“Alice,” Dylan said, halting her rambling.
“What?” she asked, surprised by his abrupt tone.
“You act like you plan on going back to the camp tomorrow, back to being a counselor,” he said.
“That’s because I do. What else would I plan on doing tomorrow?”
He leaned up slowly on his elbow, spearing her with his stare.
“Do you remember what happened in the den? What we talked about up here?”
She realized he thought she’d repressed everything, because she was so traumatized or something. “I remember it all, Dylan.”
“Then why would you think you’d go back to being a counselor? Hiring you was only a scheme Sidney and I came up with to get you back into these surroundings without forcing things on you, to try to figure out how much you remembered … if anything.”
She pressed her hand against her heart, as if to alleviate the pinch of sudden pressure. It felt like ice water spilled down her spine. “Oh my God. You mean … you really didn’t think I was good enough to be here?” she asked, horrified. She hadn’t even considered this angle. “I kept thinking it was a mistake. I should have known! I think lots of people—like Kehoe—are wondering what the hell I’m doing here. It couldn’t be any clearer I don’t belong—”
He sat up abruptly and clutched at her shoulders, bringing her to a sitting position nex
t to him. She gasped at his firm action, halting her pressured speech.
“Alice, stop it. You’re more than qualified to be here. And how can you say you don’t belong here? Here is you. This house. Durand Enterprises. Everything. I didn’t get a chance to mention the trust that’s was set up by Alan—”
“No, don’t, stop!” she blurted out, sounding frantic and stupid to her own ears. “They’re Addie Durand’s,” she said in a choked voice.
Dylan’s mouth clamped shut. His eyes looked wild. “I’m Alice,” she continued shakily. “And Alice Reed is a counselor at Camp Durand. I have a million things to do tomorrow, including announce to the kids that I’ve elected Judith their team leader and put out any fires that might be associated with that. And, oh right—and there’s the big campfire on the beach tomorrow after dinner! It’s the first time we get to hear the team point tallies so far.”
He shook his head, clearly stunned. Speechless. Her heart squeezed.
She put her hand on his jaw. “You have to let me do what I came here to do,” she said.
“It’s not right,” he said. “I won’t let you do it.”
“Are you saying you’re going to fire me as a counselor?”
“No. I can’t let you go down there and pretend like today didn’t happen!” he bellowed.
“I’m not pretending anything,” she exclaimed. “I remember what happened to you, Dylan. God, I’ll never forget,” she added feelingly. “I remember what happened to Addie. It’s going to take a while for me to figure out what it all means, and in the meantime, I’m going to live my life. My life.”
He grunted in disbelief, and glanced around the room as if searching for some tool in order to convince her. Her fingers dug into his hair, her fingertips rubbing his scalp. She hated seeing that tense, desperate look on his face.
“I’m not convinced you’re safe down at the camp,” he said suddenly, as if he’d landed on his weapon of choice and brandished it now.
She shut her eyes and shook her head. “I’m perfectly fine. Besides,” she added wearily, “it’s not like you’re not having me followed constantly, right?”
His gaze narrowed dangerously on her. She didn’t know why the thought had come to her all of a sudden, but his reaction informed her that her impulsive statement had been dead-on.
“Sal Rigo? That Durand manager? You have been having him follow me,” she said, anger entering her tone. “Why did you lie to me?” she paused and made a disgusted sound. “Right. Stupid question. You’ve made it your business to lie to me ever since I walked into that interview last May.”
“I only lied to you when it was necessary. You’ve been telling me yourself that you’re only ready to hear so much,” he said, and Alice could tell by his tight jaw she’d pricked his temper with her last comment. Well, she couldn’t help that. “Besides, I didn’t lie to you about Rigo. He and one other manager are from Durand’s security department. They’ve been brought in on a confidential basis, arranged solely by me, to keep an eye on you. It has nothing to do with the Durand executive selection process.”
Alice shook her head, incredulous at his admission. She vaguely recalled Kehoe mentioning on that first day she’d arrived that there were two more Durand managers there this summer than was usual. Dylan strikes again.
“None of the other Durand managers know the reason Rigo and Peterson are here, including Kehoe,” Dylan continued. “Our security division doesn’t usually attend the camp, and I told Kehoe at the last minute I thought their managers should be included. He couldn’t refuse. It’s not a bad idea. As for my lying to you, you asked me if Rigo was watching all the Durand counselors after hours, and I said no. Which is true,” he said with a sideways glare before he got up off the bed. “They were only hired to watch you.”
She sprung up off the bed as well and followed him to where he stood in front of a dresser, taking his phone out of his jeans pocket.
“Jesus. It was Rigo or Peterson that was following me in the woods that morning. Wasn’t it? By the stables?” she demanded.