The Outliers (The Outliers, #1)(80)

And a while after that comes the quiet and then the dread.

Eventually, we all drift off to sleep. Or Jasper and I must have, because we both startle awake when there’s a sound at the door. When I look over at Cassie, I can tell from the raw look in her eyes that she hasn’t slept a wink.

When the door finally opens, it’s Lexi who steps inside, looking sheepish and sad. She has some more water bottles in her hands.

“Hi,” she says quietly, hopefully almost. I don’t know how long we were asleep, but it’s much darker now. Not pitch black yet, but getting there. I reach over and turn on the kerosene lamp, and Jasper does the same for the one near him. “Sorry to wake you. I thought you should at least have some extra water just in case.”

But that’s not why she’s there. She came with questions. She’s worried about herself, her baby. Doesn’t trust that Doug has any of this under control.

“Quentin is lying to you,” I say. There’s such a churning mix of feeling coming from Lexi. I try to focus on it, make sense of it. Isn’t that what an Outlier should be able to do? “He is going to kill us.”

“That’s not true,” she says, though she doesn’t seem sure.

“Yes, it is. That’s his actual plan. To get what he wants and then kill us. And do you think he’s just going to trust you enough to let you go after that?” I ask. “What happens to your baby if you don’t make it home? I know what it’s like to grow up without a mother. And my mom had an acc— You have a choice.”

Lexi shakes her head, looks warily over her shoulder toward the door. And then I feel a flicker of anguish—hers, not mine. I have to try to use it any way I can.

“You can’t just help Quentin because Doug is telling you to. Listening to him got you into this mess in the first place,” I say, hoping it will be enough to make her come to her senses. Lexi is a troubled person, but Doug is a bad one. “Are you really willing to risk not getting back to your daughter for him?”

“Oh my—” Lexi puts a hand over her mouth as the color washes from her face. She looks like she’s just been startled awake. “I’m sorry, I have to go. Right now.” She’s already backing toward the door. “I have to get home to my daughter.”

“But first you have to help us,” I say. “All you have to do is distract Stuart for a minute, make sure the door stays unbolted.”

“No, no, I don’t think I can—”

“You have to,” I say. “Or you’ll be responsible for whatever happens to us. And you won’t be able to blame that on Doug. If we are killed, it’ll be on you. How will you be able to live with yourself, be a mother to your daughter? We are someone’s children, too.”

“This is never going to work,” Cassie says once Lexi has left, giving us her wobbly assurances that she’ll do as we asked, that she’ll try to get Stuart off the door. “Did you see how nervous she was? She’s going to crack. She’ll probably tell her husband.”

“That’s helpful, Cassie,” Jasper barks. “And do you have a better idea? Considering that you are the entire reason we are in this f*cked-up situation.”

Cassie closes her eyes and shakes her head. “No,” she says quietly, dropping herself down onto the couch. “I don’t have any more ideas.”

“Awesome,” Jasper goes on, gritting his teeth. “On the upside, at least you feel special.”

It’s fair that he’s angry. I’m angry at Cassie, too. But there’s a part of me that feels bad for her. Cassie is who she is. She can’t change that any more than I can. Whoever it is I end up being.

There’s another sound at the door then. The bolt sliding back open again. Too quick to be Lexi, though.

When the door finally opens, Quentin pokes his head in. He takes a deep breath and blows it out puffed-up cheeks as he walks inside. He is different yet again. Not quite the nervous boy-man we first met, but much closer. He’s even put the glasses back on.

Cassie was right, we are significantly more screwed with him in the cabin with us. And there’s no way to tell Lexi to wait until he is gone. We are going to have to go anyway, which means we need Quentin far away from the door.

“I’m glad somebody brought you some water.” He steps forward and picks up one of the bottles Lexi left, stares down at it in silence. I worry for a minute he’s going to tell us that he knows about Lexi agreeing to help. That Doug has already headed her off at the pass.

“Did you leave those dolls on our porch?” I ask, walking toward the back, hoping Quentin will follow, distracted by the conversation. One way or another, we have to get him off that door. And I’m assuming it was him. It started right after he got fired.

“Dolls?” Quentin asks, confused, and it seems genuine. “I’m afraid I don’t know anything about any dolls. But I wouldn’t be surprised if someone left something unpleasant at your house, Wylie. This situation is so much larger and more complex than two scientists with opposing philosophical perspectives. There are so many forces at play.”

“Is my dad even coming here?” I ask, going to lean against the wall like I was just randomly headed to the back. “And those North Point people aren’t real, are they?”

“Yes, of course, on both fronts,” Quentin says, but not even like he really cares about convincing me. Instead, he walks right past me, even deeper into the cabin. Farther than I could have hoped. “Now, was your dad always coming? No. Were we always working together? No, obviously not. Otherwise I would have known from the beginning that he’d switched your and Cassie’s results.” He pauses like he’s waiting for me to say something. “Did I have to employ some misdirection to get him here? Yes, I did. But he will be here soon, Wylie. And make no mistake, North Point is very real. And just like The Collective, they are only the beginning. We stand in the eye of a hurricane.”