Even if we couldn’t reverse this “sale” of Nove, this action would be worthwhile if it keeps Madison out of Pointer’s grasp.
“We’ve signed it,” I call out. “It’s done.”
Pointer takes his phone from his pocket and grins. “So it is.”
“Call off your soldiers,” Seth says. “Leave Madison alone.”
“Actually.” Pointer makes a soft tutting sound. “You’ve put me through so much shit, I can’t wait to do the same to you. I’ve been wanting to see you suffer for five long years now.”
I raise my gun and let off a warning shot. “Call them,” I say. “Now. We signed your papers, you have Nove, you have everything you want. There are two of us, one of you. We can end you right now, Pointer, and end all of this. Or you can tell your men to stand down.”
“Maybe there’s one of me.” He reaches into the open door of his car. “But I have a hostage.”
A young, blond man in cargo shorts and a Hawaiian-print top stumbles out of the vehicle.
Fuck.
“Oh hey, Erich, right?” The man’s words are slurred. He waves at Pointer, clearly not seeing the gun or understanding the threat. “So sorry, I couldn’t find your phone, man. I think I fell asleep in there. Will I still get paid?”
“I’ll fucking kill him.” Pointer jams his gun against the guy’s temple.
“Wait, whoa-whoa-whoa,” the tourist says. “I’ll look again, man. You offered me a hundo, so I’ll find the phone, promise.”
“I already found it.” Pointer holds up his device, then his gun. “Now you’re coming with me.”
My mind moves quickly, evaluating our options. If Pointer has a hostage, there’s nothing he won’t do. He doesn’t care about that man; he will shoot him as easily as breathing, and feel zero regret.
“This wasn’t part of the deal,” the tourist says. “Come on, let’s just get some drinks and put this all behind us.”
Pointer aims at the ground, next to the tourist’s foot, and shoots.
The tourist yelps. Now he seems to understand the threat. “Okay, yeah, whatever you want.”
“If I get even the sense that you two are following me,” Pointer says with a sneer, “this young asshole dies.”
I balance on the balls of my feet. I don’t care about the young asshole. I care about Madison.
But I can’t be responsible for an innocent man’s death.
Pointer drags the guy down the trail at the other side of the clearing. Seth and I wait, listening to them disappear into the shadows. “Don’t kill me, man,” the tourist says. “I just want to get back to my party, okay?”
Once they’re out of earshot, Seth and I exchange a look and get in our car. There are other routes to the resort, and we aren’t leaving Madison in Pointer’s path—fuck no.
MADISON
“I’m so sorry.” I meekly go into the tiny storage room and hand back Landon’s earpiece.
He shakes his head. “We should’ve given you the info sooner. Fuck, now I don’t have a weapon.” He winces at whatever Seth and Damiano say through his earpiece. “No. She threw it in the bushes. I didn’t have time to retrieve it…. Yeah, I know.”
To his credit, he doesn’t seem mad at me. He doesn’t even act annoyed. Everything I’ve done to throw a wrench into their plans, he’s taking it in stride.
It makes me feel worse, for some reason.
He pulls the door shut after us. I take stock of the tiny room. It’s mostly filled with spare linens, but one shelf is laden with cases of travel toothpaste, toothbrushes, and soaps.
In this storage room, I should feel safe. Yet instead, I feel trapped. Not by Landon, but by the circumstances. If someone shows up here, we have nowhere to run, nowhere else to hide. There isn’t a passage leading to another safe place. We’re stuck.
This is it.
