Erased by Jennifer Rush

His gun was out, too.
    I hadn’t reacted at all. Trev had always been the quiet one, the smart one, the one who fought more with words than hands. Either he’d learned a lot in the last two months with the Branch, or he’d kept more secrets from us than just his identity.
    “We’re not on the same team anymore, I get it,” Trev said, the gun still trained on Nick even though he was addressing Sam. “That also means I don’t have to put up with his vitriol, either.”
    Cas snickered. “I don’t think Nick knows what
vitriol
means.”
    “Get. Off. Me,” Nick said, his teeth clenched tightly.
    Trev eased away, slid the gun back in its holster. He straightened the flap of his trench coat, hiding the gun once again.
    I plucked the envelope from the ground, where it’d been dropped. I bent the metal clips, tugged the flap open. There was a thin stack of papers inside, stapled together.
    “You’ll find the name of the lab and the address,” Trev explained. “I also included blueprints, so you can plan for blind spots.”
    Sam came up behind me and read over my shoulder.
    “All of the labs were given Greek alphabet names,” Trev went on. “Ours was the Alpha lab. Beta lab was shut down before we even got out. Something wrong with the treatments. They hadn’t perfected an Altered drug that would work in any group besides ours.”
    “You keep saying ‘ours’ like there ever was an ‘ours,’ ” Sam said.
    Trev fixed his hair. “Fine. You. Your group. Kappa lab barely got off the ground before there was an incident.”
    “What kind of incident?” I asked.
    Trev shook his head. “I’m not telling you that.” He didn’t wait for me to argue before continuing. “There’s only one lab still up and running today: Delta. If Dani is anywhere, I’d guess it’d be there.”
    “Do you know for sure she’s not at headquarters?”
    He nodded. “I was just there yesterday. If she were there, I would have known it.”
    “Why, you Riley’s right-hand man now?” Nick asked.
    Trev looked like he wanted to roll his eyes but didn’t. “No. I’m the head of the intake department.”
    I felt the urge to gape but buried it quickly. “Head of the department?”
    “Just the intake department,” he repeated, like that somehow lessened the admission.
    “Does Riley know you gave us the flash drive?”
    “No.”
    “Doesn’t he suspect you at all? I mean… you lived with us for over five years. You…” I trailed off, because I wasn’t sure what else to say that wouldn’t sound pathetic.
    Trev just stared at me, the space between his brows pulled tight with apologies and regret.
    Wind rushed through the field. The blades of the turbines picked up speed.
    Whump whump whump.
    I shivered. “We have to go.”
    He nodded. “I know.”
    I turned for the vehicle. Sam was already there, holding the door open for me. Nick and Cas trailed behind, putting themselves between Trev and me.
    “Anna?” Trev called. I stopped and glanced over my shoulder. I braced myself for one of his quotes. I wanted to hear one. Something to tell me that a part of the Trev I knew was still there, hidden somewhere in that expensive suit and tailored trench coat.
    But all he said was, “I hope you find her,” before climbing into his car.

9
    SINCE WE WERE WITHOUT A SAFE LOCATION , we headed to the next best thing: an IHOP. Chain restaurants were good for safety and coverage. They were usually busy, so it was easy to blend in. At the same time, it was hard for anyone to attack, because there were so many witnesses.
    Cas and Nick sat across from Sam and me. Cas had ordered the biggest meal he possibly could, to keep up his strength, according to him. It included eggs and bacon and toast and hash browns and pancakes. The rest of us stuck with the basics. For me, that was just a cheese omelet. But I wasn’t feeling very hungry.
    Nick leaned across the table, keeping his voice low. While being in a public place afforded us safety and