Page 110

“Dead?”

“What happened, Baptiste?” I ask, steadying myself against the shock.

“He’s dead, and we have been summoned to the Castaways mansion,” he explains. “I have a car waiting outside. We have to go. Now.”

I turn slowly to look at Clement. He looks at me, fists clenching. We both know what this news means. Elwood has been murdered, and there’s no other explanation.

The Masked Killer.

He did what he set out to do. He’s cut the head off the snake and ripped open the heart of the Castaways.

He’s burning down our world.

Whatever is going on between Clement and me must be put on hold.

“Everything changes now,” Clement says.

“I’m coming too,” Jolie announces before I can get a word out.

And both her brother and I...

“No!”

We glare at each other.

Jolie sighs.

“Screw you two. I am coming, and neither of you has a say in this one. You’re not excluding me. If there’s danger, I’m coming. End of story.”

45

JOLIE

Crammed in the car, no one speaks a word.

Two of these boys want to kill each other.

It feels like anything will trigger their wrath. Fabien and Clement wisely keep their attention straight ahead, refusing to even meet each other’s gaze. No one’s breathing properly. Furious eyes glint in the window reflections. If Baptiste has noticed the fight between his best friends, if he’s seen the blood and the bruises, he doesn’t acknowledge it.

I slowly turn to him.

“Tell us everything you know about what happened with Elwood.”

I notice his hands are still shaking. His leg is bouncing nervously.

Baptiste is never like this. It chills me to the bone.

“No one I’ve spoken to has dared mention it, but I think it’s murder,” Baptiste mutters, his voice cracking.

“Is it him?” I ask.

The name doesn’t need to be said. Baptiste just nods, avoiding my eyes.

Christ.

My gaze flickers over to Fabien. His face is cold, and his hands are steady on his lap, curled into fists. He’s trying to hide what’s burning underneath, but I can see him replaying those images of their bodies in his mind. I can see his desire for vengeance against the man who murdered his parents.

I think about Sylvie. She’s just lost her father. She will need someone with her, but Baptiste is here.