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Joshua did as he was told, removing a long plastic bag from Trina’s pocket.
Hannah calculated—distance, strength. That gun. How good was Trina’s aim? How fast could she fire it?
Cricket wept quietly beside her.
Trina pointed the gun at Bruce again. “You help him get Cricket and Hannah secure. Keep them out of the way and you all walk out of here. Okay, Bruce? You’re the straight arrow here, right? The good guy.”
Hannah still had a grip on her husband’s arm. She couldn’t see his face but she could imagine his expression—cool, almost blank, reading the situation, calculating, just like Hannah. Did he believe Trina? That if he tied them up, she’d let them all go?
Hannah did not.
This woman was going to kill them all, wasn’t she?
She made the decision right there. This wasn’t going to end without a fight. She heard Cricket weeping behind her, holding tight to her arm.
Time seemed to slow and stretch, outside the storm tossing the trees and wind moaning through the cabin.
Joshua moved toward them with the zip ties, his passage halting. His eyes hadn’t left Cricket, who sobbed now, “Joshua, please don’t do this. Whatever she has on you, whatever the reason you’re with her, we’ll get through it. I’ll help you. We’ll find a way. Please.”
Joshua seemed to hesitate, looked at Trina.
“Joshua, do you want to go to jail?” Trina asked. “Because if we don’t finish this and get out of here, that’s where you’re going. Do you think this little tramp will wait for you?”
Josh seemed to find some inner resolve and moved toward them.
“Sorry,” said Bruce, his voice dark, squaring his shoulders. He cleared his throat and Hannah heard his voice shake. “This is—not going to happen.”
“Just tell us why you’re here, Trina, what you want,” said Hannah, this time louder.
Hannah heard Libby’s teenage voice, sobbing.He raped me.
“Put the knife down,” said Trina. “Kick it over here.”
Everyone was frozen, the rain pounding on the roof, the windows.
“Do it!” Trina shrieked. “Or I’m going to kill your fucking husband, and your stupid friend, and your raping, embezzling, money-laundering brother.”
Hannah looked at her brother, all the rumors about him and Red World.
“None of that is true,” said Mako, looking at Hannah. But she saw that look, the same look he gave her the night she caught him with Libby. It wasn’t guilt or shame. It was self-knowledge.
“And that’s not even all of it,” said Trina.
What else? Hannah wondered. What else was he capable of?
“Youknow, Hannah. Look at you. You know what he is.”
She and the other woman locked eyes. In that moment, there was a whole universe of understanding—about Mako, about men, about the world.
“Don’t you ever get tired of cleaning up after him?”
Trina kept the gun trained on Hannah. And Hannah could see Trina, too—how far gone she was, what she would be willing to do.
Hannah dropped the knife and kicked it toward Trina. It spun over the wood floor, blade glinting. Hannah felt that tension, the one she used to feel on the diving block, before the whistle blew and her body would fly through the air, slice into the water, and she would start to swim with all her strength. She edged forward, knowing that Bruce could feel her. She gave his hand a hard squeeze and he pressed back. They were a team; they both understood what had to happen next. They had to fight. For Gigi.
Josh moved forward and Bruce lifted a hand. His voice sounded like a growl when he spoke. “Stay away from us.”
The lightning flashed, and Hannah saw the great jagged streak of electricity through the window. When the giant crack of thunder sounded, shuddering the whole cabin, Hannah flew, rushing Trina, crashing her body into the other woman.
