Page 56 of The Player

I heard the low rumble of a vehicle in the distance and my stomach rolled.

This was it.

The moment of truth.

Washeabout to mow us down in the road? Kill us right after our escape and prove to us that he always had the last laugh.

Or was this our key to freedom? The freedom we’d fought so fucking hard for.

“Stay there,” I told Bee as I walked into the middle of the road, ready to find out. If he was going to aim his car at anyone, I wanted it to be me.

I saw a silver car barrelling around the corner at speed, and I braced myself, standing firm in the middle of the road as they drew nearer. But then, the car began to slow down, and when I saw a middle-aged woman behind the wheel, all the tension in my body slowly evaporated.

It wasn’t him.

I stepped to the side of the road as the car rolled to a stop. The lady driving wound down her window and stared back at us, and with confusion and then panic in her eyes, she asked, “Are you both okay? Do you need me to call you an ambulance?”

I let out a breath.

A breath of pure relief.

We’d done it.

We’d fucking done it.

We were safe.

ChapterTwenty-Four

THE TASKMASTER

Iwas nothing if not generous. I always gave my players options, and seeing the look on their faces when they left made me grin.

But knowing that they’d played into my trap made me smile wider.

Did they really think I was going to let them go?

Just like that?

That they’d actually escaped from me?

That they’d won?

Oh no.

This was all part of my plan. They were still my puppets; I’d just moved them to a different stage. I still controlled the strings for my little marionettes, and I couldn’t wait to see their faces when they found out what I had in store for them when they got home.

Paul Masters’ game was over, but theirs wasn’t. In fact, the fun was only just beginning.

ChapterTwenty-Five

BRYONY

Iwas surprised she stopped to help us, that woman driving on her own down a country road, no other drivers in sight, no buildings, just trees and bushes all around. That, and two strangers bursting from the undergrowth, barefoot. Will’s ear was in a state. There was congealed blood all over the side of his face, and the evidence that we’d been to hell and back splattered over his shirt. Our skin was pale, our bodies still adjusting to the natural light and air around us. In short, we were a mess. We looked like something from a zombie apocalyptic movie, but she still stopped to help us, thank God. I’m not sure I’d have done the same in her situation, but I was so thankful she did.

I have to admit, at first, panic had taken a hold of me when I saw the car driving towards us.

What if it was the Taskmaster?