Battle of the Killers

65 | Darkness & Stars

HOW THE hell was I going to get out of this? I peered around, focusing on Rucker and Sebastian, wondering which of them would reveal my secret.

"Yaz was in her room," Rucker said, folding his arms over his chest. "I took a long shower before getting dressed and stalking the halls for Layla." He shrugged. "I'm not gon lie. I wanted her dead. But I couldn't find her."

Yaz shivered. "I'd kill her too after what she did to you."

His face hardened, eyes darkening. "Don't remind me," Rucker said before sighing. "That's why I was the first one at the body, after Gmie and Demo. I was looking for Layla and heard Gmie scream."

"What was Fee doing?" Khan asked.

"He was moving in and out of the kitchen," Rucker said. "He was bloody and dirty, but he had cleaning supplies with him sometimes so I'm guessing he was cleaning his farm."

"My turn." Sebastian cleared his throat. "Aries and Chi were in the kitchen eating. Chi was furious, still talking about Gmie and Demo, and Aries kept trying to calm her down."

My eyes swung over to Sebastian, knowing he must've been the one in charge of tracking me. He met my intense gaze for a second, completely unreadable, which wasn't his normal self. I could always read him; he was an open book most of the time, but not now.

My heart dropped into my stomach, pooling at my feet in a thick sludge of despair and anxiety. "Shit," I whispered to myself. Should I say something first? Just tell them the truth about the room and everything?

Before I could even decide, Sebastian got there first.

"I was in my room, cleaning up," Sebastian said, looking at everyone else but me. "And Betinia was in the kitchen eating for a bit with Duke and then she went to the pool area where she fell over that plant and spent the rest of the time cleaning up before the footage cut off." It came out natural and fluid like it was the truth, but we both knew it was a bold-faced lie.

Fucking holy shit. He saved me. A piece of my chest warmed a bit, my fingers tingling. Thank you, Sebastian. I owed him.

"None of that helps us," Yaz said before letting out an irritated breath. "Demo was the last person near her before she died. And she has a big motive."

Rucker folded his arms. "She does. Layla basically almost killed Gmie. And Demo is fucking obsessed with Gmie, so seeing Gmie suffer might've pushed her over the edge. Or Gmie could've ordered the hit herself."

"That all makes sense, but we need proof," Khan said, tapping his keyboard. "We need proof on the killer or everything's just speculation. All of us had a big motive. She tried to kill every single one of us."

He was right. We needed hardcore evidence, or we might come to the wrong conclusion.

My mind went back to the footage, seconds before the footage clipped off. Layla was looking behind her, almost fearful. Was someone about to chase her? Or was she just being paranoid?