“Can’t you tell me what’s really going on? Who is Mr. Troy?”
“I promise, I’ll tell you everything, okay? Right now, the only thing that matters is that you find Ryan and Ilmari and send them to me. Please, Nancy.”
She nods, and I let her go. Asking no more questions, she hurries back up the boardwalk, leaving me alone in the middle of the dunes. In the distance, thunder rumbles and a fork of lightning splits the sky. The storm is rolling closer.
No, the storm is already here.
The thought comes unbidden to my mind, and I clench my hands into tight fists. Troy is the storm, and he’s here.
He was never going to wait for me to come back to him. He knows I won’t. Even if I left Ryan last night like he asked, this was never going to end with me back in Cincinnati. I would have run again instead. Farther this time. Troy can’t lose his chance to hurt me. He’s playing the only two cards he has left: hurt Ryan and hurt my friends.
What’s his next move? What will he do?
“Tess!”
I spin around to see Ilmari and Jake jogging towards me. Both men look concerned.
“What’s wrong?” Jake calls. “Nancy said you were freaking out—”
“Troy is here,” I say, cutting right to the chase.
“Oh…shit. Well, did you see him? Did you talk to him?”
“No.”
“Good. Don’t. Tess, fuck that guy. Let’s call the police and drag his ass out—”
“No,” I say, grabbing his arm. “Jake, no. That will only set him off. He always has a plan. If we do anything that seems expected, he’ll be ready to retaliate. He’s smart, Jake.” I turn to Ilmari, tears in my eyes. “He wants to hurt me.”
“And how does he do that?” Ilmari asks.
I swallow the ball of emotion in my throat. “By hurting Ryan…and hurting you.”
“Me?” he says with a raised brow. “Why does he want to hurt me?”
“Because you’re my friend, Mars. I’m not here doing all of this because I’m a bleeding heart for sea turtles and sand dunes. I’m here for you. I’m here for Rachel and Jake and Cay. I’m here because you looked at me on Hal Price’s back patio with tears in your eyes, and you told me you didn’t want to fail. And look, I know you’re still mad at me about all this,” I say, gesturing around. “And I won’t make you give the speech if it really matters that much to you, but I love you, Mars Price. I would do anything for you and your family.”
“Why are you saying this?”
“Because you deserve to know,” I reply. Then I glance to Jake. “You both deserve to know. I love you, too, Jake. I’m so happy you found my Rachel, and I’m happy you make her so happy.”
“Tess, why does this feel like a goodbye?” Jake’s face is a mask of anxiety.
“Because Troy is here to test whether you love me too,” I reply. “A narcissist can’t stand when their victim has attachments outside of them. He wants you to push me away. He wants caring for me and being my friend to be a burden for you—”
“Tess, you aren’t a fucking burden,” Jake says emphatically. “And if that guy gets close to you, I’ll knock him out flat.”
“No,” I beg. At the same time, Ilmari say, “No violence, Jake.”
“Well, then, what’s the plan here?” Jake replies. “We need to go get Seattle,” he says at Mars. “I don’t want him getting close to her either. He touches her, he’s fucking dead.”
“And Ryan,” I say, heart in my throat. “We need to find Ryan. He’s who Troy wants most. Troy knows the best way to get to me is to get to him. He can’t hurt me anymore, so he’s going to hurt Ryan. I told Nancy to find him. He should be back. He should be here—”
“Okay, okay,” Jake soothes, stepping in to wrap me in his arms. “Shhh. It’s okay.”
I don’t even realize I’m crying until I hear the sob come from my chest. I cling to Jake, and Ilmari steps in behind me, his hand on my shoulder.
“We need to go back inside,” Ilmari says. “I won’t leave Rakas alone in there. She is the only other person Troy knows, yes?”
I nod.
“And we’ll find Ryan,” Jake adds. “Come on, sweetheart.” He takes my right hand, weaving our fingers together. “We won’t leave you for a second, alright? We’ve got you, Tess. We love you too. We’ve said it before, but your name may as well be Price. You’re on our ‘ride or die’ list, okay?”