Chapters (68)
- Cover
- Dedication
- NOW
- One
- BEFORE
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- NOW
- Twenty-One
- BEFORE
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- NOW
- Thirty-Nine
- BEFORE
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- NOW
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- AFTER
- Fifty-Six
- Acknowledgements
- About the Author
‘THAT WILL NOT HAPPEN, MARK. YOU NEED TO HEAR THE RULES NOW. YOU DO NOT HAVE MUCH TIME. THEY WILL BE HERE VERY SOON. YOUR FIRST LEVEL IS APPROACHING. YOU NEED TO GET READY.’
‘You can’t make me kill myself,’ Mark said, wondering if he could actually do that, whether he could sacrifice his own life for someone else’s. He’d always thought he could; whether for a family member or someone he was protecting. Wasn’t that what he was doing with Natasha anyway? Wasn’t that why he was there, alone, trying to save the day?
‘THAT IS NOT THE GAME. YOU ARE GOING TO END IT. HER LIFE FOR YOURS.’
Mark didn’t understand, a wave of tiredness washing over him suddenly. He didn’t want to be there anymore. He wanted to start over. Never hear the name Emily Burns again. Never hear about any damn game.
He wanted it to be over.
‘WILL YOU ACCEPT?’
‘What are the rules?’ Mark said, hearing the resignation in his voice and being surprised by it. ‘How do I play?’
‘IT IS VERY SIMPLE. THE GAME NEEDS A WINNER. YOU WILL BE THAT WINNER.’
Mark wished for transparency. For normalcy. Anything that wasn’t cryptic bullshit. ‘You’re going to have to give me more than that. Or just come out and face me like a man. Oh, sorry, I forgot what you’re all like. Whiny little boys who can’t take rejection. A woman doesn’t like me, so I have to kill her.’
There was silence over the phone, then a scream. It lingered for a second or two, then was cut off and silence fell again.
‘Was that…’
‘I WILL KILL HER NOW, MARK. NO GAME. IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?’
Mark gritted his teeth against the words that threatened to spill from his mouth. His jaw tensed, sharp pain in his knuckles, as he dragged a fist along the rough brick of the garages.
‘ARE YOU READY TO PLAY?’
He thought about trying to find her instead. With no leads, no idea where she could be.
‘Let me think,’ Mark said quickly, trying to work out a way out of this. He could speak to Cavanagh, tell him the truth – what they were trying to make him do. He might believe him. They would see Natasha was missing and that could be enough, he thought.
‘WE WILL KNOW,’ the voice said, as if he was reading his mind. ‘IF THEY COME LOOKING FOR US, WE WILL KNOW YOU LIED. THAT YOU ARE NOT PLAYING.’
Mark couldn’t think straight. The only thought in his mind was of Natasha, alone and scared. That was enough. ‘Fine,’ Mark managed to say, the word being forced out through a barely open mouth.
‘THEN I WILL TELL YOU THE RULES.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘FIRST LEVEL. YOU ARE GOING TO CONFESS.’
‘That’s ridiculous…’