The drums begin again, and the guards pound their spears in time. One by one people take their seats. First back is Bobby, then Tori, Cedric, then… oh thank goodness, me.
I breathe a sigh of relief. The drums end and the lights shine down over Akio, Matt, and Naya. Holy hell. Matt’s in the bottom. I remember my bet with myself. If he goes home, I don’t have to add a mile to my run, but I kinda like him now, so I feel bad. Even though I haven’t really spoken to him, he seems like a decent person.
“One of you is safe, but let me say this. You haven’t impressed me. Remember why you’re here and step it up. If you’re going to work for me, I expect to see more effort and more focus. The person who is safe from this elimination and can take their seat is…”
His eyes move from one person to the next. Cameras are trained on each person and one on Roman. Everyone is watching Roman and it’s so quiet I’m afraid I’m breathing too loudly.
“Akio Goro, you are safe. Naya and Matt, you’ve been caught off guard. One of you will be safe and the other is headed home. Use this time wisely. Your fellow contestants will have a chance to vote for you to stay. I hope you made friends.”
Bryce stands between Naya and Matt and turns them to face us. Naya looks pissed. Matt looks worried. I think it says a lot about their character.
“Naya and Matt, at 7:00 this evening, we’ll meet back here in the forum, where you’ll have the chance to make your final arguments. Use this time wisely.” He pats them on their backs. “Who will it be? The army officer from Ohio or the bouncer from Pennsylvania? Make sure you keep watching. Surprises always await you on The Praetorian.”
“And cut.” Esto’s voice booms over the loud speaker. “Contestants, please remain seated. Extras, thank you. You’re dismissed. Please return your gear to the costume department.”
The crew claps as the guards remove their helmets and relax their posture. A couple of guards turn to Roman. His eyes are fixed on the floor, but as soon as they catch his attention, his hand extends, and he smiles. He stands and says a few words to them. I’d like to hear what he has to say. I’d kill for another chance to ask him questions right now. My curiosity is bubbling like a pot on the stove.
“Well that was cray-cray.” Tori steps in front of me, blocking my view of Roman.
I gaze at her, slightly annoyed, and then check myself. “It really was. Thank God we’re safe.”
“Right?” Tori turns to Raul. “Congrats on your win. Don’t get used to that medal around your neck. It’ll be finding a permanent place on mine soon enough.”
Raul smirks. “Oh, I don’t know about that. I think it looks mighty fine right where it is. It’s heavy. I’m not sure your dainty neck could handle the weight. Oh, and”—he leans in as if to whisper—“you kinda need to earn it.”
“If you got the gold, how come there ain’t no silver or bronze?” Bobby interjects.
He’s something else.
“That shit real?” Bobby asks, pointing to Raul’s medal.
“I think so. It feels heavy,” Raul responds.
“Uh-uh-uh!” Bobby steps back and places his hands on his hips. “That’s some fine-looking bling you got there, man. Let me know if you want me to guard it for you.”
Raul and he pound fists and explode their fingers. “I think I got it covered.”
“You better sleep with that shit under your pillow. Ain’t no locks on these doors.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s because we’re all trustworthy,” Tori adds. “Why would they lock the doors? We’re professionals.”
“Yeah, course we are,” Bobby says with a wink.
“Could we have your attention please?” Bryce asks. “We’re going to break now. The afternoon is yours. Feel free to use the diary and exercise rooms, roam the grounds within limits, and use the pool. We ask that you arrive at dinner at 5:30 p.m. dressed in the clothes you’re currently wearing. Oh, and before you leave, Roman would like to say a few words.”
Everyone turns to face him. He has our undivided attention.
“First I’d like to apologize for my disruption earlier today. We thought there was a security breach in the west wing and my prized guitar had been stolen. Turns out it hadn’t been returned to its proper place. I like things in order if you didn’t know that about me by now. So again, my apologies for my overreaction. Please enjoy the rest of your afternoon.”
He makes zero eye contact with me. It’s as if I’m invisible. He vanishes backstage.
“Smells like trout,” Cedric whispers to me.
I know exactly what he means. That story was as fishy as they come.
“Do you think they bought it?” I ask as Dawson closes my office door.
“Nope.”
I sigh as I fall into the chair. “Fucking son of a bitch.”
“Why didn’t you tell them your personal alarm went off in the office, like I told you?”
“I didn’t like it. Wouldn’t they have heard it? I thought my idea was better.”
“Nope.” He says again and leans on the back wall.
“Now what do I do?”
Dawson shrugs. “We’ll increase security at all the entrances to the west wing and pretend it’s business as usual. Stick with your story and own it. It’s all we can do.”
A fist pounds on the door, causing Dawson to jump. “Who’s there?”
“It’s Clark. I need to see Roman right now!”
I wish I could escape the room. I forgot to enjoy my peace and quiet while he was gone.
Dawson reluctantly opens the door.
“What the hell happened today?”
“Nice to see you too, Clark. You missed me? Aw, that’s really sweet of you.”
“Let me get this straight.” He counts things on his fingers as he says them. “You argue with Esto and JP this morning, making us seem completely unprofessional. You change your lines in the script. You cause a scene in front of everyone, creating a zillion and a half questions for me to deal with, and you make up a dumb, unbelievable story too?”
I glance up at the ceiling and teeter my head. “You forgot that I yelled at my makeup girl, shouted in the hall, and smudged my eyeliner.” I lift my finger to my face and make sure it smears down my cheek.
“Roman, this is serious!”
I prop my feet on the desk and shrug.
“I knew I should have stayed here today. The minute I leave, all hell breaks loose.”
I must be even more tired than I realize, because I laugh. He looks ridiculous. When he steps closer to me, I see a mustard stain on his shirt. It makes me laugh even harder. I picture him having lunch with big executives and dropping part of his hot dog or burger down his shirt. My stomach starts to hurt. There are tears in my eyes. I glance at Dawson and actually see his lips curl. What a fucking day. What a fucking life.
Clark’s shoulders slump. “You’re a child.”
My laughter stops abruptly. “What did you say?”
His eyes widen.
I stand and stalk toward him. “You want to know how my day was, Clark? It was fucking awful. The person I value most in this world could have died and I’m sorry if I didn’t handle it the way you would have liked. But you know what? It’s my life. This show is a fucking waste of it and if you think I need to be babysat by anyone, especially you, there’s the fucking door. Get the fuck out of my house. I may not always do what you want me to do, but I’m not a fucking child and I don’t need a fucking parent.”
“Calm down,” Clark says, raising his hands in the air.
He didn’t say what I think he said, did he? Those words are my least favorite in the world. Did telling someone to calm down ever actually make them calm down? I turn my head to Dawson who is shaking his. He knows.
I pick up the stapler on my desk and throw it at the wall. It smashes into fragments and then I’m out the door.
“Roman, wait…” Clark yells.
I don’t know where I’m going, but I need to get out of this house and fast. I
wipe my eyes with my shirt to remove the stupid eyeliner I smudged for emphasis. The guards immediately stand in anticipation as I race past them and down the stairs. I hear my name and ignore it.
“Roman? Roman, can you hold on? I want to talk to you.”
Is that Reed? I can’t talk to her right now. I’m too aggravated. She chases at my heels.
“Are we going somewhere? Because I’ll follow you until you stop.”
I hop down the stairs and right out the front door. Maybe she gave up. She’s not directly behind me anymore. Dawson is close by. He always is. Maybe he can tell her to leave me alone.
I slam the door and go straight to the fountain in the middle of the yard. Oh look, there’s a cameraman here too. He must not know what I did to the one who’s suing me when he pissed me off.
“Get the fuck out of my face,” I tell him.
He doesn’t move. I hear two sets of footsteps approaching fast behind me.
“He’s just doing his job,” she says. “If you’re mad at me, take it out on me, not him.”
I whirl around. “Why in the fuck would I be mad at you?”
“For, um, earlier.” She gazes at the cameraman and then behind her, where Dawson is waiting. Her eyes dance from person to person and then she purses her lips at me as if to beg me not to make her say it out loud in front of them.
Damn, she’s pretty. She pleads with me with her eyes not to embarrass her and for a moment, I forget why I was mad at anyone.
“Earlier?” I feign confusion. “You mean for making me wait for a decent question?”
She smiles, and it does something to me. I’m not pissed anymore about anything. Nothing is wrong with the world. It’s fucking perfect and so is she.
Dawson rubs the back of his neck and then speaks into his headpiece. “Patch is on the front lawn.”
Reed gives him a look. “Patch?”
I whisper. “Guards usually have a special name for their principal. Dawson calls me Patch because there have been a lot of holes in my walls that needed to be fixed.”
“Good to know. I guess I’ll need a name for you too.”
“I’m guessing you already have one.”
“I have several,” she says, dropping her hands below her waist, one over the other in typical guard form.
“You’ll have to tell me sometime, but right now I need a walk.”
“Good. Me too. Where are we going?”
“We aren’t going anywhere. I’m going alone.”
“You’re never alone.”
“When I say alone, that includes Dawson.”
There’s movement behind her as a bunch of contestants strut out the doors and come toward me. Looks like I’m never going to be alone again.
“We goin’ somewhere?” Bobby asks.
“I was about to walk the grounds. If you want to join me, that’s fine,” Roman announces.
“Were you out here alone with him?” Tori whispers as we walk through the grass toward the outer perimeter of Creed Manor. Raul moves in, I assume to hear my response.
“I followed him out of the house. I was hoping to ask him some questions about what happened earlier, but I haven’t had a chance.”
Matt and Akio have joined us as well. I don’t think Roman’s going to give me any answers right now, so I contemplate getting to know Matt a little better.
Raul places his hand on my back. Roman notices. He opens his mouth to say something and then doesn’t, making eye contact with Raul and then me. He smirks and raises his eyebrows. I instinctively move away from Raul’s reach.
First of all, Raul shouldn’t be touching me. I don’t like it. Second, I don’t like the way Creed smiled, like he thought there was something between Raul and me. Neither of these men know shit about me and I plan to keep it that way.
“Now that I have you alone, what do you all think about the game so far?” Roman asks.
Tori walks a little faster to get closer to him, leaving me toward the back by Raul. “I love it. Think you could give us a clue what’s going to happen next?”
Roman laughs. “I wish I could. I can tell you this. One person is definitely going home.”
Matt’s head droops. Tori says something else to Roman, but I’m more focused on Matt. “Hey,” I say to him as I catch up.
“Hey,” he says back, surprised to see me.
“Do you know what you’re going to say tonight to get people to vote for you?”
“Not a clue. Logan said he has my back, but that’s probably because we’re roommates. He and Kari are awfully chummy, and I know Kari and Naya are friends, so who knows. I don’t trust anyone.”
“I agree with you there. Everyone seems to have an agenda. Let me ask you this. Why do you think you ended up at the bottom?”
He sighs. “They said it wasn’t a challenge. I didn’t take it seriously. That was a huge mistake. I was so busy watching what everyone else was doing that I didn’t talk to enough people. Oh, and I have a little food addiction.”
At least he’s honest.
“I swear, if I see food in a room, I have to eat. I think it comes from growing up poor and hungry all the time. I had two brothers and if there was food and you didn’t act fast, you didn’t eat.”
I feel sad for him. I remember what it felt like to be hungry all the time and not be able to eat. “For me, it’s the opposite. I was always stressed and hungry at the same time, so sometimes I confuse the two and don’t eat when I’m upset.”
He smiles, and I realize we’re significantly falling behind the rest of the group.
“Whoa. We’d better catch up,” I say.
Eyeing the distance ahead and the distance back to the house, Matt pauses. “I think I’m going to head back and see if I can talk to Cedric. He’s been really nice to me. Maybe he can offer me some advice. Plus, exercise and I don’t get along.” His shoulders slump as he turns back toward the house.
I jog to catch up to the group.
“And that’s why I don’t like rabbits,” Roman says. Everyone laughs, and I’m pissed I didn’t hear what he was talking about.
“What did I miss?” I whisper to Raul.
He rolls his eyes. “Nothing good. Just this pompous ass talking about himself.”
That catches me off guard. Raul has seemed really professional up until now.
“In my culture, rabbits are a symbol of luck and longevity,” Akio says. “Rabbits are thought to be smart and resourceful. The year of the rabbit is one that brings good luck for people.”
“My experience with rabbits is that they make good stew,” Bobby says. Akio shakes his head. “What, you never had rabbit stew? I thought you ate anything that moved. You know dogs, rats…”
“Ignorant men believe all they hear.”
“You callin’ me ignorant?” Bobby asks defensively. The camera operators have their work cut out for them. The one that was with Roman was lucky two more followed the group out of the house.
“Who’s up for a little game?” Roman asks, clapping his hands together loudly. I imagine it’s to deter a fight and I for one am grateful. “I’m a runner. I’m curious which of you can keep up with me.”
“I’m game,” Tori adds. “What do we win?”
“How about dinner with me? Alone.”
His eyes meet mine when he says alone and adrenaline courses through me like fire. I’d get to ask all kinds of questions. I’m pissed I’m in flats and not tennis shoes, but what choice do I have.
“Let’s do it!” Bobby shouts.
Raul stretches his calves by pulling his good leg up behind him.
“You’re in boots,” Akio says, pointing to Roman’s feet. “Not a smart running choice.”
“True, but in my line of work, you have to be prepared to run in anything. Fast. And you have to stay with me. A bodyguard never leaves his principal.”
Roman purses his lips as he makes eye contact with Dawson. I wonder if there’s a story there.
With a quick glance around at ev
eryone, Roman takes off in a full run.
“Fuck,” Bobby shouts and sprints after him. Dawson is at Roman’s back. He’s obviously done this before.
I take off a full run. Damn these shoes, I want that dinner. Raul is fast. I bet he had to do a lot of running in the military, but shit. He’s faster than me and has an artificial leg on top of it. Akio doesn’t run at all. What the hell is his problem?
Tori is neck and neck with me. I can see her out of the corner of my eye. She keeps glancing over to see where I am, which is her downfall. She almost trips several times, watching me instead of focusing on the prize.
I pass her easily and catch up to Bobby. He’s out of breath but still pushing hard. Raul stumbles. The team player in me wants to help him, but the competitor in me wants to win even more.
Raul is alongside me again almost immediately. My feet hurt like hell. I promise myself to wear shoes I can run in from here on out.
“That all you got, Manning?” he asks.
Roman is directly in front of us. Dawson runs alongside him. He’s barely broken a sweat and seems to be listening.
“You don’t know shit about me, Martinez. Maybe you should stop thinking about me so much and focus on Creed.”
Roman picks up speed and Raul and I take off too. Right before we get back to the house, Roman stops suddenly and Raul and I pass him by. Bobby stops along side of him and they walk forward together.
Roman holds Bobby’s hand in the air. “This is about me, remember?” Roman says directly to us. “You may want to beat each other, but I come first. Always. Or else you don’t keep me safe.”
I bend at the waist to catch my breath, defeated. Fuck, I don’t like to lose. Tori comes up next to me and bumps me with her hips. I lose my footing and fall to the ground.
“Shit. Sorry. You okay?” she asks, offering me a hand up.
“Yeah, fine.” My pants are now dirty on top of sweaty. I’m supposed to wear them tonight for the results too. Fucking A. I wonder if there’s a place I can wash them.
Roman is speaking with Bobby and the rest of the group as I go into the house alone. I’m pissed at myself and I need water.
The Praetorian Page 14