Fear (Gone 5)

“I’ll … k…,” he said, and breathed heavily, unable to go on.

“Nighty-night,” Penny said. She picked up a heavy snow globe from the knickknack shelf, where it had no doubt been a prized possession of whoever had owned this house. The snow globe had a little Harrah’s casino inside. A tacky keepsake.

She smashed the globe against the back of Caine’s head. He slumped forward.

The glass shattered, lacerating his scalp but also slicing her thumb.

She looked at the blood on her hand.

“Worth it,” she snarled.

She wrapped a towel around the cut on her hand, then brought in a large wooden salad bowl and a pitcher of water.

Then she dragged the heavy bag of cement from the closet.

NINETEEN

17 HOURS, 37 MINUTES

SILENT AS A shadow Astrid crept from the bunk. It was so hard to leave the warmth of his body. He was a magnet and she was an iron filing, drawn almost irresistibly back to him.

Almost irresistibly.

She crept out into the hallway. Brianna was snoring. It almost made Astrid giggle to realize that she snored at normal speed, like anyone else.

She found her old clothes. She dressed in the shadows. T-shirt, multiply patched jeans. Boots. She checked her backpack. Shotgun shells still there. She would refill her water bottle from the lake. Some food would be good, but Astrid had long since adjusted to extended periods of hunger.

Hopefully this trip wouldn’t take too long. If nothing happened, she could make the walk to Perdido Beach in what, five hours? She sighed. Walk to Perdido Beach through the night or crawl back into bed with Sam and let him wrap his strong arms around her and entwine her legs with his and…

“Now or never,” she whispered.

She had the letters. The ones Mohamed had failed to deliver. She folded them and stuck them into her front pocket, where they couldn’t possibly fall out or be dropped.

The whole plan rested on what she found when she went up on deck. The houseboat was still moored at the dock—a symbolic defiance—but someone would be on watch.

She emerged on the dock side. Maybe whoever was on the top deck wouldn’t notice. Maybe she could just walk away.

“Freeze,” a voice said. Dekka.

Astrid cursed under her breath. She had made it about six feet down the dock. She was well within Dekka’s range, which meant Astrid had zero chance of getting away. Dekka would cancel the gravity beneath her feet, and it was hard to run while floating in the air.

Dekka stepped to the edge of the top deck and then off into space. She canceled gravity for a split second, just enough to allow her to make the drop silently.

“Heading out for a snack run?” Dekka asked dryly. “Pick me up a pack of Ho Hos.”

“I’m going to Perdido Beach,” Astrid said.

“Ah. You’re going to be the big hero and deliver Sam’s letter.”

“Minus the ‘big hero’ snark, yes.”

Dekka jerked her thumb toward the land. “Drake’s out there. And the same coyotes that ate Howard for lunch. No offense, honey, but you’re the brains, not the muscle.”

“I’ve learned a few things,” Astrid said. Without taking her eyes off Dekka’s she swung the butt of her shotgun up and sideways. The wood stock caught Dekka on the side of her face. Not enough to knock her out, but enough to make her drop to her knees.

Astrid moved quickly to get behind Dekka and take advantage of her momentary weakness. She shoved Dekka facedown on the rough planks.

“Sorry, Dekka,” she said, and wrapped a length of rope around her wrists. She stuffed an old sock in Dekka’s mouth. “Listen to me, Dekka. We need Caine, Caine needs us, so this has to happen. And I’m not necessary here.”