“Hannah?” he whispers. “Are you awake?”
“Yes.”
I feel his hand under the blanket, creeping around my waist the same way he did every night—protective, warm, and comforting.
“I’m sorry,” he says quietly. “I’m sorry I…that I kissed you like that. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“The kiss didn’t bother me.”
“It didn’t?”
“No.”
“You want to tell me why you’re still so angry?”
I turn my head to look at him, and it’s obvious he has no idea.
“You pulled a gun, Falk. Remember what you said to me when you were first teaching me how to shoot? You said I should never draw a gun and point it at someone unless I intended to use it. Do you remember that?”
“Of course I remember.”
“Were you going to shoot Caesar?”
He hesitates, pulling his hand back from my stomach and resting it on my side.
“Only if he tried to stop me,” Falk says, “or if he tried to hurt you.”
“Caesar wasn’t involved. He wasn’t going to hurt me.”
“I can’t be sure of that. He and Brett are friends.”
“Brett has only been here for a couple of weeks.”
“And they’re still close,” Falk says. “They know each other from before, but they haven’t told anyone that.”
“How do you know?”
“I’m a very good judge of character,” Falk replies. ?
??People who have known each other for a long time act differently than people who have just met. They stand closer to each other. They speak more casually. Caesar and Brett were like that as soon as we got back to camp that first night, and yet they made a show of introducing themselves when he and I met up with that group.”
“Why wouldn’t they just admit that they knew each other?”
“Exactly,” Falk says. “Why wouldn’t they? Questionable actions make me question motivation.”
“You think they’re hiding something?”
“I know they are.”
“What?” I roll over to face him. “What would they hide from us?”
“I have no idea,” he says. “They’re pretty careful when they talk to one another, which is also suspicious.”
I think about it for a minute.
“That’s still no reason to pull a gun on him.”
“If I don’t know someone’s motives, I’m going to err on the side of caution,” Falk says, “especially when it comes to your safety. Brett attacked you.”