“I know. I really don’t think…” She inhaled and put her phone away. “Moreno is a mercenary son of a bitch, so he should be at the top of my list…”

“But he’s not.”

She made a face, fidgeting with the zipper on her sweater. “Logically, I know there’s no reason to suspect Luke any more than Moreno. Probably less, because Moreno is head of security. If he wanted to sell us out, he has everything he would need to do it, and the only thing stopping him would be…”

“Loyalty to your father.”

“Loyalty from a guy who, I suspect, is only loyal as long as it’s in his best interests. My gut says to trust him, but my head says, hell, no. I’ll keep putting him off, and we’ll see how it goes.”

We found out why Rae and her mother hadn’t come to Badger Lake. It seemed someone had gotten to her and convinced her that the Cabal was evil and Badger Lake didn’t exist, at least not as Sean had sold it to her. I wasn’t surprised. It’s not like Cabals are known for altruism, especially this one.

The Nasts were the Cabal that had kidnapped Simon and Derek’s dad, Kit and held him captive, interrogating him about the Edison Group while Derek and Simon ended up at Lyle House. Which should make it seem as if brainwashing really had been involved in our decision to trust Sean. The truth is that Kit had been remarkably unwilling to hold a grudge. The Nasts had treated him well enough and he had worked for the Edison Group, so it was perfectly reasonable that they would kidnap him to learn more. It was just business. I suppose that says a lot about the supernatural world. Yet Kit’s experience also meant he hadn’t been about to trust the Nasts without a whole lot of negotiations and background checks on Sean. Rae’s mother wouldn’t have gone that far. She’d been told “Nasts = bad,” and they’d run.

The people who’d saved her and Rae from the Nasts had continued to be helpful. They’d backed off for a while, after letting Rae and her mom know they were there for support. Then, they’d come back, admitting they were concerned about the rest of us. They hated to get involved—they feared the Cabals—but it was their duty as supernaturals to help these innocent teens escape the tyrannical Nasts. And as much as they’d love to do it themselves, they really needed Rae’s help. She’d never gotten over what happened with the Edison Group and had told her mother many times that she wished she could do something to make up for her mistakes. Now she finally could.

“You realize they’ve fed you a complete line of bullshit,” Maya said.