Page 26 of Secret Hope (Hope Landing: New Recruits #5)

The journey to Kenji's room felt like walking through a minefield. Every guest she passed represented potential recognition, every security camera a chance for exposure.

The housekeeping cart's wheels squeaked softly against the carpet, a sound that seemed deafening in her heightened state of awareness. The service elevator's harsh lighting showed her reflection in its polished steel doors—hollow-eyed, pale, looking every inch the terrified woman she'd become.

The room felt like a command center. Sophia sat at the desk, phone and tablet open in front of her, while Spencer paced by the window, looking even more disheveled than usual. All three faces turned toward her with expressions of anxiety and exhaustion.

Sophia jumped to her feet, pulling her into a fierce hug. “That’s a new look.”

“You like it?”

“Not even a little.”

Cassidy tossed the maid’s cap on the table and collapsed into the room’s single armchair. “What happened?”

Spencer paced to the window and back. “Van Der Merwe didn’t buy our story. I blew it—said the wrong crypto app name, then tripped over my own lie. He got suspicious. Then Vega strolled in like some kind of death dealer.”

“Security guy’s suspicious now,” Kenji added. “But that’s not the worst of it. I overheard him and Vega talking. Vega’s doubling down. He’s letting you eliminate Reagan next. Then Van Der Merwe will eliminate you both. Possibly Spencer, too.”

A beat of silence.

Then—

“ What? ” Sophia’s voice rose an octave. “You mean kill her? Kill them?”

“That’s insane,” Spencer said, going pale. “Cassidy’s doing what Vega wants.”

Kenji nodded. “Exactly. Once she knocks Reagan out of the tournament, Vega can eliminate them both and pin it all on her. Make it look like Cassidy was part of some inside scheme—and then remove the liabilities.”

Cassidy went still.

Her voice, when it came, was low and flat. “He’s toying with me. The dealers are feeding me wins I didn’t earn. It’s getting obvious. Harrison Wells almost reported me to the officials.”

Sophia’s eyes narrowed. “Can you stop it? Refuse the help?”

She gave a bleak laugh. “Tell the dealer to stop giving me winning hands? I’d get laughed out of the room. It’s too late. The ‘pattern’ is established. Any pro watching will say I’m in on it.”

“He’s boxing you in,” Kenji said quietly. “He’s setting up a narrative. You’re corrupt. You’ve got motive. And soon—he’ll have bodies.”

Spencer winced. “This whole thing’s a trap. A huge, brilliant, horrifying trap.”

The storm outside pressed harder against the windows. Rain started, slow and icy. The room’s light flickered.

“So now what?” Sophia asked, voice tight. “We just wait for Vega to strike?”

“No,” Cassidy said, standing. “We fight. But first—I’ve got to get back to that tournament before someone notices I’m gone.”

She grabbed her clothes from the cart and ducked into the bathroom to change. When she emerged, she was Cassidy Reynolds again.

Sort of.

"And then?" Sophia asked.

Kenji’s gaze went straight to Cassidy, who stood in the doorway. “Then we figure out how to beat the odds.”

He winked at her, grinning hard. “I’m pretty good at that, but Cassidy here is a pro.”