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“I’m married—”
Vaughn hits her with a second towelette, cutting off her reply.
“But you’ve known each other for years.”
“As colleagues. Two pilots… busting each other’s chops in the cockpit. I never… He’s younger than me. Living the… single scene. No family. Never… met… any friends. Gambling…”
“Gambling?” I press.
“I think. On his phone. Sometimes… saw him checking baseball scores. Obsessively. But he never… talked the game.”
“He could’ve been bought? Or vulnerable to pressure?”
“Guess… so. But didn’t…” She stares at me with bright brown eyes now glassy with pain. “Didn’t see it coming.”
I nod. I understand her level of betrayal. I’ve been there myself. I turn my attention to MacManus, who remains standing with Lea hovering at his side. “Brent’s working with Keahi,” I announce.
“How the hell do you know?”
“I saw her. Not five minutes ago. She’s here, on the atoll. She’s coming for you.”
I watch MacManus for his reaction. Guilt, shame, anything. Mostly, he appears confused. “That’s not possible—”
“If Brent was in charge of the final check, he could’ve hidden Keahi on board. Then, upon landing… Today’s acts of sabotage, from the damaged comm tower to the missing ELT; it would be difficult for one person to cover so much ground all at once, especially without anyone noticing. But Brent plus a homicidal maniac…” I turn my attention to Leilani. “Got anything to add?”
She shrinks into MacManus’s side, clasping his arm. “I haven’t seen my sister since I was five. And given everything I heard about her afterward… I wouldn’t welcome her. I know what she’s done.”
“Slaughter eighteen men?”
Lea drops her gaze. “Our father,” she murmurs.
Now this is interesting. I step closer, studying her beneath MacManus’s wrathful stare. “How do you know about what she did to your father?”
“I just know.”
“She contacted you after she returned to Texas?”
“No, I watched some interviews. I’m sorry,” she adds quickly, looking at MacManus. “I remember our father. I remember… enough. And in the interviews, I heard what Keahi said, and didn’t say. I filled in the blanks from there.”
“Because you’re sisters.”
“I barely remember her—”
“But you were compelled to look her up, read news articles, listen to her in her own words.”
“She’s my only living flesh and blood!”
“Exactly.”
“That’s enough!” MacManus fires at me. But I’m not having it.
“No, it’s not! Keahi Pierson is on this atoll. A woman who killed grown men because feeling their blood on her hands made her feel alive. And she has an equally violent partner running around with a loaded gun who’s not afraid to use it. We deserve to know what’s going on. All of our lives are now at stake.”
A low murmur from around the dining hall. MacManus might be our wealthy billionaire boss, but there’s nothing like the threat of imminent death to level the playing field. Everyone is now regarding Lea with fresh suspicion.
She holds up her hands in a placating motion. “I had nothing to do with this. Honestly… If I knew how to end this, I would. I remember enough of where I came from. I don’t want to go back.”
She sounds so damn sincere, I have no choice but to glare at her. This whole situation, all the various parties involved, from serial killer Keahi to oh-so-innocent Leilani to arrogant and entitled MacManus to shockingly homicidal First Officer Brent…
