Page 39 of Wicked Games

“Regarding Rhys, I presume,” I said, raising my brows.

“Yeah. It was a folder with a form on top about financial aid for a scholarship student. Every teacher who has one of these students in their class needs to sign off on them every semester to confirm that they’re keeping their grades up,” April said. “This particular form had Rhys’s name on it. As soon as I saw what it was, I put it down, because it made me feel weird to look at something that obviously isn’t any of my business. But Abby was always a major gossip hound. You guys remember, right?”

Brooke smiled faintly. “Yeah.”

“Well, anyway, she read the whole form, along with everything else in the folder, and she told me all about it after we left. Rhys is attending Babylon on a full scholarship. His parents’ occupations were written on the form. His mom is a librarian and his dad is in advertising. There’s nothing wrong with those jobs, obviously, but—”

“They don’t pay anywhere near enough to afford Babylon’s fees,” Zach finished for her.

“Exactly.”

“I don’t get it.” Courteney shook her head. “He’s always acted like he was super wealthy. Like, remember his birthday party last year?”

“I wasn’t invited, so no,” Brooke said, rolling her eyes.

“It was in an absolutelymassivemansion. Like, twice as big as my place,” Courteney said. “He told everyone it was just his family’s beach house. The party was fully catered, too. I never would’ve expected something like that from a scholarship kid.”

Zach shrugged. “He probably saved up his allowance and rented an Airbnb for the night,” he said. “Just to keep up appearances.”

“But how can he hide it from his friends?” Courteney asked. shaking her head. “I can’t imagine Hudson hanging out with anyone he deems lesser than him. But they’re best friends.”

“Well, Babylon’s a boarding school,” April said. “Rhys probably lies and says his family lives really far away. Different state, maybe. So they can’t drive there to hang out on weekends.”

“Also, Hudson is really fucking stupid,” Zach added. “It’s probably not hard to trick him.”

“But he’s trickedeveryone,” I said. “April’s right. It shows how capable he is of lying.”

Brooke frowned. “What was the scholarship for?” she asked.

“That’s the other suspicious thing,” April replied. “The scholarship is for physics, and Abby said there was a personal statement in the folder, written by Rhys when he first applied for it. Apparently, he really wants to study engineering when he goes to college.”

“So he’s a genius with a passion for engineering. Does that sound like someone we might know?” Zach said. “A certain Game Master, perhaps?”

“Like I said, I don’t want to point fingers, because I could be barking up the wrong tree,” April said hurriedly. “I’m not saying he’s the Game Master. I’m just saying, if anyone here is likely to be helping the Game Master… well, Rhys is looking really good for it right now.”

“Agreed.” I wrapped my arms around myself as an involuntary shiver wracked my body. “But I also get what you mean about not wanting to accuse anyone too fast. So maybe we should keep this to ourselves for now.”

“I was thinking the exact same thing,” Brooke said. “If we say anything to the others, one of them could run off and tell Rhys, and then he’d probably make sure he hides things even better. If he’s guilty, that is.”

“Yup.” Zach’s lips tightened. “So we all agree? Keep this information a secret for now?”

The five of us nodded in unison. We all understood the reality of the situation—the Game Master wouldn’t want theiridentity revealed so early in the games, given that ten against one wouldn’t work in their favor during a fight. So, if Rhys was actually the Game Master, and he discovered that we had information that could jeopardize his position, he might do something to eliminate us just to keep himself safe.

None of us wanted to risk literal death over a theory, so all we could do for now was keep a close eye on him and see how things played out.

Another shiver ran through me, and a tingling sensation crept up my spine. Slowly, I turned my head and found myself locking eyes with Maverick from across the room. Heat instantly rushed to my cheeks, and I tore my gaze away.

“Oh my god.” Brooke straightened her shoulders and looked at each of us in turn with wide eyes. “I just thought of something. Carey, remember how you said you were worried about Hudson? That he might be planning something really bad to get back at you?”

“Yes.” My gaze flicked over to Hudson at the window, and my skin crawled with revulsion. “Why?”

“Hold on… what are you guys talking about?” Courteney asked, frowning.

Zach nudged her. “I’ll tell you later.”

“Here’s my new theory,” Brooke said. “Hudson is an idiot, as we all know, but he’s rich as fuck and also a total psychopath. His best friend Rhys is a total genius who has no money. Put them together, and you get—”

“A team capable of setting up this shit,” April finished for her in a grim tone, gesturing at our surroundings.

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