Page 66 of The Scarab's Game

I started to shake my head, but my stomach churned like I was genuinely going to be sick. “No, no. I’ll be fine. You talk to Noah and see if he has more information. I’ll…”

What? What was I going to do? Go back to the gallery and stare at the fakeWheatfield? I had nothing to do until the varnish dried.

Talk to Noah? What would I say?

No, I needed to… to what? Think. I needed to think. “I need some fresh air, that’s all. On dry land.”

He nodded, his forehead creased in worry. “All right. Sit and have some water at the yacht club. I’ll meet you there.”

I forced a smile and darted for the stairs, carefully keeping my face away from Noah’s direction. I disembarked and hurried along the dock, my head light and legs shaky.

What was going on? The painting, Noah… I needed to talk to someone and make sense of all this.

Scarlett? God, no. What would I say to her?

Maybe Emmett or Rav?

As I reached the yacht club, I spotted Rav, sitting at a small table and reading a newspaper. Suddenly, it clicked. This was why Emmett hadn’t insisted on staying with me at the gallery,despite all his talk of danger. Rav wasn’t actually reading a paper. He’d been watching me the whole time.

I marched over to his table, fire burning in my gut, replacing the nausea. I hauled out the chair facing him. “We need to talk.”

Rav lowered his newspaper. “About?”

“Noah.”

No reaction.

“I saw him. Not five minutes ago, on Massimo’s yacht.”

He didn’t express shock or confusion. Just a flicker of irritation in his eyes.

“You knew,” I breathed, my legs almost giving out under me. “You knew he was alive?”

Rav grunted, folding his paper and laying it on the table. “We can’t talk here.”

“But—”

“I warned him.” He stood. “Let’s go.”

“Where?” I asked, my mind whirling with questions. “Warned who?”

Rav pulled out his phone and typed a quick message. “You need to talk to Emmett.”

Chapter 23

Emmett

My phone buzzed.I pulled it out to find a message from Rav:Heading your way with Jenn. She spotted Noah.

“Shit.” I flashed the message to Drew and Will. “So much for keeping her in the dark.”

Will grimaced. “That complicates things.”

Another text from Rav came through:Call Scarlett re: how to handle this.

I frowned at the phone. This was my op, but he was deferring to Scarlett?He’s not deferring, Emmett. He’s looking for her best friend’s input on explaining the news and cushioning the blow.

Jenn wasn’t a mark or a target. She was a friend. One who might be in danger.