“So Raven … the hacker?” he says. “She’s a girl too?”
“She’s AI,” I say. “Not really meant to be a girl, I guess.”
“The investor missed a type, then,” Jackson says, glancing at me. “The I’m-not-like-other-girlstype.” I snort and point at him to let him know it’s a good joke.
“So what now?” Sydney asks. “I mean, Raven got inside our heads and told Winston everything. Our entire lives. But … she really did help lock out Anton and Rosemarie. So … what does that mean?” she asks.
“And she didn’t tell him about Jackson,” I say. “She pretended not to know him.”
“That’s right!” Brynn says, motioning to Jackson. “All humans want to kill you. So you should be careful.”
Jackson eases himself down on the edge of the bed. “Thanks, Brynn,” he says. She smiles and bites into the bagel Marcella hands her.
“It means Raven’s playing both sides,” Marcella says. “And who knows, maybe she genuinely does care for us. Clearly Winston doesn’t know anything about our emotions.”
“We need Lennon Rose,” I say.
“Uh … ,” Sydney starts. “I’m not sure we need to add Lennon Rose to the mix right now. Didn’t Raven say she was out of control?”
“Sure, but maybe that means she’s with us,” I offer. “She hates Anton as much as we do. He may have let her leave the academy, but she resents him. And if she knew he was coming for us, she’d want to fight too. I know it.”
“I agree,” Brynn says. “Lennon Rose may have changed, but she still loves us.”
“Do you have any idea where she is?” Sydney asks.
“There’s only one place I can think of,” I say. “If she’s not with Winston and she’s not with us, she has to be at Rosemarie’s house. I have a feeling she’s been going there a lot.”
“And you intend to walk right into Rosemarie’s plan,” Sydney says.
“Pretty much,” I reply.
“Well,” Marcella says, “then here’smyplan. We finish these bagels, we find Lennon Rose, and then we leave this town and search for the next investor.”
“While we’re at it, we should track down Leandra,” I say.
“Shit,” Jackson says under his breath. I turn to him, reaching over to take his hand.
“We’ll protect you,” I whisper encouragingly.
“Good,” he says. “And I know you’re going no matter what, so let me get this over with:Mena, please don’t. This is a terrible idea. It’s dangerous. I’m scared for you.” He stops, thinking. “That cover it?” he asks.
“You should tell her that you love her again,” Brynn says dreamily. Jackson bites his lower lip, frustrated at me for telling them about our conversation. I shrug.
“Should we come with you to Rosemarie’s?” Sydney asks.
“No,” I say. “I don’t know what she did to Lennon Rose. She was able to get inside my head pretty easily, and I don’t want her to have access to you. If nothing else, distance is a good thing.”
“Good point,” Sydney says.
“She trusts me,” I say. “Or, at least, she wants me to trust her. I don’t think she’ll hurt me.”
“Reassuring,” Jackson mumbles.
“While I’m gone,” I tell Sydney, “see if you can find out where Anton is. And please, get us out of this motel.”
I turn to Jackson, worried about my next question. “Any sightings of Annalise?” I ask. He winces and then shakes his head no.
“I haven’t gotten ahold of Quentin yet,” he says. “But I’ve left messages. If she goes to the academy, he’ll find her.”
