But Ben’s does. Zane already threatened him.
And Ben knows everything.
“If I transfer the money, you’ll kill my brother,” I say.
“No, I won’t. It isn’t necessary.”
“Didn’t you just say people are unpredictable? That they change their minds?”
“I don’t. And I won’t have a reason to. Your suicide will be hard on Ben, but it will make sense. You’ve attempted it before. And this time you’ll succeed. You got too close to Reed. This plan of yours was too painful. You couldn’t handle it. The logic will track. Do we have a deal?”
I don’t nod, don’t move, don’t respond, just stare at him, feeling like I’m balancing on the edge of a cliff about to fall over.Do we have a deal?How can I trust him after this? How do I know he’ll leave Ben alone?
I expect more words, for Zane to try to fill the silence and convince me what he’s saying is true, but before I know what’s happening, he slams his hand over mine and plucks a pin from the pouch. I try to pull my arm free but he’s far too strong. He places the tip of the needle against the delicate flesh beneath my fingernail. He’s so close I can smell his sweat.
“Do we have a deal, Bailey?”
The point presses into the skin ever so slightly, feeling more like a splinter of sun than a bit of metal.
“Swear to me you won’t hurt him,” I say. “Swear on your daughter’s life.”
Zane smiles, but it’s a sad smile, the corners full of weight, with no matching crinkle of the eyes. “I want you to know this is the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do. I don’t relish this. And I won’t betray you. I won’t harm your brother. I swear.”
“Okay,” I whisper. “Okay.”
The pressure in my fingertip releases, and he stands and gestures at the laptop still sitting in my lap. I tap the mouse and it flashes to life,the crypto exchange login screen glowing once more in front of me.
“Do it,” he says.
It’s not easy with one hand cuffed. It takes me four tries before I’m able to enter my password correctly. When I do, Zane passes me my phone. An authenticator question is there waiting for me. Am I trying to login? My finger hovers over the yes button and my heart falls. Once I click it, it’s over. Zane won’t need me anymore.
But the truth is, he’s already won. I won’t be able to resist this kind of torture. If heisplanning on hurting Ben, he’s going to do it no matter how much I struggle. At this point, all I can do is give him what he wants and hope he keeps his word.
I click the button. The account loads and Zane goes to work on the transfer. His fingers move rapidly as he keys in the amount and then enters his crypto wallet address—a combination of several dozen alphanumeric characters that will swallow what’s left in my account forever.
He’s just about done when his phone buzzes. A split second later, there’s a knock on the door. Hope butterflies through my chest. Maybe it’s a delivery man or some distant neighbor—someone to hear me scream. And then I glimpse the image of the front door on Zane’s screen, and the hope dies. It’s Sean, still dressed head to toe in camo.
“Idiot,” Zane hisses through clenched teeth setting the computer aside before stomping toward the door.
“What’s wrong with you?” he asks, swinging it open. “Why are you still wearing the ghillie suit? Get inside before you attract attention.”
What comes next happens in a blur of motion I struggle to follow. Sean bursts through the door with his gun drawn, telling Zane to, “Get the fuck back!”
Except it isn’t Sean’s voice.
It’s Reed’s.
Zane’s eyes peel wide. He doesn’t obey. Instead, he lunges for thegun in Reed’s hand, and three of his fingers disappear in a shower of bone and meat.
Bang! Bang!
My ears ring from the gunshots as Reed takes a step forward and slams the heel of his boot into Zane’s stomach. Zane flies backward into the kitchen counter. He somehow manages to keep his balance, but Reed is already on him, bringing the butt of the pistol crashing down between his eyes. It’s like watching a tree fall the way Zane tilts and slams to the floor, his head cracking hard against the tile.
He doesn’t move as Reed pulls out a long length of black nylon rope and winds it around Zane’s wrists and ankles. It’s clear he’s unconscious, but I’m no longer watching him. I’m thrashing in the chair, straining to free my hand. My wrist erupts in a bright bloom of pain. The handcuff goes slick with blood. It’s agonizing, but I don’t care. I have to get out of this room,haveto get away from Reed. I stand and jerk harder, yanking with everything I have. My palm slides higher, the steel ring tearing skin as it nears my knuckles. One more pull and I’ll—
“Stop!”
The world blinks and wavers. Blood drips from my fingers to the chair. When I look up, Reed is standing a foot away, no longer wearing the ghillie mask. His mouth is pressed into a thin razor blade slash, his hair matted with dirt and blood. The gun in his hand is aimed at my stomach, but it’s the way he’s staring at me with his eyes baked in hate that fills me with dread.
