“I’ll speak to Leandra,” I say shortly.
Imogene laughs, surprised. “I’m not talking about Leandra.”
Confused, I take a step forward. I have no idea who else she could be talking about, who else would threaten Jackson. Imogene crosses her arms over her chest.
“He’s not one of us,” Imogene says. “He’ll never understand you. They’re not capable of understanding.” She glances again at the tub. My stomach turns.
“No,” I say, pointing to her husband. “This isn’t what we’re going to become. We’re not killers.”
“You think there’s a better way?” Imogene asks, sounding truly curious for a moment. “Well, there’s not. That’s just yourconditioning keeping you gentle. Men only understand violence, Mena. You should have realized that by now.”
“We need to go,” Sydney whispers behind me. When I turn to her, she widens her eyes to point out that Imogene is not well. Sure enough, when I turn back around, I see how Imogene’s left eye is blinking out of sync with her right. She’s twitching.
“I’ve suffered by their hands for too long,” Imogene says. “Now they’ll suffer by mine.”
“I thought you didn’t want to fight,” Marcella replies.
“Oh, it’s not a fight,” Imogene says. “They’ll never see it coming. This, my love, is revenge. And I’m only part of the story; you are the rest.”
Revenge has never seemed so unappealing. Out in the open, out in the light, it’s cruelty.
“Sydney’s right,” I tell the others. “We need to get out of here, both for our protection and for Jackson’s and Quentin’s.”
Imogene scoffs at the mention of the boys.
Marcella is the first to move, her arm protectively around Brynn as she leaves the bathroom. Annalise jogs after them. Sydney beckons for me to follow, but I watch Imogene for an extra moment.
I don’t know what Imogene has been through; I only know what I’ve been through. I don’t want to turn into this. We will find a better way, and we’ll have to do it before Leandra, or whoever Imogene has been talking to, kills everyone.
When I turn around to walk out with Sydney, I worry that Imogene will attack us. When she doesn’t, I’m reminded thatshe wouldn’t hurt another girl. Or at least, that’s what I want to believe.
But if it came down to it, if me or the other girls stood in her way, would Imogene end us, too? Leave us to rot in a bathtub? I’m not about to find out.
The girls and I get to the living room and find Quentin at the bottom of the stairs, his arm around Jackson’s waist as he helps him. They both look scared and exhausted. Jackson’s hobbling badly.
“We have to go,” Marcella tells them, waving them toward the front door.
“What happened?” Quentin asks. “Who was screaming?”
“Trust me,” Marcella says. “Right now, focus on getting out of here.”
Jackson looks to me for information, and he gathers pretty quickly that we’re all in danger. He tells Quentin to get him outside. Imogene comes to stand in the doorway of her master bedroom, watching us. Her chin is lowered, but she doesn’t look angry or upset. She doesn’t smile. She is wholly expressionless, and it is the most unsettling thing I’ve ever seen.
“What the fuck?” Quentin murmurs when he notices her. He readjusts his arm around Jackson, and they hurry toward the door. Just as they get outside, Imogene calls to us. The girls and I look back at her.
“If you leave now, you won’t get what you need,” Imogene says.
“And what’s that?” I ask.
“Leandra knows how to stop the corporation,” Imogene says.“She has the name of an investor. She said that if you plan to take them all down, then you have to start with him.” Imogene betrays a flash of hope. “I hope you make them pay, Mena,” she whispers. “I hope you make all of them pay.”
Although I need that information from Leandra, I know I can’t meet her while I’m with Jackson. I exchange a look with the other girls, each of us working out exactly what we should do. It’s Annalise who takes a step forward.
“I’ll stay,” she says. “I’ll talk to Leandra.”
“You can’t stay alone,” Brynn says, but Annalise nods that she’ll be okay.
“I’ve already died once today,” Annalise says. “I’m not scared.” She turns to me with a knowing expression. “But she’ll kill him, Mena. You can’t let that happen. You’d never forgive yourself.”
