Page 94 of Alice Chen's Reality Check

Daniel’s hand tightens on mine, and I realize with a start that someone is slumped over just inside the entrance. For a moment a spike of fear goes through me, until I realize that it’s one of the crew members, and he’s not dead, just snoozing.

He jerks awake with a snort when we approach. “Hey! Contestants aren’t supposed to be here.”

This crew member is a burly guy in his forties, with a buzz cut under his hard hat and a reflective yellow vest tucked sloppily into his jeans.

I zero in on his name tag. “Gill, it’s lovely to meet you.” I look up at Daniel, playing the part of a friendly and forgetful girlfriend. “I’m so sorry about this. I dropped my sunglasses in there. I should’ve gone back yesterday, but after Anton…after he…” I blink really hard and start to sniffle.

Playing along, Daniel tugs me close to him. “Just breathe, sweetie.” To Gill he says, “Look, man. I won’t tell anyone if you don’t. Leah said we needed them for our interviews—you know, for continuity. She’s on a tear right now, so I’d appreciate it if you’d let us run in and get them real quick.”

“Sure, just don’t get in the crew’s way,” Gill says gruffly. He’s lookinganywhere but at me, obviously uncomfortable with seeing me fake cry. A crashing sound reverberates through the enclosure, and Gill is gone, shouting, “Jeff, I told you not to stack those so high! They’re not fuckin’ Pringles!”

“Nice work,” I say to Daniel, nudging him with my shoulder.

He quirks an eyebrow. “Rare praise.”

“Yeah, you should get it embroidered on a pillow.”

We navigate the labyrinth, retracing our steps from yesterday. But this time, there’s no camera crew in the scaffolding above us, and we easily make it past the wooden walls and scattered blocks. Finally, we reach the point where we had exited the labyrinth, and Daniel and I cautiously enter.

“Try not to disturb anything,” Daniel advises me.

“Thank you, counsel,” I say with mock seriousness.

We stop just a few feet shy of where we found Anton’s body. The blood has been scoured away, and the path is clean now. The slime pit has been partially emptied. We squint up at the scaffolding, which is the same as it was yesterday.

“See, look at the walkway,” I say, pointing at the splintered wooden beam above us. “It’s got a break in it, but…”

“But it’s not big enough gap for someone to fall through,” Daniel concludes.

“And the railing seems fine,” I say, eyeing it. If the scaffolding had given way, Anton could have grabbed onto the metal railing for balance and simply stepped over to a more solid part of the walkway. “It’s like I told Lex, he couldn’t have fallen. And there’s no reason for him to have a black eye, either.”

“Shit.” Daniel surveys the area grimly.

We knew what we were dealing with, but seeing the proof before our very eyes, that feels different. This isn’t just the set ofDawn Tay’s Inferno.This is really and truly the scene of a crime.

“Let’s take a look around—” I start, but I snap my mouth shut when a burst of laughter filters through to us. Then there’s the rumble andclank of equipment being moved and footsteps approaching.

I glance toward the exit, but it’s too far for us to make a break for it. We had an excuse for being in here, but we promised to be quick, and we should’ve been long gone by now. I’m panicking, trying to come up with a reason we’re still here. Maybe I dropped my sunglasses in the pit, or just couldn’t find them. The sounds of the crew are growing louder and louder, and there’s no escape.

I feel a hand on my elbow. It’s Daniel, his face half in shadow and half lit by the meager sunlight breaking through the clouds above us. He tips my chin up, his gaze intense on mine, and all he says is “Alice.”

I swallow. I know exactly what he’s trying to ask, and my heart’s already starting to race at just the thought of it. I nod, and then he’s sweeping me into his arms and pushing me back against the labyrinth wall, pressing his body against mine.

By the time the sound gets closer, he’s kissing me deeply, his hands going through my hair, his thigh slotted between mine, and we’re doing a very,verygood impression of being locked in a passionate make-out session.

Maybe too good of an impression. The threat of being caught heightens everything, sending a rush of adrenaline surging through me. I can feel a spark igniting everywhere we’re touching as I lose myself in the kiss, my hands running over the expanse of his back. When Daniel’s fingers trace the gap of exposed skin beneath my shirt, I gasp at the touch and nod. His hands leave a molten trail of fire as they skim under the band of my bra.

I start to I surrender to the sensation of his fingertips pressing into me, but at the sound of heavy footsteps, my eyes fly open, and I can see the brown Timberland boots of a crew member barely within my peripheral vision.

“Hey! Get a room!” Timberlands laughs.

Daniel pulls away from me and looks over his shoulder at the crew. He’s covering me with his body still, and thank goodness for that, because I’m not sure I want the crew seeing me like this. I fight to steadymy breath. Part of me just wants to drag him back to our suite and keep going, keep hearing those little desperate noises he was making, keep feeling the hard length of him pressed against me as he touches me everywhere.

“Did you find your sunglasses?” another member of the crew—Gill, I suspect—calls.

“Not yet,” Daniel says. He turns around and, still blocking me from view, says calmly, “Sorry, we got a little distracted.”

“No shit,” Gill says. “We’re heading out for dinner, but I don’t want to see you two when I get back. This is a demo site, not one of your sexy cabanas.”

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