“Sure.” The look on her face said she knew it was bullshit, but she didn’t press, and I wasn’t about to elaborate.

Elizabeth came up behind me, her uniform apron gone, her purse slung over her body. “Ready?”

Chloe and I shared a look. If she could keep her mouth shut about the other night, then so could I. I just wasn’t sure if I could hide the growing elephant in the room.

“Ready,” I said.

Elizabeth led the way out.

Chloe shot a look over her shoulder at me and winked as she walked away.

We followed Evan in his puny little sports car north of Trademarr.

Evan had offered to give Elizabeth a ride to the lake, but she’d said she’d ride with me. Part of me was glad (smug) that she’d turned him down. The other part didn’t know what to say to her now that we were trapped in the truck’s cab together.

We slowed for a stop sign, and the truck idled as Evan waited for a car to pass through the intersection.

“Are you sure you’re okay with going out with my friends?” Elizabeth asked.

“Yeah. It’s fine.”

More silence. Evan hit the gas, pulling away from me in just a few seconds. The truck I’d picked out earlier this spring had a V8, and I’d picked it out for that reason. I caught up to Evan fast.

Jackass.

Truth was, I didn’t really feel like hanging out with Evan for the night, but I did want to stick close to Elizabeth. If she was hiding something, I needed to find out what. If she was drinking tonight—and from the sound of it, there’d be booze—then she might let something slip. And the more time I spent with her, the more opportunity I’d have to gain her trust.

There was something she wasn’t telling me—or anyone for that matter—about what had happened during her captivity. And it was aggravating, because the more I could learn about her captivity, the more I’d know about the program and what the Branch was up to when they were here six years ago. In my experience, the Branch changed people in screwed-up ways, and if I had to guess, they’d altered Elizabeth, too.

The biggest question was—had they made her into a weapon like they had me? And if so, what was she capable of?

We left the main road, turning left down a dirt two-track that cut through the woods. The lake came into view when we rounded a thick grove of trees.

I parked the truck on the passenger side of Evan’s car and got out. We still had some daylight left, but out here, away from the city lights, it felt duskier.

It was quieter, too.

Another few cars pulled in behind us. More of Evan’s friends, from the looks of it.

A tall, skinny guy went straight for the fire pit and started stacking wood inside. There were several rickety lawn chairs around the pit, and a few logs that had been used for seats. From the looks of the trash lying around—empty beer cans, plastic cups—this was their favorite party spot.

I scanned the surrounding woods. The two-track we’d used to get here was the only viable way out. We were cornered, with the woods on either side and the lake at our backs. It left me on edge. If the Branch attacked, I could run to escape, but could Elizabeth?

The lake was probably the best route out. There was a house about two miles east of the party spot, with a boat tied to the dock. Mentally, I tagged it as my escape route, should I need one. Swim to the boat, steal it, and take it across to the other side. The Branch would need a lot more ground time to cut me off on the other side than I would to boat across it. By then, I’d be long gone.

Another of Evan’s friends showed up with beer and liquor a few minutes after we arrived.

“Hey, Nick!” Evan called. “Want a beer?”

I glanced at the girls. Elizabeth was sitting between Chloe and me. “You guys want anything?”

“Beer, please,” Chloe said. “I had a ton of tequila the other night and I’m still paying for it.”

Elizabeth was watching me, so she missed the teasing look Chloe shot my way.

Was she trying to piss me off? Because it was working.

“A Coke, if they have some,” Elizabeth said.

While I wasn’t one to get a girl drunk if she didn’t want to drink, I’d been counting on her getting a little bit sloppy. “Want me to throw in some rum?”

“Umm.” She thought for a second and glanced at Chloe. Chloe nudged her knee with a smirk. “All right. But just a little.”

The booze had been set up on the back of some guy’s truck, the tailgate used like a table. There were cases of beer, some vodka, Red Bull, rum.

I grabbed the bottle of vodka and poured enough for a shot into one of the red plastic cups. I gulped it down, the alcohol lighting a fire in my gut. “‘Liquor before beer,’” I said, when Evan looked at me sideways. It was an old saying I’d learned from my dad. One of the many gems handed down from father to son.

Evan grabbed a cup and did the same. “Good thinking.” He smiled, but it was tight against his teeth. If Evan and I got through the night without punching each other in the face, it’d be a goddamn miracle.

I poured Elizabeth a drink, grabbed beers for Chloe and me, and sat back down. Chloe was talking Elizabeth’s ear off about some customer at the restaurant. I was pretending to listen, laughing when it seemed appropriate. I’d got through two beers by the time Chloe came up for air. She hadn’t touched her beer, I noticed. Elizabeth had been nursing her drink, but at least half of it was gone.

A tall, blond girl came up and stood in front of me. At first, she chatted with Chloe and Elizabeth, but then she turned to me.