Page 137 of Trapped With You

Why was Callie with him?

What were they doing together?

Was she…in cahoots with him this whole time?

No.

No, I couldn’t—didn’t want to—believe it.

This was Callie. The girl I’d known since fourth grade. We’d been friends for years. What reason could she possibly have to hurt me? She’d always been so kind, sweet, and gracious.

But why was she there, Ella? Your eyes weren’t playing tricks.

You. Saw. Her.

Many questions bounced in my skull, completely unanswered.

Sensing my inner turmoil, Cade tucked a short strand of my hair behind my ear. “A penny for your thoughts?”

I swallowed. “I…I saw something when we were driven away from St. Victoria.”

“What did you see?”

I wanted to tell him the truth. But part of me was afraid that once I uttered it out loud, it would change everything. Because if Callie was truly implicated in this…I sucked in a deep breath. “I saw Callie standing by the woods with the masked guy.”

Shocked, Cade faltered a step. “What?”

“I saw them, Cade. It washer. She was wearing that Little Red Riding Hood costume, and he was wearing all black with that Guy Fawkes mask.”

“Why would she be with him?”

“I don’t know,” I grated. “But I’m beginning to suspect that everything that’s happened…”

I couldn’t finish my sentence.

Cade understood me regardless. “There may be some truth to Darla’s theory of an Initiator calling the cops.”

Translation: it could have been Callie.

Butwhywould she do this? It didn’t make any sense.

“Ella, is Darla still friends with Callie?”

“Why are you asking?”

“Humour me.”

A shard of suspicion sank into my mind, giving rise to more dread and vexation.

“No, she isn’t,” I mumbled. “After Darla stopped talking to me, Callie claims that Darla also stopped talking to her. We never figured out why Darla cut us out and by the time university rolled around, I stopped caring about the possible reasons.”

“I don’t want to stir the pot, but I think it’s worth talkingto Darla,” Cade hushed. “Shaun’s right. It’s not like her to cut out anybody—especially you—from her life without a valid explanation.”

Anxiousness simmered in my core. “Okay, I’ll talk to her soon.”

He smiled and thumbed my cheek tenderly. “Good.”

“Cade, I’ve been thinking about something, but I’m not sure how you’ll react.”