Chapter 19 #2
“I don’t know if anyone told you this, but they’re both endurance athletes. Olivia does marathons, and Brad does track and field sprinting. So I didn’t question it when they volunteered. No one did. Because it made total sense.”
I nodded again. “Yeah, they were the obvious picks.”
Rhys went quiet for a moment. Then he leaned forward. “What if they never intended to go to Millhaven at all?”
I blinked. “What?”
“What if it was just an excuse?” he said. “A way to leave without anyone questioning it. And once they failed to return, we’d all assume the worst. That they got caught. That they were killed.”
“Are you saying you think they might be alive?” I asked, frowning.
He nodded. “I think it’s possible, yeah. You know how it goes in every horror movie. If you don’t see the body, they’re not really dead.”
“So… wait.” I shook my head slightly, trying to catch up. “You think Brad and Olivia are actually out there somewhere. Together.”
Rhys didn’t look away. “Yeah.”
I swallowed. “And… you think they could be the ones doing all this?”
“No one would ever suspect them, would they?” he replied. “At least not at first. Because we all thought they were walking to Millhaven. And then we all assumed they were dead.”
I considered it for a moment, picking at a nail as my mind whirled.
“No,” I finally said, though it came out less certain than I wanted it to. “Surely not. I mean… why would they do this? What motive could they possibly have?”
Rhys’s expression shifted slightly at that, something sharp settling in behind his eyes. “That’s the question, isn’t it?”
“I’m guessing you have an answer,” I asked, lifting a brow.
“I do.” He tipped his head slightly. “Have you noticed that only Legacies have been killed so far?”
“Yeah. I was just thinking about that the other night.”
“Well, there might be a reason for that. And if Brad and Olivia are behind everything…” He paused briefly. “Then I’m pretty sure I know why.”
I frowned. “Why?”
“They’re obsessive about their athletic careers,” he said. “Constant training, strict diets, hired nutritionists. The works. The only real break they ever take is this camp, and even then, they’re still active all day with the kids, so it barely counts.”
I nodded slowly, waiting.
“Two summers ago, they skipped working here altogether,” he continued. “They both qualified for the US Olympic trials that year, so everything else took a back seat.”
“Oh, wow. So they’re seriously elite.”
He nodded. “Yeah. We were all pumped for them. I mean, what are the chances that not just one, but two people you know are that close to the Olympics?”
“Yeah, that’s amazing.”
“The trials were going to be held in New York that year, so they didn’t have to travel far for them,” he went on.
“So then someone in the group chat convinced them to come up here for the last night of camp. Not with the kids around. After they’d all left.
We usually stay an extra night after the shutdown. Party in the woods, blow off steam.”
“You mean the Legacies, right? Not all the counselors?”
“Yeah, just the Legacies,” he said. “Anyway, Brad and Olivia usually don’t drink much. Too strict with their training. And with the trials only five weeks out, they said no to alcohol completely. Just wanted to hang out with us for the night.”
I had a feeling I knew where this was going.
“At some point, a few of the girls made a big bowl of punch,” he went on. “Juice, a bit of vodka. They kept pushing Brad and Olivia to have one glass. Said it was about celebrating together. So eventually, they gave in. Figured a few sips wouldn’t hurt.”
“Right…”
Rhys’s jaw tightened. “Turns out someone spiked it.”
“With what?”
“Something called Neon Dust,” he said. “It’s basically a party mix. MDMA cut with synthetic THC.”
I winced. “Shit.”
“Yeah.” He dragged a hand over his jaw. “No one ever owned up to it. I had my suspicions about Logan and Jensen, but nothing concrete. Anyway, the MDMA cleared out pretty quickly, but the THC metabolites didn’t. So when they got tested a week later, it showed up.”
“What happened then?”
“Anti-Doping Agency handed them both one-month suspensions,” he said. “Which meant they were out of the trials.”
“Oh my god…”
“There was one relay on the final day that Brad might’ve been eligible for, because it was a day after the suspension period was up,” Rhys added. “But he wasn’t selected.”
“So basically, their Olympic dreams were shattered by one of their fellow Legacies. But they have no idea which one.”
“Yeah. Pretty much.”
I let out a slow breath. “That’s brutal.”
“Yeah. All that work,” he said. “Years of it. Gone because someone thought it’d be funny to spike the punch.”
I shook my head. “I can’t even imagine how that would feel.”
“There’s still a chance they can qualify for the next trials. But still…”
I nodded slowly. “It must’ve felt like their lives were over.”
“They tried to put on brave faces,” he said. “Act like it wasn’t the end of the world. But…” He exhaled quietly. “I know it wrecked them.”
I leaned back, bracing my hands against the bed as my mind whirled. “That’s definitely a motive,” I said. “And it explains why it’s only Legacies dying.”
“Exactly.”
“But… hold on.” I frowned, straightening again. “What about that note we saw on the first night here? It specifically said last summer. Not two summers ago.”
Rhys rubbed his jaw. “Yeah, that tripped me up too. But then I figured… maybe that note was actually just a stupid prank, like most of us originally thought. And then the person who did it never wanted to own up to it, because people actually started dying, and they thought it would make everyone suspect them.”
I considered that, then nodded slowly. “I guess that tracks.”
“Like I said before, it’s only a half-baked theory.”
“It could still be right,” I said. “I’ll tell Jasmine, and we’ll loop Knox in when he gets back.”
“Sounds good.”
I pushed to my feet, brushing my hands off on my jeans. “Well, uhh… I’ll see you later. Maybe.”
Rhys stood too, closing some of the space between us. “Thanks again for bringing the food,” he said. A faint hint of something lighter crept into his expression. “And thanks for the dessert.”
“Dessert?” I frowned slightly. “You mean the protein bars?”
Rhys huffed out a quiet laugh, stepping a little closer. “Not exactly.”
I stilled as he closed the remaining space between us, my pulse spiking before I could stop it. “Then what—”
He cut me off, one hand lifting to brush lightly against my jaw before he leaned in and kissed me.
It wasn’t rough and urgent. Not like yesterday. This time it was slower. Intentional. Like he already knew exactly how I’d respond. Which, annoyingly… I did.
My hands came up to fist in his shirt as his mouth moved against mine, and when his tongue swept across my bottom lip, I opened for him without thinking. A low sound of approval vibrated in his chest, and the kiss grew hotter, deeper, until my knees felt unsteady.
He walked me backward until my thighs hit the edge of the wooden table that stood by the window. Without breaking the kiss, he lifted me onto it, stepping between my legs like he belonged there. His hands slid under my shirt, palms rough and warm against my bare skin.
“Rhys…” I said breathlessly when he finally pulled back.
He didn’t respond. He just kissed me once more, softer this time, then dropped to his knees in front of me.
My breath caught as he dragged my jeans and panties down my legs in one smooth motion, tossing them aside. The cool air of the cabin hit my exposed skin, but it was nothing compared to the heat of his gaze. He looked up at me, eyes dark and hungry, as he hooked my legs over his shoulders.
“I’ve been thinking about this since you walked through that door,” he murmured.
Then his mouth was on me.
A sharp cry escaped me at the first slow drag of his tongue over my pussy.
He took his time, licking and savoring me like I really was his dessert.
When he circled my clit and sucked gently, my hips jerked against his face, and one of his strong hands pressed down on my stomach, holding me still as he devoured me.
“Fuck, you taste so good,” he groaned against my pussy, the vibration sending sparks up my spine. He licked deeper, tongue pushing inside me before returning to my clit with filthy, wet sounds. “I could eat this pretty pussy for hours.”
My head fell back, fingers threading through his thick hair as pleasure coiled tighter and tighter. He slid two fingers inside me then, curling them just right while his mouth focused on my clit, sucking and flicking until I was shaking.
“Rhys… oh my god…”
“Come on my tongue, baby,” he growled, pumping his fingers faster. “Let me taste how sweet you get when you fall apart.”
The orgasm hit me hard then, and I clamped my thighs around his head, crying out as waves of pleasure crashed through me. Rhys didn’t stop, licking me through every pulse until I was trembling and oversensitive.
Only then did he rise, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. The look in his eyes was pure sin. He pulled me off the table, spun me around, and bent me over it. I heard the sound of his belt and zipper, and then the thick head of his cock was nudging my soaked entrance, teasing me.
He leaned over me, lips brushing my ear. “Did you think yesterday was just a one-off?”
I let out a shaky breath, still trying to recover. “Um… yeah, sort of?”
“Fuck no.” His voice dropped lower, rough with need as he rubbed his cock along my slit. “I like you, Alissa. And I can’t get enough of this pussy.”
He thrust into me in one deep stroke, filling me completely. His hand fisted in my hair as he started fucking me hard, the old table creaking beneath us with every powerful snap of his hips.
“Fuck, you feel incredible,” he rasped, slamming into me again and again. “So wet. So tight. This pussy was made for me.”