Page 54 of Dig Your Grave

His arms wrapped around me from behind.“I know.”He pressed a gentle kiss to my temple.“But it’s the best we can do.”

I sank against him, letting the tension unravel a fraction.“What if that text that warned us was from…Carlisle?Or someone else inside the Skulls who’s secretly on our side?”

Anubis frowned.“Could be.We have no shortage of secrets swirling.We’ll keep an eye on that number.”

Exhausted, we found solace in each other again.The caretaker’s cottage, filled with the hush of night, had become a refuge as we clung to the fragile sense of partnership.Soft murmurs and gentle touches reminded us that amidst the lies and danger, we had a real connection that the Skulls couldn’t fake.

Chapter 20

By the time I returned to my dorm early the next morning, I was a bundle of nerves.I had to keep up appearances, attend my Journalism classes, and avoid letting slip that I was living a double life.

To make matters worse, Harry from the Howler cornered me in the hallway after class.He looked disheveled, dark circles under his eyes.

“Hey, you’ve been MIA,” he accused, breathless.“We’re finalizing that big article on campus hush money.Why haven’t you turned in your draft on the Skulls rumor?”

My stomach clenched.I couldn’t risk exposing the infiltration yet.“I’m still digging,” I said, forcing a casual tone.“These rumors are tough to prove, Harry.Give me a bit longer.”

He frowned.“Come on, Suede.There’s a wave of suspicion about Toccara’s death, the library sabotage.The campus is hungry for truth.Don’t you want to break the story?”

“Of course I do,” I snapped, frustration slipping out.“But I need more time to get hard evidence.If we go public too soon, we could get shut down.”

Harry studied me for a beat, then softened.“Fine.But we can’t wait forever.”

He hurried off, leaving me feeling torn.In a few short weeks, I’d gone from wanting to expose Edenvane’s underbelly to wanting to survive it.

That afternoon, I found a note slipped under my dorm door.The handwriting was tight, looped:

“I know what you did at the library.Meet me behind the Music Hall at 6 p.m.if you value your life and Carlisle’s.”

My pulse fluttered, panic surging.Another threat?Or a potential ally?

The hours dragged until 6 p.m.I couldn’t risk telling Anubis, so I went alone.I arrived behind the Music Hall, a secluded area near a row of old practice rooms.The sky hung heavy with clouds, wind rustling the branches overhead.

A figure emerged from behind the dumpsters, tall, dark coat, hair partially hidden by a hood.My heart pounded until I recognized the face:Kate, one of the Howler staffers.

I stepped back, startled.“Kate?You wrote the note?”

She nodded, eyes flicking nervously around.“Don’t freak out.I’m a friend.I’ve seen you sneaking around, acting weird, and after that library sabotage?I realized something big was happening.I…” She took a shaky breath.“I’m not the only one who suspects a secret society is controlling everything.Some of us want to help.”

My mind spun.“Us?Who else?”

Kate glanced at her phone.“There’s a small group, students, staff, even an adjunct professor, who’ve noticed the strange suicides, Toccara’s death, the hush-hush around campus finances.We’re calling ourselves the Undercurrent.We… fight back quietly.”

I stared, unsettled yet intrigued.“What do you mean, fight back?”

She licked her lips.“In small ways, like sending a random text to warn you in Carlisle’s building.That was me.I recognized you sneaking in, guessed you were forced into some sabotage.We can’t fight the Skulls directly, but we can disrupt them.You can help.”

She had been the one who texted the warning.

“How do you know I’m not loyal to the Skulls?”I asked quietly.

Kate’s gaze held steady.“Because I’ve seen your face after each sabotage, and I saw how upset you were about Toccara.You’re not one of them.You’re stuck.”

Emotion clogged my throat.Fuck.Did I trust her?I made a quick decision based only on the feeling in my gut.Besides, I needed a friend.“I am stuck,” I whispered.“But they’re powerful.They’ll kill me, kill Anubis, if we openly betray them.”

“Then do it from the inside,” Kate urged, voice trembling with passion.“We can help from the outside.Pass us intel, let us sabotage the saboteurs.We might save Carlisle yet, or reveal who killed Toccara.”

I swallowed.“You risk your own life.”

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