He grabbed it out of my hand and threw it to the side.
“What the fuck?” I shouted.
“The piece of shit house is gone.”
Smoke rolled out the windows, and red and yellow flames blazed inside the house. His lips pulled into a predatory grin, and it stirred an awful feeling inside of me. He was so obnoxious.
He was alone.
The pulse in my neck hammered to the point of agony. Garry shouldn’t be back. Something had happened to Hunter. I stepped back, bumping the shelf with plates and utensils. My hand went behind me, and I fumbled for the three-pronged spear. My clammy grip tightened around the shaft, and I wielded it in front of me.
“Why don’t you put that down before you try something stupid?” Garry pulled the side of his shirt up, revealing the gun and an unnecessary piece of hairy belly.
I dropped the tool. “Where are Hunter and Tom?”
“They are none of your concern,” he said slowly and deliberately. I steered around the picnic table to insert some barrier between us.
Garry crept deeper, his eyes narrowed on me. “You look scared.”
Did Hunter and Tom make it to the dug-out? What if it didn’t work? I maneuvered around the table again, my back to the clearing in the jungle that led to the garden. I could bolt and hide somewhere. No. I should run to the trap.
“Why are you here?” My voice was hoarse.
“To save you from the fire.”
I doubted Hunter would send Garry to check on me. He would’ve come himself. We made a full, slow circle around the table. The devilish dancing shadows of roaring fire made him look crazed. We stopped.
I needed to find Hunter, but first, I had to eliminate Garry. I could take him deep into the jungle or to the shed and somehow hurt him and run. But that meant we would be alone. In the darkness. Even farther away from Hunter. Or… I could… my muscles went rigid, agonizing goosebumps prickling my skin as I thought of the black rocks.
No.
Think of something else.
This was the best idea.
Was it stupid of me?
Yes, but it was a risk I was willing to take.
“I know where more gold is,” I blurted.
Garry cocked his head as if he had misheard me. “What?”
“I found more gold. And diamonds. Lots of it. Hunter doesn’t know. I was going to keep it to myself. Come back and get it later.” My breaths came in quick and shallow.
“Bullshit.”
“I’m serious.”
He jerked his chin. “Why are you telling me this now?”
“Because if you help me get out of here, I’m willing to share half of it. Tom won’t give you a fair share. He is a lying thief, and I’m an honest nobody who got dragged into this shit show. Just think about it. Tom thinks he calls all the shots, but it’s only because you let him believe it, but you’re manipulating him to do what you want to do. Am I right?”
I had no idea where all this word vomit was coming from. I was gambling. Garry narrowed his eyes, but the change on his face—the change that all brainless, gullible men show when they gobble up praise and flattery—gave him away. I had him.
“Tom is a fucking idiot.”
Just like you.
