control. I couldn’t believe I had kissed the man just earlier. What had possessed me? Maverick pulled his notebook from his back pocket and began flipping through it.

“This year’s games seems to be a culmination of the other four. They are going through phases; I imagine you will go through a power of wills or something similar. 87.” He flipped through a few more pages. “Here he is.” Maverick scanned the page. “Good news or bad news first?”

I laughed like anything he said was going to be good news. “Just rip the bandage please. ”

“He is skilled. He was in the Brutality Faction, and I overheard him talking to his teammates. His name is Jeremy.”

“Wait a minute!” I turned to Jayce, “Didn’t you used to fight a Jeremy back at our facility?”

Jayce nodded his head slowly in contemplation. “And he joined the Brutality Faction with me. Anything on how large the guy is?” He directed the question to Maverick.

“Huge.”

Jayce grimaced. “I am going to go ahead and take a wild stab in the dark and say it’s him. I know he made it out after Nightingale set off the bomb, but I heard he was captured later. He isn’t a good guy.”

“Are any of us?” I scoffed.

Maverick ignored me entirely. “He also worked with 189’s team in the last game. And he has three other people in his group. He is on my list to watch out for. You will both need to be careful how you play this.”

Levi wrapped me in his arms, and I didn’t realize how much I needed the security. He engulfed my body in his much larger one and nuzzled into my neck. “Be careful, darlin’. I am going to miss you.” He gave me a soft, longing kiss, and with one last squeeze, he let me go.

Jayce didn’t even appear annoyed; he simply mimicked Levi, scooping me up in his arms. He feathered kisses down the other side of my neck. “You’re going to be okay, sweet girl.”

I couldn’t tell if the words were to reassure me or himself, but I gave him a heated kiss in answer. I licked the seam of his lips and claimed his mouth. Jayce didn’t fight me; he allowed me to own him, even if just for a few moments. I ended the kiss and smiled at the two of them. I wasn’t exactly sure what we were doing, but the two men caused a vice to squeeze around my heart, and I felt myself caring more and more every day for both men. Levi’s strength was a comfort through this all. And Jayce? I didn’t realize how much I had missed having him to rely on after years of being alone.

“We’ll be safe. We’ll be back in no time.”

I spared Maverick a glance and caught the unmistakable jealousy in his eyes. That was another future problem.

I untangled myself from Jayce. “I need to shower and get dressed for whatever this is going to be.”