Page 91 of Still See You Everywhere

I’m breathing hard. And my eyes sting. I’m tired, and my chest is too tight. I’m sliding down into the abyss, where the only thing that seems like a good idea is to pour a drink, then let the booze sort it out. Why be in charge of my own life when good ol’ Jack would feel so much better?

I climb to my feet. I need away from the booze cabinet. “What happened to MacManus’s first business partner?”

“What?”

“His software developer friend. The one that actually made them gazillionaires. Wasn’t he the true genius? MacManus was just the face of operations, till his friend died. Then MacManus inherited his partner’s shares and proceeded to sell the whole kit and caboodle for half a billion. Isn’t that how the story goes?”

“I never met Shawn Eastman. That was before my time. Mac doesn’t even talk about those days. You’re right, he’s no tech wunderkind. Property development is more his speed. But what does that—”

“I don’t know! Point is, neither do you. So maybe I haven’t asked MacManus the right questions yet. But maybe, neither have you.”

“Are you going to leave the atoll?”

“What?” Now it’s my turn to be confused.

“After our camp meeting. Will you choose to stay, or choose to go?”

“I… I…” My arms fall to my sides. I don’t know. I haven’t gotten that far. “I guess I’ll have to figure it out. You?”

“I’m the leader. If others stay, I will, too.”

I nod. I’m not a leader, but I’m a woman with a self-destructive hobby. If Lea stays, I guess I do, too. Do I have something to fear from Keahi, should she arrive? After all, she’s the one who sent me here. Then again, given what she did to her lawyer…

I scrub at my face. I gotta get outta here.

“I am powerless over alcohol. I’ve come to believe a higher power can help restore me to sanity.”

For a moment, I’m too stunned to move.

“That’s what I learned,” Vaughn says softly. “Fifteen years ago. That’s what I had to accept to get my life back. I see the way your gaze keeps going to the liquor cabinet, the key around my neck. I’m guessing you’ve had some hard learning you had to do yourself.”

I know the word I need to say. And yet it refuses to rise to my lips.

“I’m here if you want to talk,” he continues quietly. “None of us is alone.”

“You will be. When I step out that door. You’ll be alone with the booze stash. Is that a good idea?”

“I’m okay for this moment. When I’m not, I hand Ronin the key. None of us is alone,” he repeats.

“Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

Then, because I can’t help myself: “If Keahi gets to this atoll… she’ll grab her sister. Then she’ll kill everyone who chooses to stay behind. She’s never repented for her crimes, and take it from someone who saw her just days ago, her homicidal rage has not decreased since being incarcerated. If she gets here before the authorities, none of us will survive.”

“We’re not entirely defenseless; we have a rifle, shotgun, a few other resources.”

“Yes. But she prefers blades. And how many of those did you say were on this island?”

Vaughn doesn’t have an answer for that. He nods once in acknowledgment.

I think he’s very handsome for someone who looks as exhausted as I feel.

“Things are going to get worse before they get better,” I tell him honestly.

“Welcome to project management.”

He flashes me a fleeting smile. Then, because that smile makes him even more ridiculously attractive, I play to my own strengths.

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