Rhodes let out a dry chuckle. “She’s ‘off’?”
Wells nodded.
Rhodes looked from Wells to Burnett, then back again. “Well, Jaha. Thank you for bringing this very critical piece of intelligence to my attention. I will be sure to have my men investigate anyone who may seem a little off. We can’t have that.”
The men gathered around snickered. Wells felt his cheeks burn.
“It’s not a joke,” Wells said firmly. “She was up to something. I just don’t think she’s as innocent as she seems.”
Rhodes pinned Wells with a cold stare. “I realize that your brief time as leader here on Earth was very satisfying for you. And one day, if you manage to keep your desperation in check, perhaps you’ll be in charge again. But right now I find it shameful that you would make up accusations against an innocent girl simply because you would like to feel important.”
Any sense of embarrassment Wells felt was gone in a flash, replaced by pure disgust. He wasn’t the one playing games here—and he wasn’t the one letting power go to his head. Rhodes was putting all their lives at risk because he was… what? Threatened by a teenager? He wasn’t going to give Rhodes the satisfaction of letting his frustration show. As hard as it was, he ignored Rhodes’s accusations and focused on giving him concrete evidence so he’d have to act, regardless of whatever personal beef he had with Wells.
“Sir. Before you arrived here, two members of our group were killed.”
“Yes, I heard about those unfortunate incidents.” Rhodes waved his hand dismissively at Wells. “But I understand that you were not properly protected. We’ve established a security perimeter that will prevent that from happening again.”
“I’m not sure how a perimeter would prevent an arrow from hitting someone in the neck. Sir. And I’m not sure how a perimeter would help if one of their people has already infiltrated our camp. My friend Priya was strung up from a tree like an animal. We couldn’t understand how someone could have snuck into camp for long enough to do that to her without anyone noticing a stranger among us. But I think I’ve figured it out. I think that the culprit was already here, not an outsider at all. I think it was Kendall.”
Rhodes looked at Wells like he was a scrap of trash stuck to his boot. “That’s enough. Come back to me when you’re ready to help. I don’t have time to listen to your conspiracy theories and delusions. I have a settlement to run. If you can tell us where to find an ample food supply, then I’m happy to listen to you. Now go.”
Without a word, Wells stormed away. As he rounded the corner of the nearest hut, he slammed directly into someone.
“Sorry,” he said, looking up into a familiar face. Kendall. She had been standing right there and had heard everything he said to Rhodes. Wells braced himself for a harsh exchange of some kind. But instead, all Kendall did was shoot him a strange, unreadable smile before turning around and heading off into the woods. Wells watched her get swallowed up by the trees, his heart pounding in his chest, somehow knowing in his gut that she wasn’t coming back.
CHAPTER 12
Clarke
Clarke didn’t have the stomach to tell Wells all the details about her plan to rescue Bellamy. She needed his help, but there was a limit to what your ex-boyfriend needed to know. Especially when the plan essentially consisted of one step: flirt dangerously with a sociopathic guard. And particularly when your ex-boyfriend was the protective and occasionally self-righteous type, who also happened to be the de facto leader of the camp.
“So what exactly is it you want me to do?” Wells asked, surveying her with an expression that made it very clear he knew she wasn’t telling him everything.
“Someone has to create a distraction so Bellamy and I can get out of camp without anyone noticing.”
“I can certainly create a distraction, but how exactly do you plan on getting past the guards?”
“I have a plan. Don’t you trust me?”
Wells sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “Of course I trust you, Clarke, but what I don’t understand is why you won’t trust me. Why won’t you tell me what’s going on? I know he’s your boyfriend, but he’s also my brother.” The word sounded strange coming from Wells’s lips, but it nonetheless landed in a soft spot deep inside her heart.
“I know, Wells. That’s why I need you to believe me. The less you know, the better chance this has of working.”
Wells shook his head, then gave her a wry smile. “You could convince me to do pretty much anything. You know that, right?”
Clarke grinned. “Good. Because I have one more favor to ask.”
“Anything you want, Griffin.”
“Once we get out of here, we’ll need somewhere to go. Do you think Sasha would ask the Earthborns to take us in—at least for the time being?”
“I’ll talk to her,” Wells said. He and Sasha had agreed to meet in the woods at noon each day, a temporary measure until it was safe for her to visit the camp again. “I’m sure she’ll do it.”
“Thank you.” She ran through her mental checklist again. Nearly all the pieces of her plan were in place.
Her only regret was that leaving camp would mean leaving behind Dr. Lahiri. They hadn’t had a chance to finish their conversation, and she knew there was something he hadn’t told her about her parents.
“What is it, Clarke?” Wells asked, apparently reading the concern in her face. He’d always been able to tell what she’d been thinking, a skill that had made the beginning of their relationship so magical, and the end of it so heartbreaking.