Page 76 of Blue Arrow Island
“I’m asking you not to repeat anything from this conversation with anyone. You good with that?”
I open my mouth, then close it again. “I think so.”
His brows shoot up. I relent, nodding.
“Okay, it’ll stay between us.”
My gaze falls on a bead of sweat rolling down his chest. It trails into a line on the side of his pecs. I force my eyes up to his. They’re a mix of dark chocolate and caramel—possibly the only thing about him that’s remotely sweet.
“I’m on the team that does the last perimeter check every night. Last night, we found one of our emergency supply stores emptied.” Worry is etched into his expression.
“What kind of supplies?”
“Stuff we’d need if we had to evacuate this camp. Weapons, tools. Things Virginia didn’t have access to.”
“Fuck.” The reality of it hits me. Virginia is already terrifyingly strong thanks to aromium.
“Yeah. We have caches buried in several places around the island. I don’t know how she even knew to look for them.”
“You’re sure it was her?”
He shrugs a shoulder. “It’s probably her. But there’s a chance it’s the person whose knife you found.”
He’s so damn tall, and big, and intense. I force myself to keep my eyes locked on his.
“Who is she?” I ask. “Give me something. Friend or foe? Do you think she could be working with Virginia?”
He furrows his brow. “He’sdefinitely not working with her. And...” He rubs his jaw, looking like he’s at war with himself about whether to continue. “Again, keep this between us. If our aromium shield ever goes down, we’re fucked. Virginia checks it every day and she’ll know immediately. The owner of that knife—if he’s still alive—is the only one who can help.”
I turn and look at the fence, needing to think and knowing I can’t do it while looking at him. The knife didn’t belong to a woman he’s in love with, which is more of a relief than I want to think about at the moment. And despite his cool,I’ve got it all handleddemeanor, leading this camp is more stressful than he wants anyone to know.
After a few seconds, I look back at him. “What would Virginia do if the shield went down?”
He shakes his head. “Honestly? She’d either boot us out of camp and take it over or kill us all and take the supplies. We’re dead either way.”
“They’re starving,” I murmur. “I get why she wants the supplies.”
Marcus’s expression darkens. “She doesn’t just want to feed her people, Briar. She knows I’ll feed anyone as long as I can turn off their aromium first.”
That revelation sends me reeling. “Really?”
“It’s a lot to take in, I know. You don’t respond well to...my usual questioning, so?—”
I laugh. “Does anyone respond well to it?”
He bristles. “Plenty of people do.”
I roll my eyes. “You want to know where I found the knife so you can try to find the guy it belongs to.”
“If he’s still alive, yes.”
“How long has it been since you saw him?”
A flicker of something passes over his expression, passing quickly. “About a year and a half.”
My lips part with surprise. “He would have had to live in the jungle alone this entire time?”
He nods. “Yeah, it’s a long shot. But it’s all I’ve got. And if anyone could stay alive in that jungle, it’s him.”
