Page 145 of One Killer Night
I shake my head. “I don’t know.”
“What are we gonna do?” Chase presses.
But Evie walks out in front of us. She points and wags her finger as she looks from side to side and then in front of us.
“Oh my god ... oh my god,” she blurts out. “Only one of these is real. I made him.” We all look at her in confusion, so she shakes her head and clarifies. “I made these two dummies to look like Michael Myers. They were meant to be in the woods and scare people. I put one by the bonfire”—she points toward where the offices are—“and one out by the boathouse.”
We all look in that direction.
The moon shines down as we stand there for what feels like minutes. But it’s only seconds as we deliberate silently, because two roads lead to freedom and one leads to death.
“Can you tell which ones are fake?” Goldie whispers.
Evie shakes her head with both hands on the sides of her face as she looks to the men. She blows out a harsh breath.
“Do you have a designer tell? Look for that?”
“No,” she draws out. “I can’t tell. Fuck.”
“Come on, there’s gotta be something,” Chase adds.
But she starts to cry again. “I don’t ... oh my god.” Her breathing starts picking up pace as she keeps looking between the paths. She’s panicking. “I can’t tell. Oh my god. I just don’t ... I just don’t know.”
Chase pulls her into his arms and whispers down to her. I can’t hear what he says, but she lets him hold her while she repeats “I’m sorry,” over and over.
“Fuck this,” I rush out and turn to Goldie, cradling her face. “You’re going to go back to your cabin and lock the door. Do you hear me?” She’s shaking her head, already saying no, but I keep talking. “Take your sister back ...”
“Noah . . . no.”
I nod reassuringly. “Take her back. Chase will go with you to protect you.”
Tears begin to stream down her face. “No ... I’m not doing that.” She slaps her hands against my chest. “You’re not gonna be the fucking hero, Noah. We save each other tonight.”
I stare into her eyes, rubbing my thumb over her wet cheek. “It’s okay, baby. I’ll be fine. This has to end, and I’m the one who needs to do it.”
She grips my wrists and repeats herself, just a little quieter. “We save each other, do you hear me? I love you, and I don’t want to live without you.”
A heavy breath leaves me because I feel the same, but also I can’t live knowing I’ve put her in harm’s way. If something happens to her, it would only be because I’d let it. That’ll never be her story.
But before I can say any more, Evie pipes up.
“And I’m not living without my sister, so if she stays, you’re stuck with me too.”
I scoff, shaking my head as the girls look at Chase. He shrugs.
“I feel like I’ve made my position clear on this.” Chase locks eyes with me. “We ride, we die together. You’re the Martin to my Will. Also, in case anyone’s interested, I vote we head to the boathouse. It’s four against one, and I think we can take him.”
Both girls raise their hands, saying, “Me too.”
“You’re all nuts.”
“We’re all family,” Goldie counters.
I don’t have the emotional bandwidth to let that sit for too long, but we need to live so I can show her how grateful I am for those three little words.
My head turns to look out at the miserable motherfucker waiting for us as I say, “Boathouse it is.” My face swings back to Chase. “And for the record, you’re the Martin to my Will.”
“Code names.” He grins.
