Page 21
Story: Seducer (Legacy of Kings #2)
CHAPTER 21
S ara
Level three.
I’d been stuck on level three of Dark Nights for over two hours. After breezing through levels one and two, I’d thought for certain I could control the events. Boy, was I wrong. I’d been consumed with the game since returning home from my interesting evening with Zach. I still tingled every time I thought about what had occurred.
He’d thrown a few cookie crumbs in my direction about the Obsidian Society. The information he’d ‘planted’ had seemed far too organized to me, not something he’d whipped together with an hour’s notice. Now, in hindsight, what I’d read hadn’t been a smoking gun, but I’d seen names of candidates, dossiers developed by someone to weed out the riffraff.
So here I was, returning to the game after lying about developing a stomachache so I could leave work early. I had to master the game, or I’d have no hope of getting anywhere. If I was provided with an invitation. That remained to be seen.
I hadn’t been paying any attention to my surroundings, completely absorbed in the gory, seductive Dark Nights world. The headset was phenomenal, the graphics absolutely stunning and so real. However, at this point the game had been tame in comparison to what I’d heard being discussed in the breakroom. It seemed at least sixty percent of the people who worked at Blackwell played the game every once in a while.
I gleaned a lot by just hanging around. Too bad I’d yet to use the tidbits I’d learned.
When something touched my shoulder, I initially believed it was part of the game. When I realized it wasn’t, a loud shriek erupted from my lungs.
“Jesus Christ, sis. That was right in my ear.”
I ripped off the headset, spinning around to face Kyle. “What are you doing here?” I heard the demanding tone in my voice and he snorted.
“I came to tell you I did what you asked.”
Exhaling, I placed the headset on the coffee table, trying nonchalantly to turn off the game before he realized what I was playing. Only my brother didn’t miss a thing, as observant if not more so than I was.
He frowned, already frustrated.
“So, what did you do?” I interrupted his thought process, hopeful he’d forget about it.
“I went to the school. I groveled to everyone who would listen to me and I was sincere about it.” He gave me his best imitation of a puppy dog look, something he’d used on me from day one of me becoming his surrogate mother. I hadn’t bought it then and I certainly didn’t now, although I was hopeful others did. He could look very sincere when he wanted to.
“And?”
“And I’m back in as of Monday. With conditions.”
“Which are?”
“That I stay completely out of trouble and volunteer to wash down the common building with a few other guys.”
“Which you did with glee in your voice.”
Kyle shrugged, immediately glancing toward the headset again. “Yeah, I did. Just like you asked. Now, what are you doing?”
“What do you mean?”
He glanced at the big, fat watch, one of the few things I’d snagged for him from our father. He’d worn it since he was twelve. Back then he’d been skinny, the watch too big for him. Now I couldn’t imagine him without it.
“You’re home early from work and you’re playing a video game. Why?”
It was my turn to shrug. “I thought it would be good for my job to at least get through it once. You know? I do want to advance my career.” Technically I wasn’t lying.
“You’re so talented. You could work anywhere.”
“Why are you suddenly down on the Blackwell Group?”
He gave me a strange look and started to walk away. I grabbed his arm.
“Don’t do that. If you know or suspect something about the company, you need to tell me.”
“I don’t know anything for certain. I just hear things. You know? I have buddies trying to break into the field. They do research. I just heard the Blackwell brothers are strange dudes. Plus, there’s this big story that their father was some hard-core serial killer. Beats to shit what our dad did.”
He was laughing and I was furious. “Don’t do that. You have no understanding of what our father did and how he was trying to protect us.”
“Oh, yeah, by working with the mafia. Some legacy we grew up with.”
That much he’d gleaned from television reporters.
I was shocked with myself when I slapped him, so much so I pressed both hands over my mouth and took a step back. His eyes highlighted the hurt and surprise I’d anticipated.
“I’m sorry, Kyle. That was horrible of me.”
“No, it wasn’t. I know we’re not allowed to talk about him and I didn’t experience what you did. I just… I just wish we were normal. You know, a real family.”
“I thought we were a real family.”
“You know what I mean. With a mom and dad, aunts and uncles. I can’t even talk about my parents to anyone. Not allowed.” Kyle had never mentioned our parents to this degree, not after the first few months they’d been murdered. There, I’d thought it finally for the first time in months, maybe years.
“I did my best.” I tried to turn away before he noticed tears in my eyes.
“Hey, sis. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. You’ve spent years trying to give me a safe environment to grow up in. I won’t forget that. I just need to talk about them sometimes. You know?”
“I do. I really do. I wish they were here too. That’s why I’m trying to ensure we have a better life. There’s this possibility I could move very far within the company if I play this game and make it through. Maybe it’s a pipe dream, but right now, it’s all I have to grasp onto.”
“I promise I’ll graduate. Maybe it’ll take a little time to get a good job, but I will.”
I touched his arm. “I know you will. But I’m not going to suddenly place the burden on you. So. Will you teach me what you know about the game? Pretty please?”
He groaned and rolled his eyes. “I can’t see doing this with my sister.”
“Well, stick with the violent side of combat. I’ll figure out the other.”
“Duh! I hope you’re ready for this. It’s brutal.”
“Why not? Life has been brutal. You know?”
He shook his head. I did hope I knew what I was doing.
I heard the shrill sound of the doorbell above the crazy music. Somehow. When I hit pause, I waited to make certain I wasn’t hearing things. The hard pounding was a clear indication I hadn’t been. That’s when I noticed it was dark outside. Shit. What time was it?
After tossing the headset, I grabbed my phone. Lordy. It was almost nine. Oh, no. I’d forgotten all about going to the fabulous new club with Tina. I’d forced myself to purchase a dress that would be perfect for a different, but sensual Wild One look while not being recognized. That had kept the expenses down. With everything going on, I really wanted to back out of going.
I was panting and that had been from managing to get to level eighteen, only three away from the end. I’d shifted to the sexual side of the program, currently being chased through haunted woods. Creatures of all shapes and sizes had ventured from the shadows.
But there was only one who’d become determined to hunt me down, taking what he’d tried to claim on the leaderboard.
My body surrendering to his.
I’d envisioned Zach the entire time. Ridiculous and unsettling, but tasty as fuck.
I was standing right in front of my large picture window. While the lights were mostly dim, given I was playing the game, the single one Kyle had turned on before he’d left illuminated a section of the glass. The warm glow drew my attention to the fact I’d been so absorbed I hadn’t closed the blinds.
Instinct had me moving toward it, preferring to do so before seeing who was behind the door. As soon as I was close, my gaze was captured by someone standing near the streetlight, but not directly under it.
And I’d be goddamned if my eyes were playing tricks on me. Whoever it was stood in all black wearing a mask.
Another Purge-style mask, the neon blue lights indicating eyes, a nose, and a terrifying looking mouth easy to make out even from where I was standing. A shiver coursed through me and I inched as close as possible, steaming up the glass almost instantly with my hot breath. While I blinked several times, I sensed my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me.
There was someone watching the building. More specifically, watching me.
“Zach,” I whispered, although given the distance, I certainly couldn’t feel the usual electricity shared between us.
I could swear the person tilted his head, even waving at me. What the fuck?
Before I had a chance to step back, my senses were jarred by another harder knock on the door.
A slight gasp escaped my lips and I immediately turned, taking long strides toward the entrance.
As soon as I threw open the door, Tina’s eyes opened wide.
“You look like shit. Are you sick? I know you left work early. I tried to call you like three times to see if you still wanted to go tonight.”
“I’m not sick. I just… I’ve had a long few days. Nothing more. I needed a little me time.” I glanced over my shoulder. What was Zach doing standing down there? Did he plan on coming up? I licked my lips and Tina cleared her throat. “Sorry. Come in.”
She swept into my apartment as she always did, immediately concentrating on the headset. “I thought you had virtual reality head. You’ve been playing Dark Nights. Haven’t you?”
“I thought it best for me to learn.”
“You’re dead set on that Obsidian Society thing. Aren’t you?”
“I’m interested in learning if there is any truth to the rumor. So what?”
“So, I can’t stop you. Can I?”
“Nope.”
As soon as I glanced toward the window again, she moved in front of me. “What is going on? You act like someone is standing outside your window staring at you.”
“Do me a favor. See if there is. Right by the streetlight.”
Tina appeared confused, but did as I asked, heading to the window and peering out. “There are a few cars rolling by, but I don’t see anyone out walking. What did you think you saw?”
I rushed closer, slapping my hand on the glass. “Shit.”
“God. You’re scaring me. Tell me what you think you saw.”
“A man standing in a mask. You know, one of those Purge masks. He was watching me. But I could see his glowing eyes.”
Tina coughed and looked again. “I might be wrong about this, but I seriously doubt if you could make out if someone was wearing a mask from three stories in the sky even if it was glowing. Maybe someone was out walking their dog and had one of those glow in the dark collars and leashes.”
“I know what I saw!” I snapped. “Shit. Sorry. I just… I think someone has been following me.”
“Really?”
“Yep.” I couldn’t tell her the entire story. I would sound like some lunatic, but I’d begun to wonder if Zach had been the only one following me. This morning, I’d seen a car and it wasn’t like the ones Zach owned. I was almost positive it was a dark blue sedan. They’d followed me to work.
God. Was I starting to lose it?
“I don’t like the sound of what you’re telling me, but I did hear that’s how candidates are sized up physically. First, their gaming expertise is tested. They’re given a mental evaluation with one of those personality tests. They are checked out, or maybe you’d call it being stalked. Then the real fun begins with a real-life experience or two.”
“For someone who insisted the game wasn’t real and you didn’t know much, you certainly do know a lot more than I thought you would.”
“Well, okay. The guy I was dating told me some stuff, but it changes every year. I might be wrong.”
I glanced out the window, seeing no one. Not a soul. Either I was losing it, or the stalker didn’t want to be seen. “I don’t know what to think any longer. Maybe I’m just imagining things.”
“Or maybe you’re on the short list. Which is what you wanted.”
“There’s only one problem with that theory. I haven’t been sent an invitation.”
She appeared almost dejected. “Oh. Well, maybe this is how they mix it up and until your skills are tested, you won’t get an invitation.”
I thought about her idea and sighed. “Maybe, but I’m not sure if I’m up for going out to this club,” I admitted. Truth be told, I was more interested in finishing the game tonight if nothing else. That meant nothing in the scheme of life except for personal satisfaction, but I didn’t care.
Tina sighed. “You’re not sick.”
“No. I’m fine.”
“You skipped out of work early pretending to be sick so you could play a game.”
“Ouch. Okay, yes,” I groaned.
“You’re infatuated with one of our big bosses and don’t you dare deny it.”
Now I cringed visibly and she noticed it, sticking her finger out at me.
“Admit it or I’ll let the gossipiest girl at work you know,” she teased.
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Bet me.”
I gave her a finger in an entirely different way. “Fine. Yes, I think the man is handsome. So what?”
“You could be on the short list to get a chance at this insane fantasy of yours.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
“You put all that together and you are coming with me to the club. Think of it as research. Think of it as knowing deep inside whether you could honestly handle the primal games they play. Because if what I’ve heard is true, the experience at the club will be mild in comparison.”
I chewed on my bottom lip. She had a damn good point. “Fine. I’ll go get changed. But we go through it once and that’s it.”
“Somehow, I have a feeling once will be enough.”