Page 55 of Wicked Games

April scrubbed a hand over her face before flashing a meaningful look at me, Brooke, Courteney, and Zach in turn. “Should we?” she muttered.

“Tell them about the Rhys thing, you mean?” Zach asked, forehead wrinkling. She nodded, and he nodded too. “Yeah. I think it’s time.”

“What are you guys whispering about over there?” Jasmine said sharply.

“Something we talked about earlier,” April said, leaning forward. “We didn’t want to say anything earlier, just in case, but I think we should come clean now. We were discussing Rhys.”

“As a suspect, you mean?”

April’s lips tightened. “Yup.”

Tate grinned. “Ah, yes, let’s throw the sister-fucker under the bus. Makes sense.”

“Shut up, Tate.” Brooke glared at him. “This is serious.”

“Okay, I’ll bite. Why do you think it’s Rhys?” Kiara asked, tilting her chin.

April haltingly ran through our earlier discussion about Rhys’s capacity for lying, high intelligence, and aptitude for engineering.

“Whoever designed these games clearly knows a thing or two about engineering,” Brooke added. “So… yeah. That’s our theory.”

Rhys sighed and put his head in his hands. “I get it,” he mumbled. “Makes sense, really.”

“Is that an admission of guilt?” Jasmine asked.

He lifted his chin and looked over at her. “No. I’m just saying, I can see how it makes me look suspicious when it’s all put together like that. But it’s not me. I don’t know how to prove it, but I swear, it’snot.”

“Wow. Really? That’s your only defense?”

Rhys slowly shook his head. “Actually, no. There’sone thing I can say in my defense,” he said. “A high schooler who has an interest in a future engineering career isn’t necessarily an engineering genius. Do you guys really think I can plan and build this sort of shit by myself? Especially when I have no money, as Kiara and April have so kindly pointed out to everyone.”

“You might be able to pull it off if you received financial help,” Brooke said, eyes lingering on Hudson. “From a good friend, perhaps.”

“Let’s put it to a vote,” Kiara said. “Who here thinks Rhys is most likely to be the Game Master?”

Seven hands went up, including my own. Only Rhys, Hudson, Jasmine, and Tate kept their hands down.

“What about you guys?” Kiara asked, eyeing the four of them. “Who do you think it is?”

All of them pointed in my direction. “Carey,” they said in unison.

“Oh, great, we’re still on that bullshit,” Zach said sarcastically.

Maverick rose to his feet. “Obviously we can’t come to an agreement right now, because there’s not enough evidence,” he said in an authoritative tone. “So, for now, I think we should go back to our rooms and go to bed. We’ve had a long day, and we don’t know what sort of shit we’re in for tomorrow.”

“Good idea.” April stood too. “We need to rest.”

We filed out of the drawing room and headed upstairs to our respective rooms. I made a beeline for the shower, longing to wash away the perspiration that had clung to my skin all day. Despite the mansion’s cool interior, the persistent stress and fear of being here had made me sweat like crazy.

When I was finished, I slid into a pair of clean pajamas that the Game Master had left for me in the drawer. Then I glanced at my phone to check the time. Only 8:22. That gave me plenty of time to confront Maverick.

I took several deep breaths, finally working up the nerve to do it. Then I left my room and headed to the top of the hall. Maverick’s light was on, so I rapped on the door.

No answer.

I knocked again. “Maverick? Are you in there?”

I figured he might not have heard me, so I tried the door and found it unlocked. I slowly opened it. I understood how rude it was to enter someone’s space uninvited, but I still wanted to do it anyway, given how long it had taken me to work up the nerve to come down here.

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