“Huh.” Pike shrugged. “Looks like the Ghost of Elite Past has decided to give you a break for the afternoon. What should we do first?”
His friends had started crowding around us, each of them eyeing me with interest.
“Well, I was going to go see my room with Andi.”
“Andi?” He looked around then down. “Holy shit, you’re tiny.”
“Fun-sized.” She winked. “And we were just going to the room. You guys are more than welcome to join.”
“I’d never say no to an invitation like that,” Pike said in a gruff voice. “Let’s go!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Out of my element — completely.
Phoenix
IF I HAD ANY HOPE of gaining useful info, I had to let Bee hang out with him, and hopefully she’d be able to leak information to me without even knowing it. As a plan, it sucked, but it was all I had. Besides, I figured it was the only way to actually get real intel without just ripping the guy’s fingernails off, one by one, until he shit his pants and told me his dirty secrets.
I pulled out my phone and dialed Nixon’s number.
“Prodigal, how goes it?”
“Ha!” I laughed. “Stop hanging out with Chase, he’s rubbing off on you.”
“So very true.”
“I’m at the retreat. I just wanted to make sure I was on the right frequency for the listening devices.”
We ran through a few more of the steps as I set up another camera in Bee’s room, one I knew she wouldn’t find, even if she was looking for something suspicious.
When I hung up from Nixon, I called Tex to check in, not because I had to, but because I was pretty sure that had I not, he would drive up here and ruin everything. He was getting more protective of Bee by the day. The second day of school, I’d had to snap a picture of her eating so he knew she was getting enough protein. It was beyond ridiculous.
I was just exiting her room when Andi came around the corner, nearly colliding with me. Her hands pushed against my chest. She backed up and smiled.
Something about her was familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it, almost like a memory that I’d purposefully forgotten.
“Sorry.” She shrugged. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
“What did you say your name was again?” I knew her name; I just wanted to see how comfortable she was with using it. If she hesitated or forced it in a cheerful tone, I’d know she was lying — at least about her identity. Smith, my ass.
“Andi,” she said slowly, her eyes narrowing. “You think it’s a stupid name, don’t you? It’s okay. My dad came up with it. He had a thing for the name Andrew and surprise! Out came a girl.”
She blushed.
That I could work with.
Not that I wanted to, but I really had no other choice. With a seductive smile, I slowly reached out and cupped her face. “I kind of like it. Fits you.”
“Th-thanks.” Her blush deepened.
“What’s your dad do?”
“Huh?” Her eyes glazed over.
“Your father?”
“Oh.” She shrugged. “He died when I was young.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” I mentally stored that tidbit and pushed further, making sure her body was stuck against the wall while I leaned almost completely against her. “That must have been so difficult for you.”
My body reacted as if I’d just drunk poison. I hated playing the part, and that was why I kept Bee away. Because women made me want to hate; they made me want to hurt. I could act with the best of them, but being this close to her made me want to do something horrible, like puke or run in the other direction — then puke.
“Yeah, it was.” Her shoulders slumped a bit. “But, you know what they say. Life goes on.” She licked her lips; it was a nervous gesture. Her eyes flashed, and then the innocent look was back. Someone wasn’t who she said she was.
“It does.”
She swallowed, her gaze falling to my lips.
“Andi? Phoenix?” Shit, I knew that voice. It was Bee, and our current predicament looked like I was just about ready to pounce on her new friend — her only friend.
“Nice meeting you, Andi.” I stepped back and winked at Bee, hoping it would put her at ease.
Instead, her entire face fell; she looked down at the floor and moved out of the way while I stepped beside her.
It was one of the first times she didn’t try to touch me.
And I hated it.
The next hour passed in a blur. I basically sat in a corner drinking coffee while the freshmen played games, ate dinner, and laughed way too loud. Had I ever been that stupid? They were so careless so… inexperienced. By that age I’d already killed several times.
Life wasn’t really fair, was it?
I’d never be able to experience the type of freedom they had, and they took it all for granted.
It was a pity.
And it was also making me wish my coffee was whiskey. With a wince, I rose to my knees and looked around the large rec room for Bee.
Nowhere to be seen.
Well shit, that’s where daydreaming got me.
I quickly scanned the room again. When I didn’t find her, I went to her bedroom. Empty.
“Shit!” I pounded my hand against the wall and ran outside. There were so many trails, so many possibilities it would take forever to find her. I quickly turned on my app so I could track her and saw the little red light blink about a quarter of a mile behind the lodge.