Page 92 of Hide And Seek

Rhys’s mouth curved into a lazy, satisfied smirk. “Bathroom’s right there.” He nodded toward the door on the other side of the cabin but didn’t step away immediately, stealing one last slow kiss before finally letting me go.

When I stepped out of the bathroom a couple of minutes later, I glanced at the clock on the wall. “I should head out. Jasmine’s probably wondering where I am.”

Rhys nodded, but instead of stepping back, he moved closer. His hands settled lightly at my waist, stopping me from brushing past him. “Before you go,” he said, voice quieter than usual, “there’s something I need to clear up about yesterday.”

“Rhys, it’s okay, we already—”

He lifted a finger to my lips, not forceful, just enough to stop me. “I know what we said,” he murmured. “I just didn’t say my piece properly.”

I went still.

“Not telling you about the plan… it wasn’t because I didn’t want to,” he continued. “And it wasn’t because I don’t trust you. It’s like I said yesterday. The fewer people who knew, the better our chances, and the safer everyone would be. But, if I’m being totally honest,youwere actually the main reason I kept you out of it.”

My brows pulled together. “What do you mean?”

He held my gaze for a second before answering. “If something went wrong, I didn’t want you anywhere near it.”

I blinked, caught off guard.

“It’s not rational,” he added, almost under his breath. “But ever since I met you… you’ve really gotten under my skin. And now, with all the crazy shit that’s happening here…” He shook his head slightly. “Keeping you safe is the only part of this I don’t second-guess.”

“You could’ve just told me that,” I murmured.

“Yeah,” he said, a faint, crooked smile tugging at his lips. “I know that now. And I know I fucked up by not telling you about the plan, because it upset you so much.”

“I wasn’tthatupset,” I murmured.

He huffed out a quiet laugh, eyes flashing with amusement. “You looked like you wanted to kill me yesterday.”

Heat crept up my neck. “Well, okay, Iwaspretty pissed,” I said. “But I didn’t feel like I had any right to be upset.”

“You had every right.” His hand lifted, fingers brushing lightly under my chin, tilting my gaze back to his. “I’m sorry. I should’ve handled it better.”

“Thanks,” I said softly. “I could’ve handled things better too. So I’m—”

He cut me off again, pressing a gentle finger to my mouth. “Don’t you dare say you’re sorry,” he said, smiling faintly again. “I’m the bad guy here. Not you.”

I smiled too, head slightly shaking. Then my gaze slid back to the clock. “I really should go. Jasmine might be getting worried.”

“Yeah. Of course.” Rhys stepped back. “I’ll see you later. Hopefully.”

“Yeah, I…” I trailed off as something suddenly occurred to me. “Oh my god, I just realized. I’ll have to walk all the way to the bathroom block by myself.”

“Shit.” He dragged a hand over his jaw. “I didn’t think of that either.”

“Well… I guess I’ll just have to suck it up and do it,” I murmured, pulse picking up.

Rhys shook his head. “I’ll walk you down to the end of the path. Hardly anyone comes up here, so it should be fine,” he said. “That’s most of the way. Then it’s a straight shot to the bathroom across the clearing. I’ll hang back behind a tree and keep an eye on you until I see you step into that bathroom. And if I see any sign of another person coming your way, I’ll be there before they can even get close.”

“But then everyone will find out you’re still alive. Your plan will be ruined.”

“Worth it,” he said. “But it won’t come to that. Whoever the killer is… they’ve never been active during the day.”

“Yes they have, they—” I cut myself off abruptly. “Oh my god. I was about to sayyouwere killed during the day. But you’re looking pretty damn good for a dead guy.”

Rhys laughed, the sound low and easy, like none of this was as fucked up as it actually was. “Yeah,” he said. “Funny how that works.”

Despite everything, a small smile tugged at my mouth.