Page 133 of Still See You Everywhere

“One day, Noodles attacked her. I heard her screaming and came running. The cat had gone mad—”

“Distemper,” Leilani supplies crisply. “Daddy didn’t believe in vet care for the animals.”

“Or doctor’s care for the humans,” Keahi adds. “I couldn’t shoo the cat away. I had to put it down.”

“You shot Noodles? You killed your sister’s favorite kitten?”

Keahi glares at me. “I had no choice. It’d gone feral. I was protecting Leilani.”

“A fake code in your fake note.” I consider the matter. “Later when questioned by the police”—I wave in Leilani’s direction—“you’ll deliver this tale of childhood tragedy and how you were, in your own way, telling your sister what you needed. For her to come put down the animal abusing you.”

“Details matter,” Leilani confirms. “Now, the message from Brent?”

“Absolutely.” I turn back to Keahi. “You know he’s going to kill you when this is all over? He told me about it. Leilani knows and approves.”

I’m going for shock, or at the very least, divide and conquer. Instead, Keahi responds with a playful grin. She and her sister exchange a glance.

“Which apparently you know all about,” I fill in. This is not going well.

“For some reason, he was nervous about partnering with me on this little operation.” Keahi runs her thumb down the side of the bloody knife. “Leilani had to tell him something to soothe his nerves.”

“Do you have a spreadsheet for all of this?” I ask Leilani, genuinely curious. I drift closer to the coffee table. “I mean, you telling Brent he can kill your sister when this is over, while no doubt assuring Keahi she can kill your lover when it’s done. How do you track so many lies? And do either of them realize MacManus isn’t the only tool in all this? They’re nothing but marks to you as well.”

My body feels jittery, my limbs quaking with a flood of adrenaline as I make it within two feet of my goal.

I peer at Leilani intently. “I’m just trying to figure out—is this your version of teenage rebellion, finally taking control of your life? Or is this purely professional—a hostile takeover?”

Leilani picks up the handgun, points it right at me. “This is me saying shut the fuck up. Now, what is Brent’s message, and why isn’t he here himself?”

“Maybe it doesn’t matter,” I continue softly. “Either way, you’re broken. Keahi murdered grown men trying to fill the hollowness inside her. You, you’re about to slaughter an entire island in order to make a few bucks. Just remember, if your sister is anything to go by, it won’t be enough. We aren’t the ones standing in the way of your happiness. You are.”

“What the hell is the message?!”

“Oh, yes, that. My apologies: Brent regrets to inform you that he’s kinda dead. Because I lured him into a trap. And a rifle blew off his head.”

I bolt forward, snatch up the closest sat phone, then run like hell toward the door.

Keahi lurches toward me with her knife. Leilani is no doubt taking aim at my back.

Then a shattering boom as Vaughn materializes in the side window and blasts his shotgun.

Screaming. Maybe theirs. Definitely mine.

A searing pain in my lower leg. I don’t stop. I keep on chugging as Keahi roars in outrage and sprints after me.

CHAPTER 39

A SECOND BELCH FROM THE SHOTGUN. Vaughn firing at Keahi’s back as she pelts after me. I don’t know where I’m going or what I’m doing. Acting purely on instinct, I head for the pounding ocean surf on the beach below.

She’s stronger than I am. Definitely angrier and deadlier. I have to hope I’m faster.

I head closer to the water, not just because it’s easier to run on the packed sand, but because higher up the beach is pocked with crab dens. I don’t have time to turn on my flashlight, and I can’t afford to break an ankle in one of the holes.

Behind me, I hear the retort of gunfire. Leilani shooting at Vaughn? I can’t worry about it. If I can just get away, find someplace to hide long enough to phone for help. What had Vaughn said that first day in his office? It takes three to five days to get emergency medical evac?

I have a hard time believing I’m going to survive for the next thirty minutes, but reducing our rescue window to a matter of days might be enough to save the others. I’ll take whatever hope I can get.

I hear more noise from behind me. Maybe panting. Closing footsteps. Hard to determine above the crash of the waves and crying of the birds.

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