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giggling. Raine’s sipping a drink and she bites on the tip of a curly yellow straw as she surveys the crowd.
    “Jesus,” I say. Now that I’m here, that I’m seeing her, that things might actually start to happen, I’m afraid.
    Brody squeezes my hand again. “You’re going to be fine,” he says.
    I start to panic a little, that familiar tight feeling in my chest getting worse as I force myself to try and take slow deep breaths.
    “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Brody says, but I shake my head.
    “Yes, I do,” I tell him. “I just need to figure out how to get her alone.”
    “She’s drunk,” Brody says, as Raine throws her head back and laughs. “Or at least buzzed. She’s not going to be at her best.”
    “Still.”
    “I’ll tell her I have to talk to her about something,” Brody says. “I’ll take her upstairs to Lancaster’s bedroom, and then you… you come up behind her, and I’ll make sure that she’s –”
    “Here you go!” Aiden comes back, hands me a plastic cup full of warm beer.
    “Thanks,” I say, wishing I could take a sip.
    Brody takes his water. “Thanks, man,” he says distractedly. “Listen,” he says, “I need to talk to Raine about something.” He gives me a look, and I know what he means.
    He’s going to do it now, to try and get her alone. And when he does, I’m going to be expected to follow them.
    “You sure you want to do that now?” I ask brightly. “You could do it later.”
    “I’ll be right back.” He pushes through the crowd. I watch him as he leans down and says something to Raine, watch as she shakes her head, then rolls her eyes. Finally, she follows him upstairs, and I stand there, watching them go.

    ***
    Aiden’s talking to me but I can’t really focus on what he’s saying. It’s been five minutes since Brody went upstairs with Raine, and I need to get up there while I have the chance. And before I lose my nerve.
    “I think Adrianna does like me,” Aiden’s saying. “but I’m not sure. What do you think?”
    I think that I honestly haven’t been listening. “Um, can we talk about this later?”
    I ask him. “I should probably go and check on Brody.”
    “I’ll go with you,” Aiden says, starting to move toward the stairs. “You shouldn’t go by your-- “
    “No!” I say a little too loudly. “I mean, um, that’s okay, I can go myself. I’ll be fine, really.” I walk away quickly before he can tell me not to.
    When I get upstairs, the hallway is almost completely dark, making it difficult to see. But there’s a small strip of light coming from underneath one of the doors down on the right. As I move closer, I can see that it’s open slightly, shining more light onto the cream-colored carpet. And then I hear the sound of Raine’s voice.
    “Brody, give it up,” she’s saying.
    “Raine, you have to listen to me,” he says. “You’re getting in over your head, you’re getting involved in things that are way too dangerous for you to handle.”
    “No, I’m not. Cam and Natalia aren’t together anymore.” She laughs, and I hate that she’s saying his name, hate that she’s talking about how we’re not together. “Cam told me.”
    He did? When? I’m in front of the room now, and I peer through the cracked door. Brody’s set it up perfectly. He’s sitting down on the bed (Lancaster’s?) and Raine is standing in front of him, her back toward me. I have a perfect shot at the necklace if I want it. I start to push the door open as slowly as I can, holding my breath, praying that I don’t make a sound.
    “I know they’re not together anymore,” Brody says, “which is why you have to --
    “I don’t h ave to do anything!” Raine says, her voice rising. “I have the power now, Brody, and I’m sorry but your little peace mission is over.”
    Brody takes a step toward Raine. “Listen –“
    “No!” she puts her hand up. “I’m done listening, Brody, so you can just -- ”
    And