Page 115 of The Invite
“Gus, this is serious,” says Scarlett in a shaky tone. “Someone is after us and they know our secret.”
That would be impossible because dead people can’t talk. It leaves the two of us and we will both take it to our grave beforeadmitting it, let alone sharing it with another soul. It’s the only way to ensure the tragedy dies with us.
As I peer at my sister, I become worried.
That weekend has haunted us for most of our childhood. I protected Scarlett as best I could. The experience hardened me and killed the last of my humanity. However, it turned Scarlett into a shell of the girl she used to be.
Now I’m glimpsing the hint of the same girl and it’s tearing me apart. I can sense the wrath bubbling under my calmness at the person responsible for it.
“Where did you find these?” I question Scarlett.
“The guard gave them to me when I returned from school,” she answers. “He said they were stuck in the window when he came for his shift.”
Crossing the distance to her, I rest my hand on her slender shoulder, and promise her, “I’ll get to the bottom of this and fix it. Okay?”
Relief pours over her face, making me feel guilty for being too distracted with Nessa and not being there for my sister.
Nodding, she murmurs, “Be careful, Gus. This person is cunning. They won't be easy to find.”
“Do the police have any suspects?”
“I don’t think so. I’ve been called in for questioning at the station tomorrow since she was our classmate. I did hear the killer wrote a message on the wall, but I couldn’t find out what. They’ve sealed the scene.”
I take in all the information. “Don’t go anywhere alone, Scarlett. And definitely not in Wolf and Kaid’s territory. Until we sort this out, don’t pick fights with them, and keep your distance. For all we know, they could be behind this.”
A frown mars her forehead, and she counters, “But why would they harm one of their own? Capri lived next door to Wolf and I saw them hang out together a couple of times at school.”
“We don’t know if they were close friends, Scarlett. People are capable of all kinds of things and betrayal always comes from those closest to you.”
She stiffens, dark shadows playing in her eyes. “You’re right.”
“Get some rest. I’ll see what I can find.”
Walking into the closet, I put on a shirt and decide to confront my house’s security guard. While taking the stairs, I text Maverick to call me as soon as he’s up. The lazy bastard’s favorite hobbies are to sleep and fuck around.
My mind drifts to how just a few nights ago he and I were talking about Capri. If she had also received the invitation note like us, it means she had a secret to hide too. As well as the fact that there are more players involved in Anonymous’s game.
If all the targets are from the school, Anonymous has to be one of us.
Besides the letters, the second clue is the message left at the crime scene. My gut says it was meant for us and not for the cops. My best bet would be going to school and checking it for myself. Perhaps I’ll find something else that could help us.
At the moment, all of us are just sitting ducks.
Anonymous might be two steps ahead of me today, but he won’t be for long now that I have set my eyes on him.
“Stuart.”
Our middle-aged front gate guard looks up and stands up straight. “Yes, Mr. Grayson. Did you need anything?”
“Show me the security footage from this morning.”
“Is this about the envelopes?” he asks cautiously. “Because I already checked and whoever it was knew exactly where the cameras were and avoided them. All I saw was their gloved hand.”
“What about the other two times?”
“Since it was night and they stuck to the shadows, nothing was visible.”
“Then tell me this, Stuart.” I inch closer and speak with a cold smile. “If you knew we had a weak spot in the feed, why didn’t you try to fix it? That’s your only job, isn’t it?”
