Page 103 of Let the Game Begin

“God!” Logan flinched back, as if to protect himself from the shocking figure, but I watched the angel as it spun, accompanied by the delicate yet macabre melody. Eventually, I spotted a small note carefully folded up and tucked between its wings.

“Logan.” I swallowed hard and tapped his shoulder, pointing out the paper.

He set the music box down on the coffee table in front of us and grabbed the note to read it:

An angel whose wings have been clipped, deprived of its own glow,

thrown into the darkest shadows, unable for so long to see the sun’s light…

An angel who did not know the word HATE, an angel who did not

condemn the wounded rose, an angel who learned to dance

in the darkness, transforming itself into the worst of devils,

transforming its world into the worst of Hells.

The Devil is in the details.

The Devil is also with you.

The mystery of the music box.

Player 2511

Logan and I remained silent for an unknowable amount of time. The sender was Player 2511 again, and this note had also been typed and printed. My heart was pounding like a jackhammer against my rib cage. I looked over at Logan and saw that he was as shocked as I was. Neither of us knew what to do or say in that moment.

The sound of footsteps drew our attention to the marble staircase in the center of the room. Neil. His black sweatshirt clung to his chest, displaying its breadth and strength. His easy, masculine presence sidetracked my train of thought, making me forget for a second the situation we were in.

We didn’t need to explain anything to him. Neil stopped right before the table and stared at that damned music box. The he looked at the open package and the note in his brother’s hand. “Him again?” I could hear concern in his voice.

Logan nodded and handed him the piece of paper. Neil’s golden eyes flickered over the ominous words, and his face twisted into a focused, thoughtful expression.

“Does it mean anything to you, Neil?” Logan asked. Neil threw the note back onto the coffee table and glared at the music box.

“No, I have no idea what it means,” he answered. He ran a hand over his face while the other went to his hip. For the first time, he seemed agitated as well.

“I think we should go to the police,” I said, and his honey-colored eyes snapped to me. I sucked in a breath at the force of his stare, which had pinned me to the sofa as surely as if he’d done it with his large, strong hands.

“And tell them what? All we could do is file a worthless complaint against an unknown person and nothing would come of it,” he bit out, making me flinch.

“I’m just suggesting solutions. You don’t need to snap at me like that.” I scolded him, regarding him with narrowed eyes.

“Calm down, everyone.” Logan cut in to defuse the tension. “Try to think, Neil. Could it be someone you know? Maybe one of the Krew?”he asked thoughtfully, but Neil tossed his head and gave him a mocking smile.

“I know you hate them, little brother, but my friends would never do something like this to me. Not tome, for fuck’s sake!” he answered firmly, pointing at himself as though it were impossible to even imagine such a thing happening.

To be fair, Neil wasn’t just a member of the Krew, he was clearly their leader. Someone whom both Luke and Xavier seemed to fear quite a bit, which I’d seen for myself on several occasions.

“I’m just trying to figure this out,” Logan argued, getting to his feet.

“Planting doubts about the Krew? Nice move, bro.” Neil winked at Logan and ran a hand through his chestnut hair, ruffling it.

“Would you really be surprised if it was them?” Logan insisted. “They’re insane, and that blond you’re screwing beat the crap out of Selene not even two weeks ago!” he shouted, then turned to point at me. Neil turned to me as well and examined me thoughtfully. A shadow passed over his face, further darkening his grim expression before he turned back to his brother.

“That blond I’m screwing,” he repeated pointedly, “has learned her lesson, and she, like the others, knows not to touch Selene again.”

They were talking about me like I wasn’t even in the room and had no say in this matter. Yet, I felt strangely…protected.