I flip myself over, not liking the idea of the boys at my back and tear the black bag off my face. The three brothers loom over me, my position from the dirty ground making them look like fucking giants. Their hard stares are locked on me but with those creepy-as-fuck black masks, it’s impossible to get a read on them.
The brother in the middle takes a step toward me and I scramble back, my heels pushing in the dirt as I quickly take note of my surroundings. I’m in some kind of overgrown garden, but it’s not like anything I’ve ever seen before.
The brother keeps moving toward me as the other two flank his sides, moving as one. “Wha … what are you doing?” I rush out, my eyes wide as I watch their creepy little act while desperately trying to scramble away.
They step up right in front of me and I swallow hard as the one in the middle crouches down. “You wanted to be free, right?” he questions, the darkness making it impossible to tell him apart by his eyes, but the harsh tone of his voice is unmistakable.
Roman.
I don’t bother responding, knowing that this has to be some kind of game. There’s no way that they’re about to let me go. My gaze flicks between the brothers before coming back to Roman’s. This is clearly his moment to shine, and something tells me that he’s going to make it count.
“I like to think that we’re the kind of guys to give a pretty woman what she wants, so we’re prepared to make a deal with you.”
My back stiffens, sitting up straighter.
“Look around you, Shayne. Do you see where you are?”
My brows furrow and I reluctantly tear my eyes off Roman’s, glancing around the overgrown garden and quickly realizing that it’s so much more than just overgrown bushes. It’s a fucking maze. It’s like a scene out of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire only creepier, and from memory, Cedric Diggory never made it out alive.
“What is this?” I demand, discreetly shuffling further away from him, though there’s really nothing discreet about it. He tracks every single movement I make and adjusts himself to keep the advantage.
“My brothers and I have been talking,” he says, his eyes brightening with a devilish laughter. “We understand that this little arrangement isn’t for everybody and you’ve made it quite clear that you’re not down to play our … games, so we’re prepared to make a deal with you.”
I narrow my eyes, not trusting a damn word that he says. This whole nice guy compromising act isn’t right and it doesn’t sit well with me. He’s lying. They kidnapped me. They broke into my home and took me right out of my apartment. They’re the most notorious killers in the country and certainly not known for how accommodating they can be. So why the hell would they go and offer me a deal? This has to be a trap, but what is their angle?
I cautiously pull my feet up under me and with my gaze locked on Roman’s, I stand on shaky legs. He mimics my movements until we stand face to face, only his impressive height has him towering over me. “A deal?” I question.
He nods so slightly that I could be imagining it. “If you can find your way out of our maze, then you’re free to go,” he tells me as Levi and Marcus slowly move closer, their attempts at being discreet going to waste.
“Free to go?” I repeat, my heart rate rising higher by the second. “I just have to make my way out and you’ll let me go? Alive?”
“Mmhmm,” he says, his eyes darkening as he drops his chin, making him look like a fucking image right out of a horror movie. “That’s what I said, isn’t it?”
My stomach twists as I slowly take a step back. “What’s the catch?” I ask, my voice shaky as I cautiously watch the way that all three of them start to move toward me, stalking me like prey. “I don’t believe that you’ll just let me go.”
“The catch is,” Roman says, his usually dead eyes coming alive as I hear the wicked smile in his tone, “you better run fast.”
Fuck.
I turn on my heel and take off like a fucking rocket.
There’s no doubt that it isn’t as easy as it sounds. There’s a trap, a nasty as fuck catch that I’m missing, but I’m not risking hanging around to figure it out. It’s a maze garden after all, so all I have to do is be faster than them and I should be alright. I just have to find my way through it first.
The opening of the maze passes by me as my bare feet slam against the cold, hard ground. Overgrown branches scratch my arms and ankles but I force my way through them, determined to see this through. Hell, if I can’t find the exit, I could at least find somewhere to hide and wait them out.