Page 87 of Surviving Love

“Yeah. I’m used to how she is though. She doesn’t mean anything by it.”

“Shouldn’t she be your number one supporter?” He laughed gruffly. “I thought parents were supposed to build their kids up.”

“Don’t forget, she sees the world as a horrible, dangerous place.” I frowned. “Which it really kind of is.”

“It’s also an amazing place with fantastic possibilities,” he said softly.

Of course he thought that. For Jack, the world was his oyster. For me, it was more of a maze, where I wore a blindfold and tripped a lot.

When the other tribe arrived, there was a flurry of laughter and activity as we laid out the buffet of food and drink the show had provided for us. I was happy to see that Larry was still around. He greeted me cheerfully, and I ignored the grumpy look Jack shot us.

“I didn’t think I’d make the merge,” Larry said, sipping a glass of champagne. “My tribe kept losing so much, I really thought I’d be voted off before now.”

“How did you survive?” I asked, knowing he must have formed some alliances in order to stay safe.

He lowered his voice. “There are a few people I’m close to. We helped keep each other safe.”

“You’ll have to point them out to me. Maybe we can all work together.”

“Who are you with?” he asked, studying the group. “I see you talking to that white-haired guy a lot and also the tall Adonis guy.”

I laughed at his description of Jack. “At first, we were all in an alliance, but the older guy, Harold, decided Jack is too much of a threat.”

“What do you think?”

“I think Jack is a threat, but he’s also a handy guy to have around.”

Squinting at me, Larry asked, “Do you think Jack’s usefulness outweighs his chance of winning?”

“For now I believe he does?” I grimaced. “That could change tomorrow.”

“Yeah.” Larry sighed. “This game changes so fast, it kind of gives me a headache.”

“I know what you mean.”

Larry took a big bite of his hamburger, and once he’d swallowed, he said, “That Jack guy is watching us like a hawk.”

I glanced over at Jack, and sure enough, he was staring at us. Sherry was talking to him, and he was nodding, but his gaze was pinned on Larry and me. My stomach fluttered at the jealousy I saw in his brown eyes. I didn’t understand why he’d be possessive of me when he’d made a point of saying we were nothing special to each other.

“He’s probably just paranoid,” I murmured. “He’s most likely still thinking Matapang vs Karangalan.”

“You think that’s all it is?”

I shrugged. “We need numbers to stay in this game. If Jack wants to stick around, he’ll have to be open to working with you guys too.”

“Problem is, he’s going to dominate in the challenges,” muttered Larry. “It’s not about the tribe as much as individual players now. That guy really is going to be a huge threat.”

Uneasiness shifted through me at Larry’s calculating tone. I didn’t really know Larry’s character, and perhaps his easygoing charm was a facade. He could be one of the most cutthroat, calculating players of all time.

“I don’t want Jack gone yet,” I said firmly. “If you want to work with me, you need to know that.”

Larry glanced at me, and his gaze flickered. “Oh, yeah, sure.”

His tone wasn’t as reassuring as I’d have liked. “I’m going to get more champagne and food.” I forced a smile and left to peruse the food table. I loaded up my plate with another burger and more potato salad. I’d be lucky if I could keep that much food down, but I had to at least try to get a ton of carbs and protein in my body. The champagne was simply about wanting a nice buzz.

Jack joined me as I was refilling my champagne glass. His shoulder brushed mine as he helped himself to more food. “Enjoying your little friend?” he asked, his voice gruff.

“I was trying to figure out if we can work with him or not.”