Page 104 of The Unravelings

The boy who is always lurking and waiting.

“JJ,” I mutter.

“Spitfire,” he says quietly, raising a brow and checking me over. “Donating blood?”

My lips pop open to answer, but an angel in the form of Simon saves me.

“Oli, I brought your refreshments,” Simon says cheerily, giving me a small juice box and two chocolate chip cookies wrapped in plastic. “Oh…” He trails off, stiffening when JJ cocks his head. “I-Is this recruitment stuff again?” Simon leans in with a conspiratorial grin, whispering, his attention solely fixed on JJ rather than me.

“No, Si. He was leaving,” I grumble, opening my cookies and sending JJ a death glare, silently telling him to shut up before I hurl this delicious cookie at his head.

JJ snorts. “It’s a possibility. Perhaps we should talk, too?”

Simon freezes instantly, and his eyes widen. “Absolutely, I have to…” He trails off, peering over at Daniel, who waves him on. Simon deflates; all the excitement is sucked out of him the moment he realizes where he is. “Duty calls. Who knew wanting to hang with my boyfriend meant he was putting me to work?” he scoffs. “But I will be around for that conversation. If it’s happening, that is.” He grins, waving goodbye to us and meeting up with Daniel further away.

At least he isn’t green and pale at the sight of blood anymore.

“Can I help you with something?” I gripe, taking a bite of my cookie and humming my approval. Damn. I never thought a cookie could taste so damn good. Fuck throwing it at JJ’s head; this deserves to be in my mouth.

“Can’t I come and say hello?” he asks cheekily, raising a brow.

“No,” I scoff. “What brings you to the blood drive?”

“A hunch,” he says, looking around the people with an observant eye. The same stare he had when we were kids, and he was eager to solve the mystery before him. “Isn’t that why you’re here?” He raises a brow like he has me all figured out.

Jokes on him, though. He has no idea who he is really dealing with. I hope, at least. Fuck. Now my confidence dwindles, and I have a sneaking suspicion JJ is up to something.

“It’s a possibility. So, what was your hunch?”

I’ll bite. Whatever he’s doing here, it’s not donating blood. Maybe Franco sent him on an errand. Or maybe he’s doing what he used to do—observing. Shit. My back stiffens, and I discreetly peer around the room, keeping an eye out for idiot one and idiot two. That would be my luck seeing Mack and Hux here. With my heart in my throat, I peek at the multitude of faces smiling around the room, taking them in. Relief slams through me. There’s no sign of them.

“They’re not here. And no, I didn’t tell them anything. Not yet, at least,” he says smoothly, like he had read my mind. Maybe I should toss my extra cookie at him to teach him a lesson. “You’re aware that Greenwood has been suffering from an unfortunate body-dumping problem, correct?”

I stop mid-bite of my cookie and stare at him. What the hell does he know about these bodies that are piling up around town? Is it their doing? Maybe it’s time to pull the plug and throw them all in jail.

“Mhmm,” I slowly say, not wanting to give him a definitive answer. “Yeah, and missing organs,” I add helpfully.

“Well, I’m currently keeping an eye on people who help this town run.” He doesn’t look my way as he scans the room and finally lands on someone across the way in the same assessing way he did when we were teenagers. Some things never change. “Let’s say there’s a doctor who has overseen five separate surgeries, and every single patient has died suspiciously. Cremations were ordered without the family’s permission.” His eyes dart to me. “And they were all under the same doctor’s care.” He raises a knowing brow, clocking the moment I fully understand when my eyes widen.

I lick my lips, trying to keep my emotions in check while in public, as the horror of it all dawns on me. “Did that same doctor take my blood?”

“Indeed,” JJ confirms my suspicions quietly, shifting in his seat.

“And her being here is suspicious, right?” I quickly bite into my cookie, attempting to keep our conversation quiet and away from prying eyes.

“Perhaps we should speak somewhere more private? There’s always someone behind the veil,” JJ mutters cryptically, rising from the stool without waiting for my answer and discreetly gesturing for me to follow.

Well, hell. I guess I have no choice. It’s either stay at the blood drive with a potential monster or walk with a real-life monster. The phrase keep your friends close, and your enemies closer runs through my mind as I finish off my cookies and juice and throw them in the trash next to my chair.

30

Olivia

“Sure. Why not?” I say less enthusiastically, shaking my head.

This is dumb on so many levels. I trust no one on this campus, especially the man standing with his hands in his pockets, inspecting my shaky movements.

I mentally smack myself. Maybe the blood draw did a real number on my decision-making skills. I mean, I’m not fully convinced that what I saw five years ago wasn’t real. It felt real. The way their eyes glared down at me with so much disdain and hatred that I wanted to flee.