Rat Race (Devil’s Playground #2)

8. Aubrey

Aubrey

Fuck, could I be any hornier?

T hey looked at me like I was crazy.

Well, to be exact, all expression dropped from their face, and I was met with a deadpan stare, but given their previous demeanor, I was guessing this was some type of mental break for them.

Fuck, they are hot.

I knew they were as soon as I saw the toned, tattooed arms, but holy fuck, their face card was lethal. Plump lips, chiseled jaw, straight nose. All the features just came together to create a perfect semi-masculine face that had me wanting to drop to my knees in front of them.

They could stomp on me with their booted foot, call me every dirty name under the sun, spit on me—fuck, the thought actually has my pussy clenching—and I would beg for more.

“You have literally no other goal?” they asked with a cocked brow.

I shook my head, tears still streaming down my face. I couldn’t stop them. After all the work I put into it, after everything I did to get to her, after everything she had done to me.

Maybe it was almost dying in a pit of boiling blood that finally brought the emotions out of me.

“No!” I cried, desperately trying to wipe them off my face without ruining my makeup more than it already was. Another thing I had worked so hard on that she was ruining even after she was fucking dead. “You don’t get it! She was a huge fucking cunt and this was my only way to get back at her and now she's dead and I wasn’t even the one to do it!”

Another silence followed by water dripping somewhere in the room.

“Well, I have a goal,” they said and rolled their shoulders, their eyes looking over the well-placed trap. I let my eyes trail down their body. The tank top was pulled tight against their skin and made my mouth water. It made me feel just a bit better about Natalie’s death. Fuck, could I be any hornier? “And I need you to obtain it, so can you please stop with this tantrum and come help me?”

Tantrum?

My inner simping came to a screeching halt. I sniffled, trying to stop the tears.

Being scolded by Cam ignited something in me that made me want to obey but also do the exact opposite and see what they would do. I wanted to see a bit more of the frustration and anger I saw peeking through in their eyes. I wanted to provoke them.

I wanted them to use those strong arms of theirs and pin me up against the wall and?—

“Tell me what your goal is, then,” I said with a sniffle, pushing the dirty thoughts to the back of my head. They gave me another deadpan look. “Please?”

“ No .” They walked further into the corridor, bending down so they were closer to the ground. There was a wall separating us and the rest of the maze. Their hand slid across the ground, checking for an opening. “Trust me, if I didn’t need your help, I wouldn’t be askin’.”

“Then tell me,” I replied with a whine and pushed myself up from the floor.

When they didn’t turn to me, I leaned over their back, putting my weight on them and using them as some sort of stool. Under the stink of blood, they had a distinct woodsy smell that had my stomach clenching.

It was undeniable.

I want them.

Natalie was slowly disappearing into the recesses of my mind while Cam was worming their way in. It was useless to try and stop it. I could feel it coming on stronger than anything I had ever felt for Natalie.

“So you can stab me in the back just before I reach it?” they asked.

I let out a groan and buried my face into their neck. Their hair tickled my face. I had the urge to sink my teeth into the muscled column.

“Come on,” I cooed. “Tell me and I’ll help you.”

They let out a heavy sigh.

“It’s the family business,” they said in a low voice. “I am the last of all my siblings to enter the Games. I don’t have a choice. I have to win.”

I mulled over their words. They were… more interesting than that bastard Hiram for sure. And their goal was just so… cute.

I mean, every time the Games came around, there were those who entered as Legacies. Their families counting on them to continue the line of succession and win, no matter the cost.

But the way they said it…

It felt like Cam didn’t truly want to win. Like they were doing it just to shut their family up.

But that doesn’t mean they’re not good at it.

And I had heard the rumors of how their family worked. They were well known. They trained hard. Produced perfectly bred children that were born to win the Games.

It wasn’t often that they weren’t part of the winners’ pool.

Yet Cam seemed… different. And I wanted to know why.

“Okay.”

Their head whipped over to look at me, all but pushing me off them in the process. “Really?” they asked.

“Really,” I said and placed my palm on the scanner. “Let’s just say you moved me.”

Cam hesitantly put their hand on the other sensor, and the wall melted away right in front of our eyes.

“Thank you,” they whispered as we both stood upright. My heart began pounding in my chest. They looked at me like I was some type of savior. The power of that made my head spin.

I leaned in close, smiling up at them.

“I think I deserve something,” I teased. “After all, I’m the only one who can help you achieve those big dreams of yours.”

The way redness spread across their face and neck caused something to flip inside my stomach.

All the madness of what happened earlier in the maze was gone. Hiram and the girl he killed were but a passing spec of dust. Unimportant if not a bit annoying. Even if only for a moment.

All I wanted was to see what other reactions I could pull from them. See what was hidden behind that front of theirs.

The thought almost made me pause. Natalie. Her name was Natalie. The girl who fucked over my entire life yet somehow she had been replaced by the Weston.

I can’t even bring myself to care.

“Cam?” a voice called from the open doorway.

I didn’t look to see who it was, but I did catch the pure joy on their face as they took in the newcomer.

Joy that should have been reserved for the person who was helping them win.

I gritted my teeth, my gaze following Cam as they pushed past me to greet the newcomer.

I paused, taking her in. She wasn’t just any random runner.

It’s the bitch in the dressing room!

“Aubrey, this is Ella; Ella, Aubrey. We met when we were running?—”

“How are you even alive?” Ella asked, bewildered. Even though she was rude enough to cut Cam off, they didn’t seem to mind. Cam let out a laugh and slapped their hand on her shoulder.

The personal nature of their interaction had me gritting my teeth.

I literally just saved your life and you’re chatting up other girls already? And that bitch in particular?

“You didn’t think you could get rid of me that easily, did you?” they asked and continued walking down the new hallway.

Ella looked at me, surprise flashing across her face, before something like hesitancy followed it. That’s right. Think twice about your place here.

But there was something else odd about her. The look on Ella’s face told me that she had thought they could get rid of them that easily.

Hm.

I followed behind Cam, sending a glare at Ella. I would be the one helping Cam with their dream. And they didn’t feel right to me.

A ping from my tracker had me looking down.

Vic_Official : Don’t Trust. Danger.

Vic. Why risk sending me this message?

I quickly hid it and watched as the two walked ahead of me. I trusted Vic enough to tell me the truth about my party, but the issue was…

Who exactly was the danger?