We don’t have to wait long, as it turns out. Everyone else is settling into chairs, with Aspen replacing Q’s pillows with her lap over on the sofa, when Brittney raps briskly against the door before easing it open.
“Can I come in?”
I wave her in. “You’re the one who got us all together.”
She offers a tight smile. “Good to see you. I’d say it’s been quieter around here without you, but by now, you know that’s not true.”
“What’s wrong?” Aspen, as always, is the first to address what’s obvious. “You look upset.”
Brittney rubs her hands together, her lips pressed in a tight line. “I have something to tell you all. I don’t quite know how to say it.”
“Here.” Delilah pulls up one of the remaining chairs from the kitchen. “Do you need something to drink?”
Brittney accepts the chair but shakes her head at the drink. “No, I’m fine.”
She’s anything but. “Out with it. Whatever it is, it can’t be—” I cut myself off because, of course, it could be bad. Right now, anything is possible.
Only now do I notice how she keeps glancing at Q before her gaze darts away. Again and again. This has to do with him, but she wishes it didn’t.
“Well? What is it?” Xander prompts. “Have we been hacked? What’s going on?”
“In a sense, yes, but not the way you think.” She presses her hands between her knees and nearly rocks back and forth. “I just want to say first that I did it because I wanted to ensure everyone was safe. After Aspen got that hit on the head, it seemed important to keep track of everyone.”
Delilah is openly confused, but then she would be. She’s not as familiar with Brittney’s special skills as the rest of us. I, on the other hand, fold my arms.
“What did you do?”
“I installed tracking software to run behind the scenes.” She gulps. “On everyone’s phones.”
“You tracked our phones?” Quinton blurts out.
“To keep a lookout on where people were at certain times of the day. In case something like Aspen’s attack happened again, there would be a way of tracing who was near the victim at the time it took place.” She shrugs helplessly. “I wanted to keep her and everyone safe.”
“And you know who attacked Quinton?” The mixed excitement and fear in Aspen’s voice ring out. “Who was it?”
“Let me just say I wouldn’t be coming to you if the proof wasn’t right there in front of me.”
“For God’s sake, who was it?” Xander demands, his voice thin.
She winces before looking at Q. “It was Ren.”
Delilah gasps, as does Aspen. Xander is out of his chair, eyes wide, the color draining from his face. I don’t know how to react. Ren? Of all people?
I look at Quinton, the only person who hasn’t reacted yet. He hasn’t moved. I’m not sure if he’s blinked yet. Aspen reaches for his hand but pulls it away, distracted, still staring at Brittney. “No way. You’re wrong.”
“I wish I was. Believe me, I’m not telling you this lightly. I checked, and then I double-checked. The ID number associated with his phone was the only one in that stairwell at that time other than yours. And it was close to yours, too. I set up checkpoints throughout the school and the castle that ping me at scheduled intervals. Those two phones pinged from that location at the same time. Only those two.”
“But he wouldn’t. He would never.” Quinton looks around the room at his father, Aspen, and even me. “Not Ren. Why would he do that to me?”
I exchange a look with Xander. “There’s only one way to find out for sure. We bring him here, now.” Xander nods, taking out his phone and turning away for a muttered conversation.
Q’s still not having it. “This is ridiculous. He would never betray us—you realize that means he would have been the one who hurt Aspen, too, right?”
And Delilah, though I don’t think he could be faulted for forgetting about her right now. But I haven’t. I go to her, sliding an arm around her waist.
“Are you okay?”
“But why would he? He would have been doing it on his own, right? I don’t understand. He was almost acting nice to me for a while.” Delilah bites her lip, frowning. “Then again, he was also being kind of weird.”