Page 41 of Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets

I try to smile, but my body feels like it just finished a triple-header. That climb up the waterfall drained every last ounce of my strength, leaving me with a bone-deep fatigue.

“Sure you’re okay?”

I venture a peek at him, and his dark eyes stir up mixed feelings in me. Part of me could pour out my soul to this person, and the other part tenses like a gopher on alert. “Why are you always asking me how I’m doing? You said it yourself—we don’t know each other.”

“My mom said I should try to make friends.”

At first I think he’s serious, but his mouth curves up at one corner.

“Think you could use your magical sleeping bag stowing abilities to roll me up and tuck me away somewhere until this weekend is over?”

Tyler’s head tilts, like he’s considering it. “Sure, but it sounds painful.”

“Time to pack up!” calls Mr. Davis, who’s wading through the shallows toward us, wearing his pack.

I return my water to its storage pouch, and Tyler offers me a hand. I peek over my shoulder at Grant before accepting it, a red ember of guilt burning in my belly.

***

I keep trying to get Abby alone, but she and Sam have been surgically linked since the river.

Overhead, the stars sparkle through the treetops, and in front of me, the fire is waning. My phone is still off, but I’m guessing it’s well after one a.m. Mr. Davis has long since gone to bed. I lift my head from Grant’s chest. His eyes are distant, reflecting the flickering flames. I hate keeping this Piper stuff from him, but I can’t have him dragging me back down the mountain early.

Across the fire, Sam and Abby show no signs of prying themselves apart. Near them, Jacey sits beside Noah, chatting quietly. She yawns but doesn’t head off to bed.

Suddenly, Sam stands up, helping Abby to her feet. I straighten, ready to hustle over and cut her off on her way to her tent. But Sam slings an arm around her, and the two amble away together. Like he’s a freaking Uber dropping her off at her doorstep.

I grind my teeth. How am I supposed to intercept her now?

New plan. “I’m off to bed,” I say, leaning over to kiss Grant.

“’Night,” he murmurs, breath warm against my skin. No offer to escortmetomytent. Despite the fact that a wolf could easily leap through the camp and carry me off. Probably.

Away from him, I shiver. The cold night air carries a memory of last year’s soccer tournament with Grant. The one where things spiraled out of our control. The one that started with a note passed from his palm to mine on the bus, telling me to meet him at the pool at midnight. The one that ended with both of us soaked and frozen, but not caring as our lips finally met for the first time, his hands warm on my skin.

A red-hot sweep of desire runs through me, and I glance back. But Grant’s still facing the fire.

I take a deep breath and drop my hands, letting the cold consume me as I trek to the tent.

As soon as I’m zipped inside, I hear the door opening again. I shine my flashlight over Jacey.

“I’m so tired,” she says through another yawn.

“Yeah, me too. Except I have to go back out there to talk to Abby. Just waiting for her bodyguard to go off duty.”

Jacey starts to climb inside her sleeping bag. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“I’m sure it’s the only idea we have.”

“What if she was the one threatening Piper?”

I open my mouth to argue, but she cuts me off. “Just hear me out. What if that’s the reason they were always whispering? Maybe Abby was the one trying to bully Piper into quitting, or even…into other things.”

“I don’t know, Jacey. It would be like finding out Snow White was bullying one of the dwarfs.” But even as I say it, I know I have to consider the possibility. Someone in this club wanted Piper out, and there are only so many options.

“We could go together,” I say. “It’s safer.”

“No,” she says, already tucked inside her bag. “If Abby had something to do with all this, we might spook her if we both confront her. The best plan is to wait, at least until we get back down the mountain and it’s broad daylight.”

---