Chapter 41. Mile Nine

Rae POV

I woke Wade at two in the morning and told him. Then we woke Judge and Eli and told them. No secrets. That was the deal.

Judge sat on the edge of his bed in his undershirt and didn't say anything for a long time.

"Brick," he said finally. Just the name, heavy as a stone.

"We don't tell Brick," I said. "Not yet. Not until we know what she is. If she's only stupid, it'll break his heart for nothing. If she's worse, he'll tip her off without meaning to."

"So what do we do?" Eli asked.

I'd been lying awake for three hours working it out like a wiring problem.

"Nothing," I said. "We leave the board exactly how it is. If she sends that picture to Saltgrass, they'll come to Mile Nine. That's what we want. We just change