How much longer can he really last?
How many more slices to his pretty skin?
How many more days without eating solid food or drinking actual water?
“I want him unchained,” I demand as Mr. Volli laughs, turning back to the camera.
“You’re learning to ask for what you want,” he continues, pausing briefly, likely listening to the Slayer’s words in his ear. “You deserve nice things, Mia.” I ignore his use of my birth name—there’s no point in even trying here—but I’m not going to ignore the fact that Parrish needs my help. Desperately. “It’s important to speak up for yourself.”
I think about the comments online, about how all of the Slayer’s victims were wealthy.
“What if I … take a baseball bat to the headmistress’ car?” I offer, because he seems to like that, forcing me to destroy things. Both Maxx and Chasm turn to look at me, but I ignore them. The headmistress of Whitehall Prep drives a Lamborghini, kid you not. I saw it earlier today, and it stuck out at me.
“Not good enough,” Mr. Volli replies almost immediately, his mask catching the light. I see that he’s still in the wine cellar. So the bed was brought down to Parrish, rather than the other way around. That tells me something.
Regardless of what I bargain for, this is the room where Parrish will remain.
I study the bed, the sheets, the blanket, the mattress, looking for clues.
“Aren’t you upset about what happened today?” he asks me, and I hate that he somehow seems to know everything that’s going on in my life. Justin’s watching me, obviously. Through hacking? Was there a camera in the school hallway today or did he get that information some other way? “You were attacked, by your own girlfriend.”
“Attacked?” Parrish’s voice is weak as he turns his face back in our direction. He blinks a few times, seemingly gathering himself together enough to look at me. “Maxx?” Now that seems to surprise the shit out of him. “What are you …”
“I’m here to help,” X promises, the strength in his voice a comforting addition to a horrible situation. “Whatever it takes, Parrish. I’m here.”
“You can’t let people walk all over you, Mia,” Mr. Volli continues, lounging on the bed like this is a typical father-daughter conversation. Only … Mr. Volli is not my father. If my bio dad is actually in there, then he’s a coward. A fucking coward. “If you’re feeling angry, take a baseball bat to Lumen’s car. Danyella’s. The students at that school are not your friends, they never were.” He turns back around to look at Parrish before adjusting his gaze to mine. “Destroy as many cars as you can, but don’t get caught. Then I’ll unchain him for you. He can have free reign to do whatever he wants inside this room—I’ll even let him use the bathroom across the hall twice a day. It has a lovely, tiled shower with a bench seat. Isn’t that nice?”
Fuck.
How am I supposed to pull something like that off?
“If you don’t want to, that’s alright. This isn’t a directive from me, Mia. If you need to rest, make sure you do so. You’ve been through a lot today.”
The call ends and Chasm curses.
“This is insane,” Maxx breathes out, turning away toward the window that looks out at the lake. He stares through the upper half of the glass; the bottom half is frosted and opaque for privacy. “How are we supposed to do this? There are cameras all over that garage.”
“I’ll take care of the cameras,” Chasm offers, and I feel my stomach drop. If he keeps doing things like this, he’ll get caught. His entire future is at risk here. “We’ll hit the garage together.”
“No,” I snap, my voice far more forceful than I intended. I give him a look. “You can help with the cameras, but you’re not coming out there with me. If I get caught, oh well. My grades are only passable because of you, and I’m not destined to rule the world the way you are. I’ll deal with the fallout.”
“Don’t do that,” Chasm warns me, moving so close to me that I’m forced to take a step back, my ass bumping into the bathroom counter. “Don’t put yourself down like that. Parrish is my best friend, remember. This isn’t all on you.”
“This isn’t just on either of you,” X inserts, stepping between us and forcing Chasm back a step. Chas scowls at him but moves away from me. “I know a way to get into the school through the hedge maze. I’ll bring a bat and take care of it. Just coordinate with me, okay?”
“I can’t let you do that,” I start, but he gives me such a sharp look that I stop talking. Maxx has a bit of that … I don’t know, dominant alpha male thing going on? I’m not sure how I feel about it, to be honest. Do I like it? Do I want to slap him? Both?
