Page 39 of You Were Warned: Part One

Not by choice, I automatically think, but that isn’t exactly true. I’m just a pathetic loser who has no other options. It’s not even like Vesper is my friend; I’m a pawn to her. I have accepted that to preserve my safety because deep down I don’t want to die, and I only took those pills because I feared how I would die if someone else did it. If it were guaranteed to be quick, maybe I wouldn’t be as afraid, but something tells me someone like the Jester has no interest in putting me out of my misery fast, or I’d be dead already.

We reach the edge of the zone, and Rue stops at the control box before we get to the entrance. He switches off the electric fence, touching it with his fingers to make sure the current has stopped, which only amplifies the fact that everyone here is insane and I should run far away. Yet I also know the Jester would find me, if not for any other reason than the fact that Vesper has taken me as her pet—as he calls it—and shown me interest. Rue unlocks the gate and pulls it open, then steps through. There is no sign of them as we cross the open space, and Rue says we will check the watchtower, but if they are not there, at least we will be able to find them on the cameras.

I expect to hear his bells, but then again, the Jester only makes noise when he wants people to know he’s there. I still don’t fucking understand why anyone who kills people for money would choose to cover themselves in bells, but questioning his life choices feels pointless.

“It’s awfully quiet—maybe she really did kill him.”

Rue shrugs. “Then I guess we’re carrying a body out of here.”

“You say that so casually, like it’s an everyday occurrence.”

“I wouldn’t say every day.”

He laughs as if what he just said is funny, yet how can they all be so casual about murder? It’s not normal. But I guess when you see what goes on here, you realize there is nothing normal about it, and that is coming from the man who acquires illegal things from the black market for shady-as-fuck people.

Rue reaches the stairs and starts climbing, I follow slowly behind him, balancing the coffees with one hand. I’m almost to the top when I nearly run into Rue’s back.

“What?” I ask, and he laughs.

He doesn’t answer me, just moves aside, revealing the Jester still alive. He is sitting against the wall, with Vesper curled up beside him, her head in his lap, and he looks like he just won the lottery. His smile is enormous and slightly scary.

I’m not sure how I didn’t notice it at first, but I gasp when I see his chest. He has something carved into his chest, and the skin is all red and angry, with neat stitches pulling the edges together.

Vesper opens her eyes and sits up abruptly. “This isn’t what it looks like.”

The Jester stands and stretches his arms above his head, as if he doesn’t have a chest full of stitches. “Oh, it most definitely is what it looks like.”

Vesper’s head snaps toward him. “Shut the fuck up.”

He just smiles wider. “My love, you wound me.”

Her eyes drop to his chest, and Rue loses it again. The Jester looks down at the V carved into him and runs his fingers beside the stitches, wearing an expression you could only describe as fucking delighted. Vesper glares at him as if she wants the floor to swallow her whole, or him—yeah, probably him.

I hold up the tray in my hand. “I brought coffee.”

Vesper’s entire expression changes. “Give me that.” She hurries over, and I pass her the coffee I made for her.

“Good morning to you too.”

“Morning,” she mumbles, and takes a long sip. She closes her eyes and makes a sound that hits me somewhere it shouldn’t, but clearly I’m not the only one. Jester and Rue both look at her the same way.

The Jester moves closer. He has scratches on his torso, some dried blood near the V, and what looks suspiciously like bite marks near his shoulder. As he walks toward me, I instinctively straighten. It doesn’t matter that Rue is here or Vesper—their loyalty does not lie with me. He stops directly in front of me and looks down at the tray.

“You brought me coffee, Lucky?”

“I brought everyone coffee,” I say.

“But you included me.”

“I got extra in case you were still alive, though Vesper may still kill you if she doesn’t get coffee into her fast enough.”

Vesper snorts into her cup as the Jester places one hand dramatically over the V on his chest. “She already tried.”

“Not hard enough,” she mutters.

He takes the remaining coffee from the tray and lifts it slightly toward me. “You’ve saved your life for another day.”

“Good to know coffee is all it takes.”