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“Right here.” Madison appears from behind rocks. “I thought I heard your voices. Did you find her?”
Jayla rounds the rocks. “The only thingwefound was rain.” She plucks at her drenched shirt. “I feel like I went for a swim, and not a nice one.” She shivers. “I was trying to persuade the kid to get inside and change into something dry before we catch pneumonia.”
“That’s not how you catch pneumonia,” Madison says. “Or a cold. We just spent two years in pandemic hell, and youstilldon’t know how viruses spread?”
“Yeah, yeah. I know it. I was just hoping you didn’t. It’s a good excuse for getting inside.”
“We saw Sadie,” I say.
They both turn to stare at me.
“Fuck,” Jayla says. “So I was right. She’s behind this bullshit and hiding on the island.”
I shake my head and glance at Kit, but he seems to be only half listening as he looks out over the landscape.
“She’s…” I measure my words, aware of Madison soaking them in. “Hurt. Badly hurt. I think she might have been on the boat.”
“When it exploded?” Madison says.
“Maybe she jumped off before it did. Heard a noise or spotted the bomb. We noticed her suitcase was in the water, and when we saw her, she was drenched even before the rain started.”
“You couldn’t get to her,” Madison says.
“I…”Careful. So careful.“We couldn’t call to her with the wind, and so we chased her.”
“Chased her?” Jayla frowns. “She ran away?”
Kit snaps back from wherever his mind had been. “She’s badly hurt. A blow to the head or concussive shock from the bomb. At first we thought she didn’t recognize us, but then she attacked Laney, and she accused me of being the one who hurt her.”
“What?” Madison says.
“She’s really confused. But she’s also—”
“What the hell is going on?” Garrett’s voice booms as we turn to see him striding from the direction of the house. “Are you searching for my sister or hanging out chatting?”
“No, asshole,” Madison says. “We’re talking to Kit and Laney, who saw your sister, and we’re getting the story so we can help her.”
Garrett stops short and swivels on me. “You saw my sister?”
I nod. “She’s out here, and she’s hurt and confused.”
“And again, my fucking question, louder now. You are standing around chitchatting after youfoundmy sister?”
“What the hell is your problem?” Madison snaps.
I step between them and lower my voice to address Madison. “His sister is missing, and he’s panicked. Same as I would be if you were missing.”
Cut him some slack.That’s what my tone says, and Jayla’s lips tighten at that, but she doesn’t interfere. Yes, in this instance, we need to cut Garrett slack. Just not as much as he demands.
I turn to Garrett and keep my voice calm. “We are discussing it because she’s not in her right mind.”
“She attacked Laney and Kit,” Madison cuts in.
“The point,” Kit says, “is that Sadie’s dangerous. That’s not her fault, but it doesn’t change the fact she is. We were making sure Madison and Jayla knew that before they went running after her, as they understandably would want to.”
“Would they?” Garrett says. “Does anyone here give a shit besides me?”
“Yes,” I say firmly. “I think we’ve proved that. Now, if we can divide into groups, we’ll go after her.”
