“I definitely checked out her hand, and she had all her nails unless she’s been hiding extras.” Devon leaned back. “It was just an accident. If anything, whoever is in charge of the park is responsible.”

“Most of the adults in town played Assassins. They know the deal,” Lia said. “We need to decide what to do once our week is up and we can go after her.”

“She’ll change her schedule,” Devon said. “The one you know.”

Lia stared at him. “Obviously.”

Assassins was hers. It hurt that Devon didn’t know she knew that, as if she weren’t able to figure it out. Abby would return to her walks soon, fractured arm or no. She was as picky about her walks with Omelet as she was about her books; she had cried in fourth grade when Sam Allen dog-eared a page in her favorite novel.

“There’s a reason I agreed to her deal, you know,” Lia said. “Even if you can’t figure it out.”

Devon downed the last of his soup, and behind the lip of his thermos, his mouth curled up.

“You liked watching me fail, didn’t you?” Lia asked, frowning.

“Aside from the fact that Abby fell, it was a little funny,” Devon said, smirking. “Admit it.”

Lia groaned. “I only missed because Omelet tackled her.”

“And you didn’t observe the whims of dogs and write them down with a full appendix?” He clutched his heart. “I’m disappointed. I could set up a target in my backyard, and you could come practice if you think it would help.”

He grinned as he said it, and a flickering heat filled her chest till her words felt hot and heavy.

“Are you inviting me over?” she asked.

“Actually, I was planning on betraying you and using you for target practice as revenge for getting me caught up in this.” He looked away. “Of course.”

“Of course,” Lia said, smiling. “I suppose I’ll just have to prove my worth this week.”

On Monday night, Lia made plans instead of sleeping. Her parents had been strict with Mark, but Lia was the second child. They had exhausted all their helicoptering, he used to say, and she was lucky they didn’t watch her like a hawk. They spent more time worrying about her on the Parents of Lions Facebook group than talking to her about her life. Really, Lia knew he just mattered more, so they paid less attention to her.

She left the house at five a.m. on Tuesday. Her parents snored right through it. She wasn’t going to kill Abby. They had made a deal, after all. She was just going to follow Abby and see if she kept her normal routine. She had nothing to fear, but maybe she would scope out new routes or invite a friend to journey out with her and Omelet. It was the perfect time for Abby to experiment with ways to stay alive in Assassins, which meant it was the perfect time for Lia to figure out how to get around those ways. The water gun she had gifted Abby would make it harder, especially now that Abby was on alert, but it would be a good challenge.