Page 83 of Hide And Seek

“Then they could’ve covered for each other during the alibi chat,” Jasmine cut in, finishing his sentence for him. She let out a short sigh, rubbing her eyes with her free hand. “Shit.I didn’t even think of that.”

“Me neither,” I mumbled, feeling foolish.

Jasmine bristled, shoulders squaring again. “So how do you know it’s not one of us?” she asked, motioning between us. “Or even both of us?”

Rhys slowly shook his head, eyes fixed on me. “We don’t,” he said. “We just have to hope like hell it’s not. Because if itis, our plan’s dead in the water, and you’ll probably decide to make us your next victims.”

“It’s not us,” I muttered, pointedly avoiding his gaze.

I was still furious at him for what he’d done. And not just that, but at the fact that he hadn’t told me about it. Instead, he’d slotted me in the same category as everyone else. No one special. Just another person to hide the truth from.

Logically, I knew my anger in that regard was ridiculous.

After all, we weren’t in a relationship. We weren’t even casually dating. We’d hooked uponcein a shed, and that didn’t entitle me to anything. Not explanations or trust. Not some special exemption from whatever plans he’d decided to cook up with a lifelong friend he actually trusted.

I knew all of that. Knew that I didn’t really have the right to feel hurt. But it didn’t stop it from stinging anyway, because somehow, it still felt like a major betrayal.

“How long were you two planning to keep this up?” Jasmine asked, gaze skating between the two guys. “I mean, you know you have to come out and tell everyone you’re actually alive at some point, right?”

Rhys nodded. “We hoped we wouldn’t have to do it for long. Just long enough to throw the killer off his game, which would hopefully stop him from going after anyone else until Brad and Olivia brought the cops here. Or Piper. But…” He paused and let out a sigh, rubbing his jaw. “Knox also told me that some of the guys found Piper’s body earlier. And apparently everyone thinks Brad and Olivia are dead too. So there’s no help coming anytime soon.”

“That means we might have to keep things going for a couple more days,” Knox added. He glanced between us, a little sheepish now. “We hadn’t really worked out the details yet. You kind of interrupted that part when you busted in here with those axes.”

“Which was pretty fucking stupid of you, by the way.” Rhys folded his arms, eyes narrowing slightly. “What if we actuallywerepsychopathic murderers? How do you think this would’ve gone for you then?”

It was Jasmine’s turn to look sheepish. “That’s my bad,” she said. She jerked her thumb in my direction. “She wanted to go and tell the others, but I basically forced her to come in here with me.”

“Right.” There was a beat of silence as Rhys glanced between us, his jaw tightening slightly. “Look, we really need you not to tell anyone. At least not yet. This plan only works if the killer still thinks I’m dead.”

Knox nodded quickly. “Yeah, if word gets out, the whole thing falls apart.”

My grip shifted slightly on my ax as my mind turned over everything they’d just said, trying to find the cracks in it.

“How do we know you’re not making all of this up?” I finally asked. “You could just be feeding us some bullshit story to keep us quiet.”

Knox let out a quiet breath, like he’d expected that. “I guess you can’t know. Not for sure. You just have to trust us.”

“That’s the problem,” I said stiffly. “You haven’t really done much to inspire our trust. In fact, I’d say you’ve done the exact opposite.”

There was another beat of silence then, thick with uncertainty.

Beside me, Jasmine shifted her weight, her gaze still fixed on the two guys. Then she shuffled closer to me, angling her head toward mine. “I never thought I’d trust a Legacy, but… I actually think they’re telling the truth,” she muttered under her breath.

“Really?” I whispered. “How come?”

“I’ll fill you in later,” she murmured back. “But I’m pretty damn certain.”

I studied her for a second, searching her face, then dipped my chin in a curt nod. “You know them better than me.”

Jasmine straightened slightly and looked at the guys again, her grip firm on the ax. “We won’t say anything,” she said. “For now.”

Relief flickered across Knox’s face, but she lifted the blade a fraction, making him flinch again.

“But if anything happens to either one of us,” she went on, her voice turning sharp again, “anythingat all, the other one tells everyone immediately. No hesitation. No second chances.”

Rhys nodded. “That’s fair.”

Knox followed a second later. “Yeah. Totally fair.”