If he’s dangerous, I need to get away from him.
I walk quietly, my brain suddenly calm. A plan forms in my head. There’s no time to waste.
I pretend to stumble, putting me just behind Landon for the briefest moment. Reaching forward, I grab the gun from his holster.
“Hey!” he shouts in surprise.
I back away from him, my nerves jittery, my hands going numb around the weapon. “Don’t touch me.”
“What the fuck?” He holds his hands up, palms out. “Madison, what are you doing?”
Even though he terrifies me, even though he could be the enemy, I can’t point the gun at him. I would never be able to shoot. There’s a higher chance he’ll wrest it from my hands and use it against me instead.
So I throw it outward, into the darkness. Then I break into a run.
“Madison—fuck?—”
He chases after me. My heart pounds. I wanted to trust him—I thought I could trust him. Damiano and Seth do, and I trust them. But everything is happening too fast.
“Madison, take my comm device,” he calls. “You can talk to Seth and Damiano.”
I turn around, uncertain. If he weren’t trustworthy, why would he let me talk to them?
“Here.” He takes something from his ear and holds out his hand. “I’ll slide it to you, okay? I won’t get close.”
If he’s really on Seth and Damiano’s side, I’ll hear their voices reassuring me.
If he isn’t, he could use my distraction to overpower me. He’s big enough to haul me over his shoulder and carry me somewhere. Yeah, I’ll scream the entire time, but he might knock me unconscious, say I drank too much and passed out—there are many ways he could get me off the resort and away from help.
“Here.” He slides it forward, along the tiled floor. Then he backs even farther away, down the hall. “Just try to stay low. Someone from Point Ops could be watching from the pool.”
I send a panicked glance toward the guests relaxing in the water. Are any of them staring this way? It’s impossible to tell—the pool lights are dim. All I can see are peoples’ shapes, not their faces or eyes.
It seems if anyone was watching us us, they would’ve seen me with the gun. But nobody has said a word.
“Don’t come any closer,” I say to Landon. “Or I swear, I’ll run.”
“I won’t.” He looks physically pained. “I promise. Please hurry, though.”
It’s the urgency in his voice that gets to me. He’s not just in a hurry—he’s worried.
I’m starting to think I made a huge fucking mistake.
I dart forward, staying as low to the floor as possible, and retrieve the tiny, black earpiece. I hold it next to my ear.
“Madison, talk to me.” Seth’s frantic tone puts me on edge.
“I’m here, but…I’m scared. I thought Landon was trying to take me somewhere—I thought maybe he’s working for Erich Pointer.”
“No, baby.” He pauses. “Did you run from him?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry.” I don’t have time to cry, so I blink back my tears. “I threw his gun.”
Damiano’s voice comes through the earpiece. “That would have been very smart if he were betraying us. But we trust Landon, Madison. You can go with him. We have several points where we can come to get you, and he’s keeping us posted. He might change the plans, depending on who’s around.”
“Okay. I’m really sorry I freaked out.” I feel so stupid, but honestly, what was I supposed to believe when this guy I met three days ago starts hauling me around the resort?
“It’s our fault for not communicating better,” Seth says. “Hang tight, okay? We’re fifteen minutes away.”
