So here we are. Thanks for sticking with me, especially you lovely few who reviewed. Anyone still interested in the sequel? I hope you all enjoy (?) the final chapter of 'the devil's name'.
Plot twist in 3, 2, 1...
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The next night, Mona stood in the middle of the empty room, hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. "So the girls figured it out," she said thoughtfully. She turned around to her black-hooded companion, who was strangely silent. "And how do you suppose that happened?"
The other person didn't say anything, just watched with wary eyes as Mona paced around the room. She took in the tiniest details, from the scuff marks on the floor to the missing nail in the wall, and turned them over in her mind. There was only one conclusion she could come to, and she would do anything to avoid it. To acknowledge it was to admit she had been mistaken, had misjudged someone. God, that was as bad as failing.
"There's no way they worked it out themselves," Mona went on, pacing back and forth; unhurried, simply needing the momentum to help her think. "So that means someone helped them. And who do we know would do that?"
"Mona -"
The dark-haired girl held up her hand, silencing her partner, and carried on pacing, musing as she did so.
"I really hoped I was wrong. But no matter which way I look at it, the facts lead me to the same conclusion." Mona finally came to a stop, meeting her partner's eyes. "You can trust Toby, I thought. There's no way he would betray me. Well, serves me right for trusting someone."
"You can trust me."
"Can I?" Mona raised an eyebrow, enough to make the other person lower their gaze. "I've been betrayed before, and I know how much it sucks to be lied to."
"I've never lied to you, and I don't intend to start. You know where I stand on this, and why I'm doing it."
"True. But what I don't know is how far you're willing to go."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that I need to be sure you're willing to take this as far as I am – as far as it needs to go. Toby failed in his mission, but I still have hope for you."
The other person cocked their eyebrow. "You know how I feel about hope."
Mona's mouth quirked up in a smile, and she was reminded again of why she'd chosen this partnership. She could have chosen any of the girls, but she'd definitely gone for the right one. "True. Still," Mona went on, with a sigh for effect, "we need to decide what to do about Toby."
"I can take care of that. I mean, last time I let you come up with a plan, you decided to make my own boyfriend kidnap me."
"You played the part beautifully, by the way," Mona said.
Spencer smiled, pleased despite herself. "Thank you. Turns out I can play the damsel in distress role quite well – but I much prefer the role where I secretly get to torment my friends."
"That's what I like about you, Spencer. You're not afraid to get your hands dirty."
"It's a shame, though," Spencer continued, after dipping her head to acknowledge the compliment. "That you didn't tell Toby I was on the team. Maybe if he'd known I was a part of it, he wouldn't have been so quick to help the girls."
"You know why we didn't tell him, Spencer. We needed to be sure of his loyalties – and now we are."
Spencer shrugged. "Makes no difference to me. You know why I'm here, and as long as I get what I want I'll do whatever you need me to do. Although, next time, can you be the one getting kidnapped?"
"I'll keep that in mind," Mona laughed, taking one last look around the room to be sure she hadn't missed anything.
"Or," Spencer said, her voice becoming more firm, "can you at least tell me beforehand so I don't think I'm actually being kidnapped?"
"Sure," Mona said, glancing at her. "But to be fair I did at least tell you after you ended up here. I could have left you in the dark the whole time."
"Right. But from now on, how about we just say we're equals? I think I've proven myself to you by now."
"You have," Mona said, closing the door behind her as they emerged into the night. "So we can move forward with the next plan – as partners."
They shared a smile, and then the smaller girl led the way to the car. Once they were seated and on the road, she spoke again.
"And don't worry, I'm not going to cross you." She met Spencer's eyes and smiled. "You'll get your reward."
Spencer leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes for just a moment and revelling in the fact that everything was going to plan.
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Thoughts? Theories? Death threats? Go ahead, I'd love to hear what you think.
