Chapter 43: Your Clothes Are Dirty
"But why would he do that?" Lucas asked, pretending to entertain the theory. "Destroying the rafts puts him in the same boat as the rest of us — stranded with no easy way to fish or leave."
"That’s what I don’t get," Nina admitted, frustration creeping into her tone. "But I can’t shake the feeling that it was him. Maybe he has some kind of deal with the teachers. Maybe they’re planning something."
Lucas resisted the urge to smirk.
She was a lot sharper than most of the others, that was for sure. He didn’t know much about Brian himself, but if Nina was this suspicious, it meant something was definitely off about him.
Still, he needed to be careful. If he acknowledged her theory too much, she might start digging deeper. If he dismissed it entirely, she might get defensive.
"You could be right," he said instead. "But if it really was him, we’d need proof."
Nina exhaled, rubbing the side of her temple. "Yeah, I know. That’s the problem. I don’t have anything solid, just a gut feeling."
Lucas glanced at her hands as she lowered them to her lap. Without really thinking, he reached out and took one of her hands in his.
She flinched slightly but didn’t pull away.
"You should be careful," she murmured. "Your hands are in worse shape than mine."
Lucas let out a small chuckle. "I’ll live."