Page 31 of You Were Warned: Part One

I shrug. “Depends on how it ends.” The Jester shifts positions, setting himself up to be found. “He could end up six feet underground by the end of the night, or they could get this out of their systems and fuck, which has been inevitable for a while.”

“And what happens to me?”

“I think you know the answer to that. You’re just a pawn in this game, but right now what other option do you have?”

Jensen shrugs. Vesper has found the Jester again, and he seems to be leading her right where he wants her. But I know Vesper, and she would also know what he is doing.

“He won’t hurt her, right?”

“I have no idea,” I say honestly. “My money is on her hurting him. She’s tougher than she looks.”

Jensen watches Vesper move. “Should we help her?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Very. She can hold her own, and she has once before. Look, you have been dragged into something that was already brewing. Tonight it ends, one way or another.”

The Jester steps from behind a prop into the open, drawing her out. He is done with letting her hunt him. Vesper comes around the corner and stops, the camera showing their stare-off.

“What’s she saying?”

“The audio cuts out in this zone.”

Vesper closes the distance between them. The knife in her right hand is pointing down, so whatever they are saying, he hasn’t given her a reason to attack yet—but he will.

Jensen watches on beside me. “She is going to make him bleed.”

“That’s exactly what he wants—just be patient.”

“And what, he will just let her?” Jensen asks, as if it’s the most absurd thing he has ever heard.

“Yes.”

She raises the knife, and the Jester’s mouth keeps moving, but whatever he says makes her freeze. Jensen sucks in a breath as Vesper lunges and takes them both down to the ground, then straddles his waist.

He reaches up and captures her wrist—the one with the knife—then pulls it down slowly until the blade sits against his chest, slicing through the fabric of his clothes.

“What the hell is he doing?”

“If I had to guess, he is making a point.”

“That is the most insane thing I’ve ever seen.”

I have to disagree, but then again, I have seen some strange things in my life, and a lot of them occurred while I’ve been here.

Vesper hasn’t pulled the knife away; instead, she is looking down at him. “I have a feeling he is putting his cards on the table.”

The Jester releases her wrist as he smirks, and Vesper raises the knife again.

“This is our cue to leave,” I say, and Jensen opens his mouth. “Now.”

“But . . . what if she kills him?”

I shrug. “Then she kills him.”

“What are you going to do?”