Page 50 of Johnny

“You’ve had a very sheltered life if that’s the truth, Megan Machette.”

“Sheltered?” I huff a little air through my nose at that. “I’m not sure I’d call what I’ve seen and

done sheltered.”

“Point taken,” he mumbles back. Then, “How many people on that island?”

“It’s a small team, so maybe… eight? Ten?” I say. “That’s my best guess.”

“Prisoners?”

I hesitate here. Just a little. Because I’m not really sure. But I say, “No. Just lab techs,” just to stay

positive.

“Who runs it?”

“Some lady,” I say. “But I can’t identify her, if that’s what you’re looking for. Veils, remember?”

“She’s the lead scientist?”

“Um. No. I think she’s just a tech.”

“So who’s in charge of this project?”

“I don’t actually know.”

“Right.”

“I’m not lying.” I’m really not, either. I have no clue who runs that project.

“I’m not saying you are. I’m just not surprised that no one there is in charge. That’s how they like to

do things, right?”

I swivel in my chair because I need to look at him. “What are you doing?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, what the fuck are you doing? Because you keep referring to the Way people as ‘them.’

Like you’re not one of them, when you are. It’s ‘we,’ Johnny. ‘We’ like to do things that way. ‘We’ like

to keep people in the dark.”

He raises his eyebrows at me. “Dark?”

I close my eyes for a blink, suck in a breath, then open them and let it out. “You’re one of us. You

don’t get to act all self-righteous with me, OK? And I want to know what you’re up to because I’m

here with you and that means whatever you’re doing, now I’m a part of it. And maybe I don’t want to

be a part of it. Ever think of that? So I want to know what the hell you’re doing.”

“I’m looking for Charlotte.” I open my mouth to respond but he puts up a hand and says, “They left

you chained to a wall in an underground dungeon, Megan. The whole island was burned down. No