“Told you,” Cherry said with a small, satisfied smile. “Now, let's get you changed.”
Jeremiah had settled on an outfit: an oversized cream-colored sweater, dark green cargo pants, and brown ankle boots. Nothing like the jeans and hoodie I'd been wearing before.
I changed quickly, hyper-aware of every second ticking past, and when I looked in the mirror again, I felt a small surge of hope. This might actually work. I looked nothing like the girl whose name was on that List.
A knock on the door made all three of us jump.
“It's me,” came Dylan's muffled voice. “I figured you’d all be in there.”
Cherry unlocked the door and let him in. His eyes widened when he saw me.
“Whoa,” he said. “Cherry, you're a magician! I barely recognize her.”
“I know.” She was already moving back to the makeup counter. “Did you ditch her phone?”
“Yup. Left it in the garden shed, buried under some tools. If anyone tracks it there, they'll waste a lot of time searching that whole property.”
“Good.” Jeremiah checked his watch. “Ginny should be here soon with the burner phones. Then we need to decide on our next move.”
“I’m guessing the motel from last year is a big fat no,” Cherry said, brows rising.
“Yeah. I think we should stay away from any kind of shared accommodation. Too many people. Too much risk of being spotted.”
“I actually might have an idea,” Dylan said slowly, rubbing his jaw. He looked at Cherry. “Do you remember that guy I was seeing in freshman year? Bryce?”
She rolled her eyes. “Sure do.”
“Sorry to bring him up,” Dylan said hurriedly, looking back at Jeremiah. “I promise I have a good reason for it.”
Jeremiah lifted his palms. “It’s fine. I know you had a life before you met me.”
“Well, as Cherry remembers so clearly, Bryce was very deep in the closet. He wouldn’t even speak to me or look at me in most public places, because he was scared someone would notice.” Dylan shook his head, eyes rolling upward. “Anyway, his family owned a lot of property around here, including an old hunting cabin they never used anymore up in Whitmore Forest. He used to take me there on weekends, because it was so remote that there was no way anyone would ever see us. And his familyneverwent there. So he considered it ‘safe’ for us.”
“A remote cabin would be amazing as a hideout, but… I really don’t think we should call Bryce,” Cherry said, head slowly shaking. “I mean, you guys didn’t exactly end on good terms. So he’d probably go straight to the nearest hunter and give us up.”
“I’m not suggesting we call him,” Dylan said. “I remember exactly where the cabin is, and I also remember where the spare key is hidden. And it’s a really rustic old place. No alarms or electronic codes to get in. So we could head up there and hunker down for the night. Stay there until two o’clock tomorrow. Then Violet will be safe.”
“What if Bryce is there with one of his secret dates?”
“He won’t be. He graduated last year, and last I heard, he moved to Chicago for work.”
“And you’re absolutely sure his family never goes there?” Jeremiah asked, raising his brows.
“Totally. The place is basically falling apart. It probably doesn’t even have power connected to it anymore,” Dylan replied. “So it won’t be the nicest night for us. But it’ll be safe.”
I nodded slowly. “I think it’s a good idea,” I said. “No one will ever think to look for us at your ex-hookup’s cabin.”
“Especially because he never admitted we were seeing each other,” Dylan said. “So hardly anyone even knew about it.”
“It’ll be like camping,” Cherry said, her expression brightening slightly. “We can stop by a grocery store first. Grab some snacks and stuff to make s’mores. Then we can sit in the dark and tell ghost stories all night.”
“Hold on.” Jeremiah lifted a palm. “What if they’re tracking our cars?”
Cherry arched a brow and jingled her keys. “Um, hello? I’m the senior production coordinator here. That means I have access to the theater department van. And there’s no way they’re going to be tracking that.”
“Perfect,” Jeremiah said. Then he frowned. “Wait, where's Ginny? I thought she’d be here by now.”
As if summoned by his words, another knock sounded at the door.
