Free Get Even by Gretchen McNeil Page B

what out?”
    “Tapping your fingers against the desk.”
    Bree paused. “How can you possib—” She stopped midword as a faint creak broke the silence of the room, followed by an almost imperceptible patter, like bare feet retreating down the hall.
    “What’s wrong?” Margot asked.
    “Sh!” Bree sat frozen, listening, but the sound of footsteps had vanished. Silently, she swung Ronny’s desk chair around to face the bedroom door, which was closed.
    Did she close the door? She was pretty sure she’d left it open. Maybe a breeze swung it shut? Or maybe the DeStefanos had a cat?
    Or maybe it was a person.
    “What happened?” Margot whispered. “Bree, are you—”
    DING! The download was complete. Finally.
    “Nothing,” Bree said, quickly ejecting the flash drive. “Just thought I heard something.”
    “Okay,” Margot said slowly. “Did you delete the video of Mika?”
    Bree swirled the mouse across the screen and with a few deft clicks, the video was erased from Ronny’s computer permanently. “Done,” she said. “Now I’m getting the fuck out of here.”
    “You have twelve minutes,” Margot said.
    Bree’s hands trembled as she eased Ronny’s desk chair back to the exact spot she’d found it. Why was she so skittish? If anyone had been in the house and actually seen her at Ronny’s desk, they would have either confronted her on the spot or called 911. A distinct lack of blaring sirens in the distance meant it had all been a figment of her imagination.
    She carefully threaded her way back to the bedroom door and was about to swing it open with her foot when something caught her eye. Taped to the back of Ronny’s door was a list of names.
     
    Coach Creed
    Rex Cavanaugh
    Theodore Baranski
     
    What possible connection could exist between a dickwad teacher, the biggest douche at school, and a bullying victim?
    “Ten minutes,” Margot said. “Are you done yet?”
    Bree shook her head and nudged the door open. Whatever the reason, it didn’t affect the mission. “Exiting the house now.”
     
    As soon as her car rounded the corner at the end of the block, Kitty held up her hand for a high five. “Nice job.”
    Olivia slapped Kitty’s hand with all the ferocity of a butterfly. Oh well, at least she was getting into the spirit. “It felt so good. I mean, it’s like those interactive theater shows in New York. The exhilaration is absolutely amazing and . . .” She paused midthought. “Hey, did you know that barista?”
    “No,” Kitty lied.
    “Oh. I thought I saw you guys talking,” Olivia said, still chattering away at a mile a minute. “Sorry if I interrupted, but I couldn’t take another second of Ronny.”
    “Did you see Theo in the café?” Kitty asked, desperate to change the subject. She didn’t want to talk about Barbara Ann.
    “Theo Baranski?”
    Kitty nodded. “In the back corner.”
    “Huh,” Olivia said.
    Kitty pictured the look on Theo’s face as she escorted Olivia from the café. He wasn’t concerned or worried, he was confused, as if seeing Kitty and Olivia together was as strange and out of place as a polar bear in the desert, which might be a problem if he remembered seeing them together with Ronny after their revenge against him went public.
    Kitty’s cell phone buzzed. She waited for a stoplight, then checked her incoming text. “Margot says that Bree successfully downloaded his hard drive and deleted the video,” she said. “I’d say, phase one accomplished.”
    Olivia sighed as Kitty rolled up in front of her apartment building, visibly relieved that her role was over. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow?”
    “Absolutely.” Kitty nodded. “Don’t get mad.”
    Olivia smiled. “Get even.”

THIRTEEN
    KITTY WAS FIDGETY AS SHE DROVE TO SCHOOL THE NEXT morning, unable to get Ronny DeStefano out of her head.
    Phase one was complete—they had Ronny’s hard drive. Now they just needed some juicy tidbit of a secret on his computer that they could