RIVAL’S POV
The thing about liars?
They always get cocky.
Thomas thought I was asleep. Curled up like a dead man, eyes shut, arms folded, breathing even. He even waited that extra minute, like he was being slick.
But I knew the rhythm of his movements by now — the way his bunk creaked when he shifted his weight, the little grunt he made when he slipped into his boots. He thought he was a ghost.
He wasn’t.
I heard the soft click of our door unlocking, and the faintest shuffle of boots disappearing down the corridor.
Gotcha.
I sat up slowly, keeping my breath tight. My heartbeat was calm — too calm for how f*****g pissed I was. That kind of calm only ever came right before I snapped.
And I was close.
Too damn close.
I followed him, silent as a shadow.
He moved like a rat — cautio
