Page 8 of He Had It Coming

But there’s only one villain in this story. One murderer. Jerek Hayes.

—Anonymous

Chapter Nine

Get loose and get out of there. That was my sole focus. Nothing else mattered. Retribution would be swift and painful and would have to wait until the feeling returned to my fingers and my head stopped pounding.

“I’m not doing this.” He refused to play along for her entertainment.

“That will certainly make the game go faster.” Her wince managed to look sarcastic. Like, she was amused by my frustration. “Which, admittedly, is not a great ending for you.”

She’d careened over some invisible edge. That was the only explanation. “You don’t have a weapon.”

“You didn’t need one when you killed my sister.”

I was done with every beat of my life, every decision, every horrible moment, relating back to that night with Ruby. “That was an accident.”

Sabrina huffed. “You didn’t hit her with a car.”

That would have been easier. People would have declared her death a tragedy and moved on. “Sometimes things just happen. No one intends for them to go the way they do, but they do.”

Her head tilted to the side. “It’s fascinating you think that kind of answer will keep you alive.”

“Injured or not, I will fight back. You have to know that, right? I’m assuming that’s why I’m tied up.” I shifted my legs, trying to stretch the ropes. Get an inch of breathing room so I could slip out of the bindings. So far, no success.

She ignored the question. “Are you ready to start the game?”

Not happening. “Sweetheart, you can’t win against me.”

“Does that condescending tone usually work for you?” She stood up. Slipped back up the steps and out of sight. After a second, her head popped back into view. “No, really. I mean, are you saying women hear you drone on, fueled by your massive ego and daddy’s flush bank account, and they’re turned on?”

Only when they haven’t been brainwashed by her endless stream of garbage. My mind flipped to Willa. To the promise of something that flickered out when the first Anonymous post appeared.

I refused to give Sabrina the satisfaction of knowing her campaign had any leverage. “It kills you that women don’t hate me.”

She shrugged. “It does make me question the collective brain power of my sex, yes.”

“So much for feminism. How convenient to be able to turn your support on and off at whim.”

“Are you really lecturing me about feminism?”

Not a topic I cared about, so I moved on to one that was more pertinent. “Of course, if you really wanted to have an honest conversation about your sister and what really happened you wouldn’t hide behind Anonymous.”

“Those posts?” Sabrina smiled. “Gotta say, I’m a big fan.”

Enough of this. “Help!”

My voice roared through the cabin. When the echo finally died down I yelled again. And again. Screamed until the crushing pressure in my head set off a new round of dizziness.

Sabrina didn’t even flinch. She didn’t move at all. She stood at the top of the steps, staring at me with a blank expression. Waiting. Not panicking.

Finally, one eyebrow lifted. “Are you done yet?”

“I’m down here!” The wailing sent pain flashing through my brain.

She sighed. “What part of we’re not at the marina didn’t you understand?”

“Listen, Ms. Anonymous—”