NINETEEN MILES

Miles has no idea how long it takes for him to stop crying. He"s angry and confused, his body still shaking and tense. He"s been aimlessly wandering the trails for a while now, kicking at rocks and loose soil and paying absolutely no attention to where he"s actually going.

How is he supposed to pay attention to anything when Kieran"s face keeps popping into his head?

He looked horrified, disgusted, and Miles can"t even begin to process any of it. He knows Kieran regretted it the moment it happened.

His heart is still racing in his chest, and he can"t keep his breathing steady for more than a minute at a time. He hears the party start to break up off in the distance and wanders thoughtlessly toward the direction of the noise. There"s no way he can get his head back on straight, but maybe mingling will be enough of a distraction to keep his mind off the pain in his chest. He wants to scream and cry and throw himself on the ground, but above all of that, he just feels hollow.

Miles is so focused on trying to quell the flow of his tears that he doesn"t even notice Phoenix until he almost runs into the man. Their eyes meet, and Miles almost feels like he"s in a dream, like this is something that isn"t actually happening, but when Phoenix grabs his arm, his skin is warm and his fingers are shaking.

"Miles, you have to help me," he says, his voice lowered to a harsh whisper.

He glances around, stepping closer to Miles nervously. Miles nods, his head finally clearing, all of his attention focused on the way Phoenix is tugging at his arm.

"I need to show you something," he continues. "Come with me."

Miles can"t do anything but follow along, his eyes scanning the edges of the forest around them as he lets Phoenix lead him closer to the house. They skirt the edges of the garden, just feet from the throng of guests slowly filing out. He"s relieved, honestly. Not only can he focus on something other than whatever the hell happened with Kieran, but maybe he can also actually do some good here.

If Phoenix has really changed his mind, maybe Miles will be able to get everything he needs without having to get any closer to Blackwood. Surely Phoenix knows something, there"s no way he"s as close to the man as he is without having some sort of proof of what"s going on.

Phoenix leads him into the mansion through one of the side doors, slipping in silently. He puts a finger up to his lips when he glances back at Miles, his eyes wide and worried. Miles nods obediently, keeping his footsteps soft on the floors as they make their way deeper into the mansion. He follows Phoenix"s lead, pausing to let the man survey before every corner they round. Neither of them speaks, and Miles feels almost like the air is too thick to let any words leave their lungs even if they tried to talk.

The bubble of tense anticipation pops when they enter the next room.

As soon as Miles clears the doorframe, he"s grabbed from behind, strong arms looping around his waist and his throat. He gasps out in shock, wide eyes finding Phoenix in a plea for help.

Phoenix"s shoulders are stiff, and he"s staring at the ground, half turned away so Miles can only barely see his face.

"Phoenix?" he chokes out, fear turning to anger when the man just swallows and turns away from him.

Miles struggles in his captor"s arms as they drag him down the hallway, attempting to sink his nails and his teeth into skin, but he can hardly move, much less get anything close to a good hit in. The arm around his neck tightens enough that his head starts to swim as he struggles to pull in a breath.

And Phoenix just keeps walking until he reaches another door, pulling it open. He doesn"t even glance over as Miles is led into the room.

Miles ceases struggling when his eyes meet the terrified gazes of everyone else in the room. His gut sinks as he recognizes several of their faces, horror filling his veins. They"re all from the party earlier, new models, actors, actresses. Each and every one of them had been hanging off of Blackwood"s arm at some point throughout the night.

He doesn"t have time to process any of it, the hulking mass of muscle behind him shoving him forward, leading him toward the only empty seat in the room. Miles can"t even struggle as he"s forced down into it, another pair of hands behind him yanking his wrists together and tightening a zip tie around them, tight enough he feels it cut into his skin. All he can do is sit, stunned into terrified obedience, his mind conjuring images of that dank little room in Dr. Grace"s basement, his hands cuffed behind him. He"d had Kieran to rely on there, but he"s alone now.

Miles" attention snaps to the door as Blackwood strides in, smiling widely, his eyes finding Miles" immediately.

He runs a hand down Phoenix"s back, leaning in to whisper something in his ear. Phoenix doesn"t move so much as an inch, stiff as stone, his eyes glued to the floor in front of him.

"What a wonderful sight," Blackwood crows, stepping away from Phoenix and spreading his arms wide in a gesture of mocking welcome. "I"m sure many of you have questions, so please, allow me to explain."

He looks around the room, clapping his hands together in boyish glee that"s so out of place with the gleam of vicious, sadistic joy in his eyes.

"You, my dear friends, have been chosen as participants to play The Lizard Game," he tells them, grinning widely. "Each of you was handpicked to be the prey of one specific predator tonight."

Miles" heart jumps into his throat, memories of the painting and the clearing he found with Kieran flashing in his mind"s eye. God, he feels so stupid for brushing off Kieran"s concerns. Of course Blackwood would be putting some horrific twist on the game, hell, maybe he was just lying to them about the legend. Miles tries to breathe as his panic mounts, tension filling his shoulders, his jaw aching with how tight he clenches it.

"The rules are quite simple," Blackwood continues, ignoring the terrified looks from everyone in the room. "Each predator wears a Lizard mask to indicate their role, and, of course, to protect their identity. You all, as prey, have one easy task: run." His grin is barbed, and Miles is almost surprised not to see blood between his teeth already, chills rushing down his spine. "You have free roam of the entire island, although it"s unlikely you"ll make it outside of the safari zone during the hunt. If a Lizard catches their prey, they are free to do as they please. And, of course, if prey goes uncaptured, they are free to go."

Miles glares at Blackwood, his mind blaring warning sirens. He wants to scream, to struggle, but he can see four heavily muscled guards waiting by the walls. They all look like they"d thank him for any excuse to get their knuckles bloody.

"Now, to ensure everyone"s safety, as far as anyone will know, you are all willing participants," Blackwood informs them, holding up a hand when protests and pleas sound from the group. "This is the only room in the building without cameras. If you don"t want video evidence of all of the…extracurriculars you"ve gotten up to tonight and the past times you"ve visited, you"ll play along."

Miles" gut twists when everyone stares at Blackwood in shock and horror. No one says anything.

"It"s good, clean fun," Blackwood promises, smirking meanly. "I"ll see you all for the hunt."

And just like that, he turns and leaves, slipping right back out the door with Phoenix right behind him.

Miles is torn between fury and horror, turning to see the others tied to their own chairs and shaking in fear. He doesn"t say anything, his jaw ticking in anger as he turns back to stare at the ground between his feet.

He hopes to hell Hendricks and Burke are tuned in right now.

Miles swallows hard in a desperate attempt to distract himself from the nausea rapidly growing alongside his anxiety. He closes his eyes, fighting back the way his body wants to shake, and focuses on how he"s going to get out of this. There were four guards when he walked in, all stationed against the walls, watching the group of them, and when he opens his eyes, his memory is confirmed. The only door he can see is the one he came in through, and there"s no lock on it that he can see.

Which means that if he can get himself out of this chair and out of these cuffs, he can make it out of here. The guards are all huge, he can almost definitely outrun them.

His thoughts derail from his attempt to focus, anxiety taking over, and Kieran"s face flashes through his mind again. Miles bites back a sob, wishing that he could just sit back and rely on Kieran, but who even knows if Kieran will actually realize what"s happening in time. Even if he does, maybe he"ll be too upset to come back for Miles regardless.

He takes a deep breath, fixing his gaze on the door and steeling himself. He can make it out of here on his own. Kieran is supposed to be his sidekick, right? So that means that he"s supposed to be the hero here.

He can do this.

After Ethan"s disastrous engagement party, Miles spent quite a while practicing ways to break out of various restraints. Zip ties are some of the easier ones to get out of, and the position he"s in is only going to make it even quicker.

A quick glance at the guards shows that they"re all still leaning against the walls. He"s closer to the doors than they are, and they don"t have any weapons, but he"s still going to have to be quick about it. He shifts just slightly, waiting until he feels the attention of one of the guards slide off of him, and he yanks.

The tie snaps, scraping painfully over the thin skin of his wrist, but he pays it no mind. The guards lunge for him, but he"s already got his hand on the door. It opens outward, propelling him over the threshold, and Miles bolts down the hallway. His vision blurs, panic overwhelming him as he runs at breakneck speeds through the hallways, knocking over artifacts and bumping into walls as he scrabbles around corners.

He can hear the guards running after him, and he sees a door cracked open down the hall. He dashes toward it, hoping like hell that he can get in and lock the door before the guards see where he went.

He stumbles in, shoving the door closed behind him, but before he can turn to lock it, his blood freezes in his veins.

Blackwood stands not three feet in front of him, a glass of whisky in his hand as he addresses a room of people. He stops talking when Miles bursts in, but his grin doesn"t waver.

"Help!" Miles gasps, his eyes wide with terror as he stumbles closer to someone. "I need help, please, he"s going to hurt a bunch of people."

Miles barely registers the faces of the people in there, but somewhere in the back of his head, he"s shocked by the sheer net worth of the room he"s pleading for help to. Billionaires and celebrities all look at him in shock as the guards burst in after him, and Miles screams, his blood boiling as he fights back with everything he"s got.

A massive fist crashes into the side of his skull, and Miles stumbles, muscled arms wrapping around him and halting his efforts, crushing down over his windpipe mercilessly.

"Apologies for the interruption," Blackwood says with a laugh, and Miles" mouth goes dry in fear as he finally realizes what"s happening. "He"s the wildest on the menu tonight, not to worry."

Every person in the room has a fucking Lizard mask, some holding them, others draped across the thighs of A-listers or over the arms of chairs where billionaires lounge lazily.

"Tie him up properly this time, would you?" Blackwood instructs, tossing a scolding glance toward the guard currently choking the consciousness from Miles.

Miles chokes out a scream as he"s dragged from the room, kicking at the man behind him, at the walls, anything he can reach, but it doesn"t change anything. The last thought he has before he slips into unconsciousness is that he wishes Kieran was here, that he"d be able to get them out of this.

So much for being the hero.