Guilt slices through the chills. My brother spends the bulk of his time in our basement, alone. I thought that was what he wanted. I must be as bad as Dad if I never bothered to make sure.

“You’re the only one who’s ever loved me.” His eyes blaze. “Do you know I’ve never had a real friend, ever? I have no idea how it feels to have someone like me for me. Not because I’m their brother. Not because of what I can do for them.”

“Zeke’s your friend.”

Archie laughs. The sound could crack windows. “Zeke? I’m not sure you know him nearly as well as you think.”

I frown. “What are you talking about? Clearly Zeke cares about you. He’s over here all the time!”

“I’m pretty sure Zeke only wants to be my friend because of the brainpower I can lend to his research.”

“What research?” I ask, but even as I say the words, my stomach flips. Because Archie already complained to me that Zeke didn’t thank him in his acceptance speech. Because Zeke himself told me at the car wash that he needed Archie’s help with a conundrum.

Is this the reason Zeke won the award over my brother? Because there were two minds working on his project rather than one? More importantly, can research on cell modification lead to the invention of time travel? Or…a deadly virus?

Bandit might be my target, but that doesn’t absolve the others of all guilt. This web is too tangled for someone to weave alone. And I have a feeling that my mission can’t end—won’t end—by killing a single person. I lace my trembling fingers together. “What, exactly, have you and Zeke gotten yourselves into down in that basement?”

“Forget I said anything,” Archie mumbles, picking at a loose thread on my bedspread.

“But I don’t understand,” I protest. “What you’re saying about Zeke doesn’t match anything I’ve witnessed—“

“I said, drop it!” My brother’s tone turns sharp. He lifts his eyes to mine, and they’re so vulnerable, so raw, that they steal the words from my lips. “I just…I want someone to talk to.”

“You have me,” I say helplessly.

He snorts. “No offense, Alice. But you don’t understand half of what I say.”

I shrug. Because he’s right. I’m not the best companion for him. And even if I were, I can protect him only until the end of summer. After that, my brother’s path will diverge from mine. He will go somewhere I cannot follow.