“Any ideas?” He says it so softly that I’m not sure I didn’t imagine it, but he’s looking down at me, eyes half-mast, though a muscle in his jaw is jumping. “What should we do?”
“I don’t know how we could leave,” I say.
“Shh,” he says because I’m too loud. He glances over my shoulder, where I’m guessing he can see Madison. He swallows hard and moves in until our foreheads kiss.
“Maybe you should get a room,” Jude teases.
I lurch back, but Lucas’s hand splays on my back, and he gives the barest shake of his head as he pulls us a couple steps away. We stop by an oak, and I let him curl me closer.
“He’s trying to help us,” he says softly. “So we can talk like this. Figure out a plan.”
I close my eyes and feel the sting of my exhaustion. I’m almost swaying on my feet, but he’s right. We have to do something. We all saw the way Hayley looked at Madison. We heard what she said.
What do I believe though? Madison’s story is logical enough. It would have been excruciating, and Hayley’s clearly in serious shock. But Hayley’s expression? It looked bigger than reliving a traumatic moment. It looked like she was afraid for her life.
I dare a quick glance around Lucas’s shoulder. Madison and Emily are both leaned over Hayley again, tending or whatever. But then Madison’s eyes shoot up and fix on Lucas and me. The envy in her gaze is almost palpable. I turn away quickly, my cheeks hot.
“Do you think she’s involved?” I whisper.
Lucas frowns, his thumb rubbing a slow circle on my spine. The touch turns my head even foggier. “She doesn’t strike me as the type. My money’s still on Mr. Walker. He likes you.”
“He doesn’t. Not like that,” I whisper. “I know you think I’m not seeing it, but I’m telling you, I don’t think it’s there. There’s zero motive. And the words? The dolls? That feels girly.”
Lucas cocks his head and leans in again. “Sera, this is Madison. She got excused from gym over a bad hangnail. Plus, if she’s doing this, why would she be calling us in to help her?”
“No idea. But she’s also the only one from her camp who’s not dead or heading that way in a hurry. Maybe she called for us to bring us closer.”
It isn’t as hard to imagine as I’d like. Madison has a car. She could have gotten down here, set this all up beforehand. She’s proven she’s capable with first aid, that she’s smarter than we thought. Plus, we found her granola bar wrappers around our camp. This whole nightmare isn’t an exercise in brute force. It’s just planning. Really careful planning.
“She could have done it,” I breathe, and this time, I believe myself.
Lucas sighs. “OK. What motive?”
I’m pretty sure I already know. I look over my shoulder and catch Madison glancing our way. I lift my hands to Lucas’s shoulders, and her mouth thins.
I drop my hands like he’s on fire. “You. You’re the motive.”
“Then why am I Dangerous?”
“Because you could hurt her?”
He quirks a brow. “You’re reaching. And why the hell would you be Darling?”
“Maybe in her eyes, I am a darling.” I swallow hard enough to hear it. “Your darling. Does she know about us? About the party or last spring when I hung out in your shop?”
His expression clouds, and I can’t hear his next breath. “She knows I’m out here for you. She tried to talk me into signing up with her, and I said no until…”
“Until you saw me on the list?”
It’s his turn to swallow hard. His grip on my waist tightens. “OK. It’s possible. Anything is possible. So I’ll take her down. Right now.”
I shake my head hard. Maybe too hard. The world spins, and this time, I grab Lucas’s shoulders for real.
His eyes are wide with concern, but he says nothing.
“We’re exhausted,” I say. “We’re stabbing in the dark, and we could be wrong. Plus, if it is her, she’s almost definitely armed. It feels too risky.”
“You’re letting your tired talk,” he says.
I scoff. “You’ve got bags under your eyes I could pack a lunch in.”
He laughs. “I still think I can take a hundred-and-ten-pound girl.”
“It feels like a bad idea. She could have a gun. She could have a partner.” I dare a quick glance, but Madison’s behind Emily, ducked low near Hayley. No way can we get to her without going through them. Could we call her out? Would she see it coming?
“Break it up already,” Jude says. I didn’t even hear him slip up, but he’s suddenly right beside us. He drops his voice lower than a whisper. “Someone’s paying awfully close attention to your sexual tension.”
No way did Jude come over here just to pick at how close we’re standing. He’s got something on his mind. I watch his gaze move over Emily, his mouth going thin every time she limps. He’s afraid for her. Afraid for all of us probably.
Jude isn’t who I thought he was. Not that it would matter if he was. He’s one of us now, which makes me wonder when we became an us.