“Alright, I’ll get the security team on this.” He goes to walk out of the office, but Theo stops him.
“Have you heard anything from Andy and his condition?” he asks.
“From what Kevin says, he’s stable and responding well to the IV antibiotics, but it’s still a little touch and go with how far along the infection is.”
Better than nothing. I just hope we spotted it in time.
“I’ll update you both when we have answers,” Anthony says before he strides out of the room.
“What the fuck are we supposed to do now?” I ask with a tired groan as I stare at the empty doorway. My entire purpose for the past few days has been trying to find information about where Ollie and Rhys are by rooting out the traitor. Now that she’s gone and we’ve looked through everything in the office, I have nothing to do.
Nothing to stop the impotent rage from building up inside me.
Theo limps around the desk. “Help me back to the cabin and I’ll give you something to do.”
I frown. “If it’s sorting through more files, I might actually start murdering people. Starting with you.” I’ve read enough files and reports in the past several hours to last a lifetime.
He huffs out a laugh and shakes his head. “No reading, I promise.”
My eyes narrow on him for a moment, unsure whether or not to believe him before I wrap my arm around him. With his weight supported,the two of us make our way out of Elsa’s cursed office and towards our cabin.
“You want me tomake Ollie a bed?” I ask, staring at Theo with furrowed brows.
He nods from his place on the sofa, his face and body more relaxed after finally taking his painkillers. “She can’t keep bed-hopping between us. She needs a place that’s just hers and a bed big enough to fit all four of us. Since there’s no chance of you getting some much-needed sleep, this is the next best thing.”
“I don’t even know how to make a bed. I’m an ex-rugby player, not a bloody carpenter.”
“You’ll learn,” Theo says with far more confidence than I feel. “I’m sure there’s someone around here who has experience making wooden shit with their hands.”
My nose wrinkles. That means I’ll have to interact with people, something I’ve been avoiding since my temper is on such a short fuse.
He chuckles at my expression. “Or you can just figure it out yourself.”
Neither are good options, but with how unstable I’m currently feeling, I’d much rather just work it out myself rather than risk blowing up at some poor unfortunate soul. With a heavy sigh, I leave a smirking Theo on the sofa and make my way upstairs to the loft bedroom Ollie claimed.
Which is where I spend the next few hours, dismantling the single bed that’s already up here while trying to work out how the hell I’m going to build a bed. My hands are bruised and bleeding from being stabbed by splinters and nails, and I’m still no closer to figuring this shit out, but I’m feeling… calmer. And exhausted, but my mind is too wired to sleep.
I’ve just finished hauling the last of the dismantled bedframe outside when three haggard, concerned-looking councillors hurry towards thecabin. All of them look like they’ve aged several decades, with Katherine looking particularly frail as she pulls her thick, puffy coat closer around her body. Adam’s hair is a mess of tangled, greasy curls, and Charles looks like he hasn’t slept in days.
“What the hell is going on?” Charles demands as the three of them stop in front of our cabin. “First Elsa disappeared, and now the security team is rounding up residents like they’re fucking Gestapo! Why hasn’t the Council been notified ofanything?We’rethe ones who run Haven, not you or Theo or the security team.Us. The Council elected by the residents!”
Great. Just what I bloody need; Charles being an entitled asshole and demanding answers neither he nor the Council deserve.
The anger that I’ve tried so hard to quell bubbles up, turning my blood to lava. It urges me to slam my fist into Charles’s stupid face to shut him up and then growl at them about their incompetence. Much like Rhys had the night the horde was let into Haven.
The reminder of Rhys and that he isn’t here is a punch to the gut and only angers me more.
Thankfully, the door behind me opens and a sleep-rumpled Theo emerges before I can do or say anything I might regret. “What the fuck, Charles? Weren’t you the one who came to us about a traitor in your midst?” he says, shaking his head at the older man. “Or is your memory that fucking bad?”
That takes the wind out of Charles’s sails, and the man deflates. “Oh… the traitor is Elsa?”
I roll my eyes. “Well, it’s not the bloody Tooth Fairy.”
Christ, how the hell are these idiots the leaders of Haven? Ever since we arrived back, it’s become more and more apparent that these people aren’t fit for office. I’m not sure if they were always like this or if something happened while Rhys, Theo and I were gone, but it needs to change.
Theo elbows me in the ribs and shoots me a look, silently telling me not to lose my shit. “Yes, we have ample evidence that she was the one who betrayed Haven,” he says, turning his attention back to Charles.
Katherine and Adam turn to the older man in shock, eyes wide and mouths hanging open.
