Page 115 of To All the Men I’ve Killed Before

‘How did you get down here?’ I ask and I swear I can hear Antoinette roll her eyes.

‘That faux-feminist psycho offered to give me a lift to find Agnes after I stormed out of the villa,’ she says. ‘Then he chloroformed me and, the next thing I know, I’m waking up and he’s dragging me into this abandoned cabin in the middle of nowhere. Honestly, I thought it was some sort of hazing thing at first. But no. He is absolutely batshit delulu.’

‘Has he hurt you? Has he … done anything to you?’ I almost don’t want to hear the answer.

But Antoinette shakes her head. ‘Not physically. But having to listen to that sentient man-bun’s deranged yapping has been pretty painful.’

‘Deranged yapping! He should rename his podcast that. What’s he been saying?’

Antoinette rolls her eyes so hard I can feel it. ‘Oh blah blah blah, sluts this and yada yada, whores that. Anyway. Good to see you, sis, what’s the plan?’

‘Plan?’

‘Yes, the plan to get us out of here. I’m not really loving basement life.’ She shuffles around to show me that her hands and ankles are also cable-tied. ‘What’s the plan?’

Oh. Right. She thinks there’s a plan.

‘Um … so, the thing is. There isn’t really a plan.’

Antoinette blinks at me.

‘What do you mean there isn’t a plan? There has to be a plan.’ Her voice goes up a few octaves. ‘Because if there isn’t a plan, that means we’re just stuck here. In a basement in the middle of the fucking desert at the mercy of that unhinged podcast posturer out there.’ She sighs. ‘Please tell me someone knows where you are?’

‘I’m not sure,’ I say. ‘Charlie and Agnes went round to Cort’s to see if he was there. Lauren tried to text them to tell them where we were going but there’s no signal out here.’

‘Wait … Charlie?’

I feel a blush creep up into my cheeks. ‘Yeah. We’re kind of back together.’

Antoinette’s eyebrows shoot up. ‘Um … how did this happen? Details, please.’

I stare back at her. ‘Do you not think we’ve got more pressing immediate issues, Antoinette?’ I look pointedly at my bound ankles. ‘I can tell you about my love life when we’ve figured out what we’re going to do.’

Her brow furrows. ‘Okay, but make sure you do. This tea is too good to miss out on.’

Seriously.

This girl has been held hostage by a lunatic for the past few days and she’s just casually wanting me to fill her in on what’s been happening in my love life.

I’m surprised Cort didn’t bring her straight back the moment she started talking.

Then I remember something else.

I remember what I saw before the world went dark and I woke up down here.

‘Travis,’ I say to Antoinette.

‘Huh?’

‘Travis was up there. Before someone, Cort I guess, hit me over the head. Have you seen him? Are they in on it together?’

‘Wait. What? Travis the PI? Why would they be in on it together? Do they even know each other?’

Of course. Antoinette doesn’t know about the whole fake-PI thing so I fill her in. She listens, her lips pressed together and her eyes wide.

‘You do realise that is the absolutely last time that I trust a recommendation from you?’

Antoinette thinks about this for a minute. ‘Fair,’ she says. ‘But Travis didn’t have anything to do with kidnapping me. Unless he’s like a sleeper partner or something?’