Page 23 of Surviving Love

I flicked my surprised gaze to Harold. “Is that true?”

Harold gave a sharp nod of his head.

I frowned. “You want to work with these two to get rid of Jack?”

“I’m sitting here, aren’t I?”

It took me a second to absorb what they were saying to me. I studied Harold, looking for anything in his expression that might show me he was at least conflicted. But he looked unfazed. “I thought you were pals with Jack.”

Harold shrugged. “I liked Jack at first, but he’s being a dick about me letting the fire go out yesterday. This game is hard enough without him lecturing me like I’m an idiot or something. I couldn’t help it if the fire went out. It was pouring rain.”

I grimaced. “I think he’s just concerned for the welfare of the tribe.”

Harold narrowed his eyes. “Now you’re defending Jack?”

“I’m not defending him, really. I just know he’s worried that we stay strong for the challenges. Without fire, we can’t eat rice or cook fish.”

Luciano scowled. “Oh, we’d figure all that out without Jack holding our hand. I don’t like how Jack is acting like he’s our boss. He got to pick our tribe members, but to me, that’s where his power should end.”

“Agreed,” Rob said.

Harold nodded. “Yes. He doesn’t get to play our game for us. I want to make my own decisions. He thinks he’s in charge of everything, I swear.”

“I don’t think he’s quitethatbad,” I said quietly, but they didn’t seem to be listening.

“He’s a huge threat.” Luciano raked a hand through his dark curls. “I mean, the longer he’s here, the more he’ll get the girls under his thumb. Sherry was practically sitting in his lap earlier.”

“The last thing we need is for them to become a power couple or something,” Rob grumbled.

“Jack’s got Sherry wrapped around his little finger.” Luciano’s expression was sour. “I don’t like it one bit.”

“I didn’t expect Jack to have such a strong social game.” Harold scratched his beard. “I knew he’d be good at the physical stuff, but he’s too charming. How are we supposed to compete with that?”

“I see what you’re saying, but don’t you think we still should keep him around for the time being? He’s feeding us and working hard around camp. Without him, I’m not sure we’ll win challenges either.”

Harold laughed gruffly. “I can’t believe you’re sticking up for Jack.”

Me neither.

Uneasiness shifted through me. “I… I’m not sticking up for him, so much as I’m concerned about losing the challenges. I’m simply worried for our tribe. If we don’t win the challenges, we’ll have to go to the Fire Council and vote each other off. We need Jack right now. I’m just saying, why don’t we bide our time?”

Rob narrowed his eyes. “I knew it was a mistake to approach you. Harold insisted you’d be happy to vote Jack off, but I suspected you’d be too scared to make a big move.”

Irritation pricked me. “I’m notscared. I’m trying to be logical.”

“Well, the three of us think it’s logical to get rid of our biggest threat,” Rob rasped.

It was obvious they weren’t going to budge. If I continued defending Jack, I’d only cut my own throat. “Look, if the majority wants to vote Jack off, I won’t stand in the way.”

“So, if we have the numbers, you’ll vote Jack off?” Luciano sounded skeptical.

“Maybe.”

“Maybe?” Rob scowled. “We’re not looking for a maybe. We need someone who’s a hundred percent on board with us. Jack needs to go.”

Luciano nodded. “Yeah. My game will be a heck of a lot more fun once Jack’s gone.”

I met Harold’s enigmatic gaze and asked, “You’re seriously fine with this?”