" You should’ve told us!”

“You wouldn’t have let me help!” Ben shot back. “This whole nightmare was my fault. I needed to find that psycho and stop him. If I’d told you guys the truth, you’d have shut me out. Then we found the corpse, and … and …” He shook his head. “It was too late. Things were crazy. All I could do was try to prevent whatever evil Rome had planned.”

I held up a hand. Couldn’t handle any more of his confession.

Unwittingly or not, Ben had assisted a monster. A killer. He’d known the truth for days, and never told us. He’d lied. Even when The Game had threatened our lives.

“Tell me why, Ben. Why would you want to trick us in the first place?”

Ben stopped pacing. Looked directly at me. “Don’t you know?”

I shook my head, confused.

“To impress you, Victoria Brennan.” His voice cracked. “I wanted you to think I was special.”

The words rocked me.

Oh, Ben.

He’d started this madness … for me?

“You were spending all that time with Jason,” Ben said softly, staring at his shoes. “Skipping around town with your new perfect guy. Cotillion this. Fund-raiser that. I hated it. Hated him. When I finally told Rome, he said I needed to amaze you. Said I needed to figure out a way to make you see me.”

“I see you, Ben.” I rose and grabbed his hand. “I always have. You’re in my pack.”

He pulled away. “What if being packmates isn’t enough for me?”

I was speechless.

Code, Kathy Reichs "

― Kathy Reichs