While I recover, my friends use their skills to cull information. Hector overhears that Juan’s men are planning to break into the factory grounds. Carlos sneaks around at night, using his vision to get the locations of Juan’s patrol guys. The Pack also has the school covered, watching everything the Army does and relaying anything they hear. Graham surveys the town from above, Mom flirts thugs into telling secrets at the bowling alley, and Miles trawls the internet with his newfound hacking skills thanks to his girlfriend.
They’re pretty much as awesome as I knew they’d be.
“At least one more day.” Seth puts his hand on my leg where Tagawa ripped into it. “That cut was pretty bad.”
“Brady can carry me,” I offer. “Or Graham can fly me.”
He shoots me a look. “Graham is not coming.”
I frown. “He put his ass on the line for me, Seth. Kidnapped a girl, stormed the school by himself, and he got me out. What more does he need to do to gain your trust?”
“I don’t know.” He turns away, but I can still see anger on his face. “Maybe it’s easier for you because he’s your brother, and because you never saw exactly how much he hurt you when he got violent. I can’t forget that, no matter how much I try. Someone who treated you like that will always be a threat to me.”
“Fair enough, I guess.” I take his hand and pull, the memory of lying in his bed begging to be recreated. “C’mere.”
He smiles widely. “If you say so.”
Our arms wrap around each other, and I breathe out some of the stress I’ve been holding since officially forming a vigilante group. “I suppose I like to think people can change—it gives me hope for myself.”
Seth sighs. “Maybe people can change, but it doesn’t hurt to be careful.”
“You can be careful for me.” I kiss his cheek. “How about I don’t bring up Graham helping as long as we get the sample tonight?”
He glares at me. “You drive me crazy, you know that? In pretty much every sense of the phrase.”
“Is it a deal?” I bite my lip, knowing how much he likes when I do that. “Please?”
“Only if…” He leans in. I’m more than ready for an extended make-out session, but right before our lips meet he pulls back, wincing. Then he covers his eyes and starts swearing like a sailor. My mind immediately goes to him not being able to control his vision.
“Is it happening again?” My voice betrays my panic.
“Yeah.” He pulls himself up, blinking rapidly. “It’s been acting up ever since, but not as bad as that first time.”
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” I try to remain calm. But if this has happened more than once since he pushed his ability too far, that’s not good.
“You weren’t here, remember? And then…what the hell?” He squints as if staring at something he can’t make sense of.
“What?” I ask, looking at my desk because he is.
Seth shakes his head, the episode seeming to have gone as quickly as it came. He stands and reaches behind my desk for reasons I cannot guess. When he holds his hand up, there’s a black dot on his pointer finger. He looks at it closely, and then to me. “Tell me this isn’t what I think it is.”
I get up and stare at the little device. It’s a bug. My room’s been bugged for who knows how long. I pick it off his finger and rush down the stairs to the stove. Turning on the gas, I throw it into the flame and it sparks as it dies. Seth’s look of terror must mimic my own, and I grab a pen and notepad from the counter.
Look for more, I write.
He nods, and I follow him through the house as he peels back layers with his eyes. One in the kitchen and living room. Another in Mom’s room. One in the guest room. I burn them all before we talk again.
“We have to find out who planted those,” I say quietly, still fearing listening ears. I feel sick, thinking that someone could know not only my secrets, but Seth’s and the Navarros’ and my mother’s. “If this was Juan’s doing…”
“The Phantom would have already taken you out if he heard the stuff we’ve said,” Seth says. “Same with the Army. They’d know about the cave and wouldn’t have bothered keeping you.”
My eyes narrow. “What are you saying?”
“Maybe we have a mole.” He looks down, and I get the feeling I know exactly who he suspects.
“You think it’s Graham, don’t you?”
“Think about it, Fi.” He puts his hand over his mouth, like he doesn’t want to continue. “Why haven’t we seen your dad’s people here yet? It doesn’t make sense, unless he’s already getting all the information he needs by listening in on everything you say.”
“No…” I can see Seth’s logic. Graham could be a plant. My dad could be playing along with us “being out of the syndicate” because it’s useful to him to have us here. But it can’t be. “My dad shot Graham—that wasn’t just for show! If we’d gone back to Vegas, I have no doubt Graham would be dead right now. You saw how clearly my dad viewed him as a traitor. There has to be some other explanation.”
“Like what? You don’t think someone in The Pack would do this, do you?”
“Of course not!” I put my hands over my face, trying to calm down. Then I remember something. Snapping my fingers, I say, “The Phantom said Juan’s been keeping tabs on us for a couple months! It has to be a spy, not a mole.”
Seth seems skeptical. “But then they’d have to know where the cave was, or at least that there was a cave. Juan’s guys aren’t looking out in the desert—they’re letting the Army do the heavy lifting and spying on them.”
“And us.”
“Look, I know he’s your brother and you guys are finally starting to see eye to eye—”
“I don’t want to hear it!” I put my hands in the air, my temper about to go off. “If Graham wanted to spy on us he could have stayed here, but he went to Tucson with Miles. I suppose you think that was to throw us off the trail?”
He gives me a “duh” look.
I let out a frustrated grunt. “Can we think about the last time I decided not to trust Graham? You got shot!”
“That doesn’t mean he has good intentions now!”
The doorbell rings before I can get out my next defensive point, and I trudge for it despite the pain in my leg. When I pull it open, Brady and Bea stand there with a brown box. They give me a surprised look.
“Whoa, I can feel your angry face,” Brady says.
Bea laughs. “Definitely.”
I take a deep breath, wishing I could prove them wrong. “What’s in the box?”
“A major score, that’s what.” Brady steps inside and heads for the kitchen table, Bea following behind.
I shut the door and come over. Seth’s already pulling out test tubes, beakers, and chemicals that look like materials we’ll need to test the cave water. “Sweet. How’d you get this stuff?”
“We had to take turns sneaking into one of the school science labs,” Bea explains. “One is on serious lock down, but the other two still have classes going on. Carlos took one thing during biology, I took another during chemistry, and so on and so forth. Now all we need is a sample of the water.”
“Perfect.” I shoot a glare at Seth, who gives it right back. “We’ll get it tonight. Brady, you’re taking me even if Seth refuses to ‘let me’ go. He can look for more bugs at your house and the Navarros’ place.”
“What?” Bea and Brady say at the same time.
Seth puts his hand on the table, eyes all fire. “Oh, I’m coming. Who else will make sure you don’t get hurt?”
I grit my teeth. Bea and Brady step away from the table slowly. Seth doesn’t back down one millimeter. I hate that it kind of makes me want to jump him. “Fine.”