“What Love Lost said… she fully expects me to turn myself in. This is what she’s trying to do, right? Apply pressure?”

“I don’t think she’s in her right mind,” I said. “What she’s doing and saying don’t line up.”

“Maybe. You’re not answering my question.”

“Yeah. Yeah, she probably thinks you’ll give yourself up, to undo what was done to all the others. Or she thinks that if those guys are left like this for long enough, they or their loved ones will turn on you.”

Precipice nodded.

“I don’t think it makes sense to do, Rain,” I said. “I think they’ve proven themselves unreliable and dangerous, well past the capacity for any kind of deals. If you turn yourself in, they’ll let the others suffer just to make you more miserable before they kill you.”

“I was wondering that,” he said, barely audible. “A lot of time spent stuck in a room with them. I can see it.”

“We’ll figure something out,” I said. “If we can’t figure out a workable plan of attack, we’ll go after March and—”

I stopped as we reached the top of the stairs. Natalie stood in the doorway.

Candy, Chastity, and Darlene were talking. Aroa was with Juliette, and the fact that Aroa had been in what was effectively a car accident when the armored van had rolled was nothing compared to Juliette’s condition. The pain was clear and the blood was everywhere. It didn’t help that the lights had been turned on.

Kenzie didn’t have her helmet on, despite my earlier urging. She sat with Chicken Little while Darlene’s family members clustered around her. She didn’t seem aware of it, but as seconds wore on, she hunched over more, tension taking over her body, her hands pressed tight between her knees.

I touched Natalie’s shoulder, to get her to move, or to get her out of my way so I could act. She reacted, turning, and Kenzie noticed.

Either because she was good at putting on a show or because having the right people around revitalized her, Kenzie almost immediately perked up, the signs of pain gone.

“Natalie! And Precipice!” she said, all smiles. “Precipice! I’ve been using your contact pads for Chicken Little. It’s so useful! Can you help me crack this? I think the signal’s not translating right.”

“One second,” Precipice told her.

She bobbed her head in a nod. Natalie entered the room, stepping around streaks and pools of blood, and Kenzie seemed happy as a clam to have Natalie around.

I studied the room, trying to see if I was missing anything. Any powder kegs set to go off, any tensions, any people in need…

There was one, really. Rain.

“We can’t discount the obvious,” he said.

“The obvious? You’re not turning yourself in. We already established that’s a bad idea.”