“Funny,” I said. “Jeremy said almost the exact same thing.”
West’s eyes flicked to his son again. “He did?”
Jeremy’s expression didn’t change. “I told her he’s in the game,” he said quietly.
My head snapped toward him. “You told him you told me?”
West’s mouth tightened. I thought he might actually deny it.
“Given what you experienced,” West said carefully, turning back to me, “it made more sense to be honest about certain aspects of the situation.”
“Certain aspects,” I repeated. “Not all of them, apparently.”
He didn’t argue.
“Okay,” I said, my voice starting to shake for a whole new reason. “Then tell me the rest. How long have you known about this? How long have you been watching us?”
“I understand you’re upset,” West said.
I laughed, loud and sharp. “You have no idea.”
“We’ve been investigating the group behind this game for some time.” His words were smooth, practiced. “When we received information that you and Max might be targeted, we?—”
“Might be?” I cut in. “You had cameras in the woods. You had Jeremy ‘watching’ us. That doesn’t sound likemight.”
He paused. “We had reason to believe there was a high probability of an incident,” he corrected.
“That’s what you call it?” I asked. “An incident?”
His gaze stayed steady. “Mackenzie, I need you to understand that there are operational details I simply can’t share with you.”
“There it is,” I said softly. “The line.”
West frowned. “What line?”
“The one you all keep reading from.We can’t say more. We’re doing everything we can. You’re safe now.” My hands balled into fists at my sides. “None of you will tell me where he is.”
“Because,” West said, the faintest edge creeping into his tone, “we don’t know his exact location.”
I stared at him. “Do you know if he’s alive?”
Silence.
It lasted a second too long.
“We have no confirmation of his death,” West said finally.
“That’s not what I asked.”
“It’s the most accurate answer I can give you,” he said.
Accurate. Not honest. Noted.
“You’re lying to me,” I said.
“I’m not,” he replied calmly.
“Then Jeremy is,” I shot back. “Because he told me if I go after Max, I don’t come out. That sounds like more than ‘no confirmation of death.’ That sounds like you know exactly what the game does to people. To him. To me.”
