Knowing You (Cursed 2)

I spin around before I reach for the doorknob. "The girl?"

"Yes. They're getting a lot of pressure from Allie's parents."

"What do they know?" I ask, panic settling in my gut.

Brendan raises an eyebrow, taunting me.

"I won't betray anyone."

The corner of his mouth quirks. "You continue to surprise me."

"Why?"

"At first I thought it was defiance that kept you from cooperating. Self-preservation. But then you say it was to protect your friends. And I didn't expect that. But I get it. Now, you'd rather be convicted of another crime you didn't commit, for what? Because you don't want to betray someone you hardly know?"

How can he possibly know that what happened to Allie could affect Parker? I want to ask, but he may mean something else entirely. He has a tendency to speak in riddles, a trait he shares with Ashton. No wonder they're friends.

"How can I possibly have information you want?"

"What I'm really asking for, Lana, is for you to answer the questions I ask, without avoiding them. There's something I've been trying to figure out for a long time, and now that I know more about you, I have a feeling you may have some of the answers I need."

"You're so confusing!" I exclaim in frustration. "You want straight answers out of me, but nothing you say makes any sense! At least with Ashton, I can blame the drugs, but with you ... what are you talking about?"

Brendan shakes his head as if in warning, holding his school phone in his hand. I shoot him a questioning look.

A knock on the door turns our heads. The older woman from my phone pushes the door open without waiting for a response. She's taller than I expected. I thought she'd be a petite, frail woman, but she's tall and intimidating in her simple gray dress and severe bun. Not someone I'd be dumb enough to accept apples from, that's for sure.

"The shuttle is here to take you to work," she announces. I check my phone, surprised by the time. Luckily I don't need to get anything from my dorm room. I pick up the bag Niall left on the coffee table, and slide the gift inside.

"Thanks," I say to her, but she's already gone. Brendan stands and we walk out of the room together. But then he continues across the foyer alongside me. "Where are you going?"

"To work," he tells me like I should know this.

The thought of Brendan working is confounding. He's too pristine and manicured--I doubt he's performed a day of physical labor in his life.

I'm surprised to see people waiting in the administration office when we pass it. Then I remember the rest of the summer students arrive today.

The driveway is busy with moving vans and dark sedans slowly driving along the gravel drive that encircles the campus toward the dorms. The shuttle idles in front of the main entrance, waiting for us. Brendan and I are the only ones on it.

"What did you want to tell me?" I ask him as soon as we drive past the gates. Brendan holds up his finger, taking his phone out of his pocket. He gestures for me to hand mine to him as well. I surrender it, baffled by his paranoia. He sets them on the front seat of the shuttle and then walks to the back to sit in the last row. I follow.

"Explain," I demand.

In a hushed tone, Brendan says, "It's their phone. Their service. With their tracking device. You don't think they can turn on the microphone or camera whenever they want?"

"They can do that?" I ask in shock.

"I have."

I gawk at him.

"Have you learned nothing in the two days you've known me?"

I close my eyes and shake my head, disturbed by every new thing Brendan reveals. But what's even more messed up is how open he is about it. And, as he said, it's only been two days! Maybe he's not afraid how much I know because I won't say anything. Bastard.

"Explain how Niall's your lawyer," Brendan asks.

"I know his sons." I reluctantly concede to the questioning, but only until he asks too much.