Page 13 of Surviving Love
“Did I?”
“Yeah,” I hissed. “After your little stunt on the boat, I’d trust a cobra before I’d trust you.”
Jack snickered. “You’ll never last in this game, Mason.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. Do you know why?”
“Please. Enlighten me, oh wise one.”
Jack sat up on one elbow, his sharp features accentuated by the snippets of moonlight piercing the canopy. “Because you’re dumb enough to think you can trust Harold.”
Uneasiness washed over me as I stared at Jack’s smug face. “What?”
“You heard me.”
I gave Harold an apprehensive glance. “What’s he hinting at?”
“Damn it, Jack,” grumbled Harold. “Now you’ve done it.”
I swallowed hard. “Harold… wh… what’s going on?”
Jack leaned toward me with a smirk. “Harold and I have been in an alliance since before we got on the boat, and you’re the first person we planned to vote off the island.”
Chapter Three
Shock radiated through me as Jack’s words sank in.
Harold’s expression was sheepish, and he gave me a weak smile. “Look, I like you. I was having second thoughts about getting rid of you, kid. Why do you think I was trying to get you to allow Jack intoour… alliance? I was trying to keep you around.”
Harold’s betrayal should have come as no surprise. Trickery and lying were the name of the game inDevious Island. After all, it wasn’t calledTrust Your New Friend Island—the show literally had the word “devious” in the title. Yet, for whatever reason, I did feel hurt that Harold had been lying to me since we’d first met.
“Wow.” I stared at Harold, unable to hide my wounded pride.
“Sorry. Don’t take it personally. This is just the game.” Harold winced again.
“Still think I’m less trustworthy than a cobra, Mason?” Jack’s derisive tone mocked me. “It’s only day one and you’re already vulnerable.”
“Everyone’s vulnerable,” I snapped, trying to gather my shreds of dignity. “Even you.”
“I’ll give you that.” Jack shrugged.
I scrambled up and left the shelter, feeling embarrassed and confused. I’d already been blindsided, and this was only day one. Why had I ever thought I could do this? How humiliating. While I’d known in my heart it was dumb to think Harold was my friend, I hadn’t picked up at all that he was in cahoots with Jack. There had been zero indication they’d even talked.
I grimaced at the night cameraman who followed me into the woods. “Can I just have a few minutes alone, please?”
He didn’t respond verbally; he just kept filming. Of course he wasn’t going to shut the camera off. This sort of crap was why they had cameras on us 24/7. The guy was just doing his job, and I’d signed up for this.
Ignoring the fact that pit vipers and pythons inhabited the Philippines, I wandered further into the forest. I told myself not to overreact to what had just happened with Jack and Harold. That was how the game was played. I’d known coming into this that people would backstab me. I guess knowing that and experiencing it were two very different things. The idea that Jack and Harold had been manipulating me and maybe laughing at me from the beginning infuriated me. Harold had approachedmeabout being allies, and the whole time he’d been scheming with Jack?
I stopped near a cluster of acacia trees, ignoring the camera a few feet from me. The rain had finally stopped, or at least paused, and I rubbed my face tiredly as I thought about the mess I was in. If Harold wasn’t interested in an alliance with me, then I’d just have to start from scratch. I was frustrated that I’d apparently wasted a day befriending Harold. Perhaps I still had a chance to try and form something with Larry and some other people. I grimaced at the thought that maybe Larry had been playing me too. Maybe his innocent act was just that—an act.
The sound of a twig snapping made me turn around quickly. I wasn’t worried about being attacked out here by another human, not with camera crews and producers everywhere, but my heart still sped up as a dark figure approached. As the man neared, I recognized the height and width of him, and I scowled.
“What the hell do you want? Are you here to gloat?”
Jack stopped a foot from me, his expression hidden by shadows. “You shouldn’t be wandering off in the dark.”
