“To be clear,” Raven says, “I’m not overwriting anyone. Just installing a firewall.”

Sydney laughs through her nerves and gets up to take a spot on the couch closer to Raven.

“You don’t have to do this,” I say.

“Sure,” Sydney agrees. “But I’ll be happy to never hear Anton’s voice again.”

Annalise abruptly stands and leaves the room. Marcella and I exchange a confused look.

“Jackson, can you please help me in the kitchen?” Annalise calls as she begins to run the sink.

“I’ll, uh …” Jackson stands. “I’ll see what Annalise wants while you …” He looks warily at Raven before turning back to me. “While you get started, I guess.”

I thank him, and after he leaves, Raven digs into her backpack to remove some equipment.

“Have you thought about what you’re going to do once you’re at the party?” Raven asks.

I shake my head. “Not yet,” I tell her. “But while I talk to the boys, I’m thinking Sydney should go through Lyle’s things.”

“Yes,” Sydney says.

“Lucky,” Marcella whispers, earning a smile. The idea of searching through people’s houses holds some appeal. I’m sure Marcella has been bored out of her mind. There’s only so much excitement internet research can provide.

“It will probably rule Lyle out,” I say. “But that’s one less suspect.”

“I have an idea,” Brynn says, perking up. “You said there will be other boys at the party, right? That one boy, Jonah—what if instead of going with you, Marcella and I break into his house?”

“I’m listening … ,” Marcella says, unable to hide her smile.

“That’s right,” Sydney says, looking at me. “Lyle said Jonah’s dad is out of town and that he’d be spending the night. So while they’re at the party with us, Marcella and Brynn can search Jonah’s house. That way, we can rule out two of the boys.”

Marcella already has her phone, looking for the address. At the coffee table, Raven opens up one of her boxes, and I see various sizes of screwdrivers, plastic tubing. She lifts her eyes as if expecting us to be concerned. Sydney audibly gulps.

“Rest back,” Raven tells her kindly, putting her hand on her shoulder.

Sydney meets my gaze as she leans her head against the sofa pillow. I’m suddenly terrified, deciding that I should have gone first just in case there was a problem.

“I love you, Mena,” Sydney says.

“I love you too,” I whisper.

“Now I’m going to give you something to relax,” Raven says. “It’s short acting, so you’ll be fine after.”

I watch as Raven pulls out a syringe and inserts the needle under the skin of Sydney’s inner elbow. I have a sudden wave of sickness and look away.

There’s a touch on my shoulder and I jump. Marcella is standing over me. “Brynn and I will wait with her. Why don’t you take a break?”

“Because I want to stay with her.”

When I look at Sydney again, her eyes slide closed.

Raven grabs a metal instrument from one of the cases and uses it to pry open Sydney’s left eyelid, stabilizing it in that position. I watch in horror as she begins to work wires behind Sydney’s eye, confident in her movements.

I’m starting to lose my nerve. Marcella helps me to my feet, and I go into the kitchen. Jackson is leaning against the counter near the sink, but when he sees me, he grabs his crutches to come over. Annalise walks past, squeezing my hand supportively before leaving the room.

Jackson stops across the table from me and sighs heavily.

“Well, this is another shitty day,” he says matter-of-factly.

There’s a wet sound from the couch, followed by a sharp intake of air. I can’t look.

“Want to go to my bedroom?” I ask Jackson.

“Yes,” he says instantly. I laugh despite the circumstances and lead him that way.

23

When we get inside my room, I sit on the edge of my bed while Jackson closes the door. He makes his way to the other side of the mattress, running his gaze around the room.

“What did Annalise want earlier?” I ask, curious.

“She actually wanted to talk,” he replies.

“To you?”

He looks at me and I laugh, letting him know I’m joking. All the girls like Jackson, but it’s kind of fun to mess with him too. He’s literally the only boy we’ve ever been friends with.

Jackson eases himself down on the bed and then drags himself up to the pillows, breathing heavily when he’s done. “That was fucking hard,” he murmurs.

I join him, resting the side of my head on his shoulder. He runs his palm over my hair, easing closer as he starts to talk.

“Annalise asked if I was picking up any weird vibes from Raven,” Jackson says, sharing the information before I can ask.

“What did you say?”

“That I didn’t know her well enough to judge,” he replies. “So I asked Annalise what she thought.”

“And?”

“And she said she trusted Raven with her life,” Jackson tells me. “Said she was just curious about my opinion as an outsider.”

I look toward the door, wondering if Annalise meant it. Because if Raven’s vibes are weird, she shouldn’t be inserting anything inside Sydney’s head.

I sit up and turn to Jackson.

“Now tell me what you really think,” I say.

He watches me a moment before shrugging one shoulder. “I think she’s possessive of you,” he says. “All of you, really. Like it’s her tech or something. She definitely hates me, so, you know, take my opinion with a grain of salt.”

“Why do you think that is?” I ask, looking toward the door again. “Why doesn’t she like you?” He’s quiet for a moment.

“Because she thinks that you do,” he says. A soft smile pulls at my lips, and I look back at him. He doesn’t meet my eyes at first, but when he does, I lose myself a little in the deep darkness of them. “I’m sure she doesn’t know that you left me for dead, though,” he adds casually.

“Don’t forget the part where I tried to get your best friend mad at you so you’d stay away.”

“Ah …” He nods. “Yes, that was my favorite part.”

We watch each other before he reaches to take my hand, playing with my fingers as a way of fidgeting.

“Look, Mena,” he says. “I would never tell you what to do. But for the record, I’d rather you run for the rest of your life than take the chance that a hacker has your best interests at heart. Just saying. She could shut you down for good.”

“I’m not going to run,” I say. “Not forever. And I don’t believe she’ll shut me down. But I’m wondering what you think the girls and I should do tonight. You know, an outside opinion.”

“I don’t know,” he says. “I mean, there are so many layers to this. It’s hard to know which to focus on first.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“I mean,” Jackson starts, “you can address the culture of Ridgeview and save the girls at that school. But at the same time, you might jeopardize your chance to convince an investor to turn against the corporation. Once he realizes he’s under investigation by the government, he might leave the country or something. Or you can focus on the investor and let Ridgeview sort itself out.”