Page 89 of Hide From Me

Raylen.

“She can join us. Might do her some good to see a glimpse of everything you’re hiding from her.

Fuck. Of course they knew. This is Greenport—the place where no one can touch their secrets, but they’ve already mapped out everyone else’s.

I try to play it off, but my fingers twitch around the strap of my bag.

“Uh, well—”

“That’s an order,” Jon snaps. I turn to look at him, raising an eyebrow—that voice—low, cold, absolute—hits like a freight train.

I groan quietly, feeling the web tighten around me. The mission? Easy. But this—this strange game of hiding truths and playing roles—this is where it gets messy.

“You too, King!” Jon yells.

“I’m on recruit duty tonight!” King fires back.

“Damn soldiers,” Jon grumbles. He throws a lazy wave over his shoulder as he walks away. “6:30. There’s a pub up the road—best burgers around. I’ll text you the address.”

I’m about to move when Jon calls back one last time.

“Oh—andMonster? Stop stressing. She’s going to learn our world one way or another.”

And then King—unseen, somewhere down the hall—adds, “It’s about time someone showed these factions it’s inevitable.”

I exhale a laugh under my breath, shove my hands in my pockets, and start toward the locker room.

At least if they already know, that’s one less secret I have to keep.

Twenty-Two

Raylen

01-23-2026

B&B

“Come here, creepy, spooky, ugly little…” I groan as my phone starts ringing, cutting off my pitiful attempt at luring the spider—no bigger than a goddamn pea—out from under the bed so I can finally smash it and get off this damn mattress.

Bracing one foot on the nightstand, I reach for the side chair and yank my phone off the charger, never once taking my eyes off the gaping dark spot where I’m sure my death is scurrying beneath.

“What could you possibly need right now?” I growl, expecting to hear Moe’s voice, but instead it’s Jack, and of course, he answers with a laugh straight from hell.

“Sorry, I didn’t know your banging schedule. Maybe you should send it to me so we don’t run into this problem again.”

I roll my eyes and push harder against the nightstand, climbing higher onto the bed like a rabid gymnast. “Not banging. Didn’t know it was you,” I mutter.

“Listen, Ray…” Jack’s voice trails off, and I hear what sounds like a radio in the background—but it’s just static, low and garbled like it’s dragging through my spine.

“Goddamnit, Jack, if you’re in jail, I can’t bail you out until I get back. So you just wasted your one free call.” My voice comes out sharper than intended, but I can’t help it. My nerves are shot. First the spider, now this, and somewhere in the middle, I got fucking jelly on my favorite shirt.

To be fair, the exploring was decent. I wandered foreign streets and breathed in new air. I thought maybe all the time I spent trapped in that house had rewired me—that I’d never be able to function outside a locked room. But here... I don’t know. Here I feel free.

Well. Free from everything but this fucking eight-legged demon.

“No, not in jail this time. But Laura wouldn’t let me do anything besides call the cops until I called you. I’m trying to be responsible and all that.”

My shoulders lock up, and the broom slips a little in my grip.

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