These Deadly Games(76)

Her expression hardened. “Oh, sure. And you just happened to grab the wrong bottle of extract. And oops, you slipped and called in a fake tip to the police—”

“No!” Panic rose in my throat. “Listen … someone made me do all those things.”

“How?”

I considered her, biting my inner cheek. After everything, could I trust her? Maybe she never should’ve left my bubble of trust to begin with. I’d been a terrible friend, but if I was ever going to make it up to her, I needed her to survive this. I needed to keep An0nym0us1 from getting to her. Maybe she could even help me figure this out.

I took a deep breath. “Alright, listen … someone kidnapped Caelyn yesterday. They’ve been—”

“What?”

“Let me explain, okay?”

“Isn’t she supposed to be in Frost Valley?”

“Yeah, but they took her before she could get on the bus.”

“Aren’t you the one who dropped her off?” This was the exact opposite of letting me explain.

“Yes, but…” I raked back my curls, frustrated. “Just listen. Her kidnapper’s been sending me anonymous messages through some app they hacked onto my phone, and they’ve been threatening to kill her if I don’t do whatever they tell me to. They’ve turned it into some sick, twisted game.”

Zoey extended her hand. “Lemme see your phone.”

I swallowed hard. “I … I don’t have it. It went over the cliff with Kiki.”

“My God.” She rubbed her eyes, thinking for a moment. Then she headed for the stairs.

“Where are you going?”

“To call the police.” She must’ve left her cell upstairs.

A boulder lodged in my throat. An0nym0us1 was surely monitoring the local police scanner. If Zoey called the police, she’d get Caelyn killed. I scrambled to block her path. “No, you can’t. When this … game … first started, the kidnapper told me I couldn’t call the police, or tell anyone what was happening, or they’d kill Caelyn.”

“Well, I could call the police.”

“But you knowing about this means I told you. That’d be significant rule breakage.”

“Screw that.” She tried skirting around me.

“No!” I screamed. Zoey sprang back, stumbling into the couch and throwing her hands up defensively. Like she was scared of me. My heart sank. “Zoey, I’m not going to hurt you.”

Her eyes were wide with fright. “You just told me you killed our friends. You pushed Kiki off a cliff.”

“I didn’t. I told you, it was an accident. She fell.”

“Prove it.”

I felt the blood drain from my face. “You … you think I made all of that up? But why?” She shook her head, like she was afraid to explain. “Why?”

She flinched. “You’re the one who’s been desperate to play in the tourney. To save your house or whatever. And you’ve always been so desperate to keep the secret about Brady. The way you snapped at the hospital … I had a feeling, right then.” Holy hell. As much as I’d suspected her, she’d suspected me right back. “It’s my fault,” she went on. “I shouldn’t have brought it up again. I shouldn’t have threatened to go public. It made you snap, didn’t it? You’d do anything to protect that secret. Even if it means killing the rest of us.”

“That doesn’t even make sense!” I cried. “Killing more people would just, like, exponentially compound my secret.”

“Well, then, why are you doing this?”

“I’m not!”

But she clearly didn’t believe me. Suddenly, she sprinted past me and yanked the coat stand so it toppled with a crash and blocked my path as she raced upstairs.

“Wait! Zoey, please!” I screamed, leaping over the heap of jackets and sweaters, but she was fast—by the time I reached the kitchen, she’d already dialed and held her cell to her ear. “No, don’t!”

I lunged and grabbed her wrist, managing to yank her hand down enough to hit the End Call icon. She twisted from my grasp with a strangled cry and ran around the kitchen island, navigating to the dial pad again. Blood roared in my ears. I couldn’t let her do this. Calling the police was a death sentence for Caelyn. Matty’s death—and possibly Akira’s death—would be for nothing. The thought threatened to make my knees buckle, but sheer panic and desperation kept me upright.

“Stop!” Before I could think twice, I spotted the butcher block on the kitchen counter and grabbed a knife, tugged it free, and raised it over my head. “Don’t move!”





CHAPTER 33


I didn’t want to kill Zoey.

Dread churned in my belly as I inched toward her. She looked horrified, staring open-mouthed at the knife in my grip. Backed into the corner next to the fridge, there was nothing within reach she could use to fight back.

Now was my chance to grab her phone.

My fingertips tingled as I edged closer, determination flooding my veins. How should I do it? I could try swatting the phone from her clenched fist, or wrestling it away, but she might not let go. She’d already dialed 911—all she had to do was tap the call icon. The thought of piercing her skin was unbearable. But you never know the lengths you’ll be willing to go to, to protect the people you love—even if it means sacrificing your own humanity.