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“Leave Taryn alone,” Sandrine warned. “It’s true that there are a lot of horrible mothers out there, whether you choose to believe it or not. My mother was one of the worst. Now, I’m going to tell you something and I’m only going to say it once and then we’re finished talking about this forever.”
No one spoke or moved.
“My mother was an actress in the sixties, seventies, and for a bit in the eighties. She was only eighteen when she got pregnant with me. She never told me who my real father was, but she seduced a fairly successful producer and got him to marry her. When I came along, he thought he was my father. For several years, everything was fine. But then my mother started having an affair. The producer found out and he left her. He didn’t believe that I was his anymore. He discarded us like we were trash. My mother had to get back out there and get work. Times were different back then. The whole ‘casting couch’ idea was a very real thing. Not all the time, but sometimes. When she worked, I was left alone on set to wander around. Some things happened during those times, and other times, bad things happened because she made them happen.”
“No,” Brian said. “She wouldn’t.”
“She did. There were executives who were willing to give her parts if she let them do what they wanted to me. I was rather young when it started and one of them was so…vigorous…that I was left with permanent injuries that prevented me from ever having children.”
“Oh God,” Alice gasped.
“No!” Taryn cried. “Sandrine, that’s just horrific.”
“She was a monster,” Sandrine continued. “Life with her was absolute chaos. When she wasn’t plotting how I could best help her get ahead, she left me with ‘friends’ for months at a time. I was never sure if she’d come back or not but she always did. I never knew where she went or why. I just knew that having her back was always the worst thing that could happen to me.”
Brian rubbed vigorously at his wrist. “I don’t believe this.”
“Me either,” Nicola said.
Sandrine gave a harsh laugh. “Of course you don’t! If I told you there’s snow outside, you wouldn’t believe me because I said it. But guess what? I don’t care what you believe anymore.”
“I’m so sorry that happened to you,” Taryn said. “If you don’t mind me asking, who was your mother?”
“It doesn’t matter,” said Sandrine. “She died a long time ago. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m finished with this conversation. I’m going back to the main house. I can sleep in one of the breakout rooms. We needn’t speak to one another again for the rest of the time we’re together unless absolutely necessary.”
Sandrine turned and shuffled out the door. Taryn followed. Alice linked arms with Josie and looked at Brian and Nicola, her lips curled in disgust. “We’re going with them.”
THIRTY
The sound of duct tape tearing sent Noah’s body weak with relief. The air still hadn’t fully returned to his lungs, but he was lucid enough to know that if Cooper was tearing duct tape, it meant he wasn’t holding a pistol. It was dark in the basement. The other man was just an inky shadow looming over him. Hands fumbled across Noah’s body and flipped him onto his stomach. He was still as useless as a landed fish. As much as he willed his limbs to move, his brain and every automatic process in his body was focused on one singular task: getting oxygen. His arms and legs didn’t work.
Cooper wrenched his hands behind his back and started looping his wrists with duct tape. Then he began taping his ankles. As Noah’s senses returned, he smelled mildew. The concrete floor was cold under his cheek. He tried to set aside his panic long enough to slow his breathing.
“Heh—hey,” he tried, but his voice came out barely audible.
Cooper kept wrapping duct tape round and round Noah’s ankles.
“Hey,” Noah said, voice stronger now. “Let’s talk about this.”
Cooper grunted and dropped Noah’s bound ankles onto the floor. Noah didn’t even want to think about how difficult it would be to free himself. He started immediately testing the give in his wrists. Then he felt a hard edge against the back of his skull. It had to be the barrel of the pistol. “Don’t even try it,” Cooper told him.
Noah went still. He couldn’t see the man. Even if he’d been face up, it was too dark for him to see Cooper’s face, to gauge his mood or intention. “I’m not going to try to get away,” Noah lied. “Or to hurt you. Just tell me what you want. I can help you.”
“You’re only saying that to save your own hide.”
“Well, yeah,” Noah conceded. “I’m telling you that you don’t have to kill me. I will help you.” When Cooper didn’t respond, he said, “You helped me last night. Gave me a place to crash. Hell, you even cooked for me. I owe you.”
The pressure of the barrel against the back of his skull disappeared. He closed his eyes, sending up a prayer of thanks to anyone who would listen. “Don’t twist things,” Cooper said. “I’m only going to let you live for as long as you’re useful to me.”
Noah heard the stairs creak. Cooper walking back upstairs. “Wait!” he called. “Wait!”
The door slammed, plunging him into a darkness so complete, it confused his senses. A feeling of disorientation washed over him. For a moment, it felt like he was floating through endless space. Then he tried to wiggle his wrists and ankles and it brought him right back into his body. Inventorying his aches and pains, he was relieved to find that he hadn’t sustained any serious injuries in his fall down the steps.
With nothing else to do, he wondered how long was he going to be useful to Cooper, and how?
THIRTY-ONE
With the group fractured, Josie hoped they’d all be too distracted to give much thought to her stealing away to the rage room again in order to check her phone. Everyone seemed shell-shocked by Sandrine’s revelations. Nicola and Brian had wanted so badly to know about Sandrine’s traumatic past, but now that they did, their suspicion and anger toward her had given way to shame. A rift opened up in the group. Without conscious thought, Josie chose Sandrine and Alice over the others. Taryn was in their group simply because she clung to Sandrine. Josie helped Sandrine, Alice, and Taryn carry each one of their mattresses from their cabins to the main house. They dragged them all into the taxidermied-animal breakout room while Brian and Nicola retrieved their mattress as well, lugging it into the game room.
