Alena

 

I waited for what felt like forever as Skull cried himself out. Then he stretched out on the bed like he had exhausted himself. He was so damned unstable. I had no idea what he would do next. I was afraid to move a muscle, for fear of setting him off in a rage or another fit of tears.

 

I threw a desperate look at the other two idiots, but they were totally dumbstruck. I very much got the impression that they didn’t know what they were signing on for when agreeing to go on this little trip up the road. They had no idea what to do now, and were muttering to each other, half-turned from me. I couldn’t make out what they were saying over the TV and the sounds of Skull’s occasional sniffling, but I saw a lot of head shaking and shrugging. Every once in a while, one of them would look at me.

 

The tension was nearly unbearable. It was all like some sort of surreal nightmare. Listening to cartoons while wondering how I was going to die, and when.

 

Cole still hadn’t come. How much more time did I have? Skull was completely undone. I couldn’t trust him to keep a cool head, not now. He might blow at any minute, and blow me away while he was at it. I couldn’t believe my life was in his hands.

 

Cole, where are you? How had this happened? I wasn’t supposed to be here! Damn this club! Damn him and Skull and all of them! Ruining everyone’s lives. At that moment, I hated Cole along with the rest of them.

 

No. I didn’t hate him. It was easy to blame him for this when I was so panicky, but he hadn’t forced his friend to do anything of it. From the way the other two were acting, I could tell the club wasn’t into kidnapping and murdering women.

 

I took a deep breath and dared to speak. I looked at Number Two, whose name I still didn’t know. He’d smiled at me. Maybe there was a decent bone in his body.

 

“Why did you think you were bringing me here?” I asked, sounding as pitiful as I could.

 

“Enough out of you!” Skull shouted.

 

I looked at Skull, letting my chin quiver like I was about to cry. “What’s the difference now? Why not tell me? You’re just gonna kill me, anyway. Right? Why not satisfy my curiosity? Shouldn’t I know how this went down if it’s going to end with you killing me?”

 

Skull stared at me through half-lidded eyes, then waved his hand like he didn’t care one way or another whether I knew. I looked back at the other guys. Neither of them looked exactly anxious to speak to me.

 

Number Two cleared his throat. “We thought you had to do with the drugs,” he said. “He told us you knew and were gonna tell the club we were holding out on them.” He looked at me and mouthed, “I’m sorry.”

 

His apologies didn’t do me any good, not unless he wanted to help me escape. Then I wondered if I couldn’t maybe use him to help me after all. He still seemed like a sweet enough kid. Maybe he had been pulled into this craziness, just the way Sara had. Not knowing how deep everything went.

 

“So you were holding out on the club?” I asked. I looked at Skull. “Did Sara know that?”

 

“No. And I wasn’t holding out on anything!”

 

I would have to tread more lightly. “You weren’t honest, though.”

 

“I wasn’t stealing anything! Everything was going to go to the club once they knew about the deal I made. But if Cole ever found out I was selling, it wouldn’t take him long to put two and two together. I made a deal with another supplier, hoping it would eventually make more money for the club and make Cole a stronger leader.” He looked at me, straight in the eye. “You gotta believe me. I did it for him. I wanted him to be respected and appreciated for everything he did for the club.”

 

I didn’t think he was completely truthful, but I nodded anyway. “I know how close you are.” Come on, Cole. Put on some speed!

 

Skull nodded. “He’s like a brother to me. I knew he would see what I did as betrayal, but that’s not how I meant it at all. He wouldn’t have believed me, and even if he had, the rest of the club wouldn’t. They would have voted me out, or worse. Probably worse.” He shuddered, throwing an arm over his eyes. I knew what he meant. They would have killed him if they thought he was making side deals and profiting from the results. No matter how much love they pretended to have for each other, in the end, it all came down to money.

 

“How did it all go to shit so fast?” He looked at all of us—even me, as though I could give him a straight answer. I had no idea how he had managed to screw up so badly, but, of course, there was no way I could say that.

 

“These things happen,” I said, shrugging as best I could with my wrists bound behind me. “We never mean for them to. Just like I know, in my heart, that you didn’t mean to hurt Sara. It just happened. Right?”

 

“Exactly! I loved her! I wouldn’t have hurt her for anything!”

 

I bit my tongue, wanting to scream at him. Instead of tearing him apart for what he did, I nodded sympathetically. “You have a good heart, Skull. It was always in the right place. I know how much Cole loves you. He wouldn’t if you weren’t a good, worthwhile person. You just got lost. But it doesn’t have to be this way.”

 

He stayed very still for a long time. I wondered if I had gotten through to him somehow. There was a brief moment of hope.

 

Then he laughed, and the little edge of insanity I heard in that laugh told me there was no getting through to him. He was gone.

 

“You’re good,” he said, and slowly clapped his hands. “Seriously, you should have been an actress instead of a—what was it? A musician?” I didn’t miss the past tense he used.

 

I slumped slightly, as much as I could while I was still tied up. My hands were starting to go numb. I would never play piano with them again. Carol and my other students would have to find another teacher. “Yeah. A musician.”

 

“I heard you were pretty good.” He sat up, looking at me. “Sara told me you were really good, actually.”

 

“She would have,” I said with a smile, in spite of the abject terror in my heart. “She was my biggest fan. She used to come to all of my gigs and cheer her head off. Sometimes there would only be a few other people in the room, but she would clap like she was at a stadium concert, you know?”

 

He nodded, smiling a little himself. “Yeah, she was always enthusiastic about the people she loved.”

 

Do you think she loved you? I wondered, looking at him. If he did, there was probably even more anguish he was dealing with. I had to wonder whether or not she did. I was sure it had to be infatuation.

 

Then again, anyone would have thought that about Cole and me, but I knew it wasn’t the case. I knew my feelings ran deeper than that. My heart broke when I thought I would never see him again if he didn’t get to me within the next few minutes. It broke for him, too. I knew he would blame himself.

 

But even if he made it in time, then what? Could he manage to talk Skull down from the insanity he was swimming in? I didn’t think so. And I didn’t want to see him get hurt while trying, either.

 

I thought about Sara. She was out there somewhere in the world. I said a quiet prayer to myself, hoping she was safe and could be happy. I had done my best for her. I hoped she knew how much I’d loved her.

 

Skull got up from the bed. Somehow I knew what he had in mind. Maybe it was the way he was looking down at me with such finality in his eyes.

 

“Enough talking,” he said. “It’s time to finish this.”

 

“What are you doing, Skull?” Alan asked, looking from Skull to me, then back again.

 

“What the fuck do you think I’m doing? Do you think this is some game I’m playing? Let me tell you, it’s not. When you’re in this club, you do what needs to be done for the sake of the club. And she’s standing in the way.” He pulled out his gun, and I whimpered. I didn’t want him to see how scared I was, but then again, I thought it might help me earn sympathy from the others in the room.

 

“Yo, Skull, this isn’t a good idea,” Number Two said.

 

“Casey, I didn’t ask for your opinion.” I looked at Casey, my eyes pleading with him. Skull was oblivious.

 

“Seriously, Skull! Think about it. You’re going to kill her, right here in the room? Tied to a chair? You’re going to get blood all over the place. People know you’re here. You come here all the time for the pickups. They’ve seen you a dozen times. They’re gonna know you had something to do with this.”

 

I dared look at Skull. Casey had a point. It would be a big mistake to kill me in this horrible little room. How would they clean up after me?

 

Skull shook his head, raising the gun. “Don’t tell me what to do!” His hand was shaking wildly. He didn’t care about the consequences. He’d lost his mind due to guilt over Sara. I was sure the drugs didn’t help either. It didn’t matter to him anymore what happened once I was dead. He just wanted it over with. I was the enemy, and I had to go.

 

He looked like he might start crying again. He leveled the gun at my head, right between my eyes. His hand steadied.

 

Oh, God. This is it. I closed my eyes and braced myself, saying a prayer that it would be fast. I love you, Sara. I love you, Cole.

 

It was like he heard me think his name. “Skull!” His voice came from outside, an angry bellow. I dared to open my eyes and looked to the window, where everyone else looked as well. Casey peered out from behind the curtain.

 

“Shit! It’s Cole!”

 

I nearly wept with relief, my whole body shaking. He came. I knew he would. Thank you, God.

 

“I should have fucking known he’d get here fast.” Skull cast a disgusted look my way, but the gun never wavered. He was still aiming at my head. He turned to Casey and Alan. “What’s he doing?”

 

“He’s holding on to a girl…and he has a gun to her head, too.” Casey looked back at me, then out the window again. “Oh, shit,” he muttered.

 

“What? What is it?” Skull asked, panic in his voice.

 

Casey didn’t need to say what had him so rattled, because Cole’s next words cleared up the confusion.

 

“Skull! I have her! I have Sara! I’ll blow her head off, I swear!”

 

The gun lowered, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Then I caught myself. He had her? She was outside? I struggled to see, craning my neck. But I was too far away to get a look.

 

Skull was struggling to understand this. He’d spent so long believing she was dead, and now he was being told she was alive.

 

“God,” Casey muttered, looking back at me again. “You look just alike.”

 

I couldn’t help crying out as the tears burst from me, knowing it had to be her. Oh, Sara. She was with Cole, at least. He would take care of her. I wished I’d let him take care of me the way he’d wanted to.

 

I knew he didn’t mean to hurt Sara. I knew what he was doing. He was so smart. She was the only thing that could get through to Skull.

 

“Skull! I mean it! I’ll kill her!”

 

Skull roared, livid, Cole’s words finally getting through to him. He rushed to the door and flung it open, the gun still in his hand. “What do you think you’re doing?”

 

As soon as his eyes were off me, I began wriggling in my chair. They’d bound my wrists with packing tape, so there was little chance of getting out. All I was doing was exhausting myself and pulling muscles in my arms by struggling.

 

I looked around the room. Hadn’t Skull left his knife laying around somewhere? Yes, but it was on the other side of the room, on top of the dresser. There went that idea.

 

I heard a lot of shouting coming from outside. I hoped Cole knew what he was doing. Now it wasn’t just my life hanging in the balance. It was Sara’s, too. Not to mention his own.