“No, I don’t believe that,” I bite back, and from the look on her face, too hard. “That’s why I got out. But the other girls are still in there and I think they are seriously in danger. Like maybe they are going to get rid of them.”

“And why would they want to do that?” she asks. As before, all I can feel is her deep contempt. The question is a test. Like she already knows the answer, but wants to see if I do.

“To stop this whole thing from coming out maybe. My dad was getting funding for a study that everybody would have known about. And at some point, people are going to be pissed if they can’t be Outliers, right? Especially the guys.” Riel rolls her eyes—I can’t tell if it’s directed at those “guys” or my suggestion that they exist. “Anyway, I guess Kendall thought you could help me at least get the girls out.”

“Don’t you think it’s a little suspicious that Kendall, of all people, would try to save anybody?” she asks.

“I think maybe he regrets dropping us off at the camp.”

“Oh, you don’t know, do you?” Riel smiles. “Who do you think killed all those people up at that camp?”

My ears ring, and my cheeks feel hot. “That’s not . . .” But I can’t even muster up the stomach to defend him.

“Oh yeah, it’s true. We saw that asshole,” she goes on, pointing two fingers toward her own eyes, then at me. She can tell that she’s shocked me, and she is glad. Maybe she fell for Quentin, but at least she is not as stupid as me. “We left a couple cameras up there. Because I didn’t trust Quentin. I don’t trust anyone.” Except I can feel for a second that maybe she did trust Quentin more than she wants to admit. “I knew there was a chance some seriously bad shit was about to go down. And I mean, there are trees and whatever, so we couldn’t record everything. But we saw enough. We saw Kendall stroll right into that camp with this huge freaking gun.”

“Jesus,” Jasper says quietly, lowering himself down into a chair.

“Oh look,” Riel says, turning to Jasper like she’s forgotten he was even there. “It speaks.”

“But why?” I ask. And I know that’s a stupid question—especially under these circumstances. But I can’t help it. I need to know.

“Power. Control. Secrets. Who knows?” She waves her toned arms around. “Kendall probably doesn’t even know exactly. Whatever shady bullshit acronym he pretends not to work for probably just told him to go forth and kill. Isn’t that how all of the worst things happen? People ‘just doing their jobs’? Everyone getting a little taste of evil without having to swallow down the whole monster sandwich.”