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Jeff swings the gun his way. “Don’t move. Don’t even think about it. I’ll fucking blow your brains out.”

Jake halts with his hands up.

Jeff’s less than ten feet away from us now. The dog alternates between barking and whimpering as he paces halfway toward us and back around Jeff’s legs. “Shut up!” He kicks the dog.

I stop myself from moving toward the poor animal. My every instinct is on alert. I’m pushing Jeff past his breaking point, but there was always the chance that this could happen. I don’t know where I find the courage to keep going, to keep talking, but the certainty that this will end now wraps around me like a mantle.

I drop my hands. No longer worried about being shot. “I’ll tell you what else I know. I’ll tell you everything.”

His curiosity will be his downfall. I hope my big mouth isn’t mine.

Chapter60

Jake

What is she doing?Does she really know what happened to Emily, or is she bluffing? If it’s true, why didn’t she tell me? She’s making him angrier. He'll lose control and shoot us both. I have to stop her. “Ava, no.”

“Shut the fuck up, Knox. I want to know everything your little girlfriend has to say.” He’s shaking, the gun wavering in his hand as he moves it from Ava to me and back again.

There’s a calmness about her that radiates in waves, and it only serves to aggravate Jeff more. She’s not scared, and she’s not cowering. She’s not feeding into his need to overpower and control.

“I’ll tell you what happened, and you tell me whether I’m wrong or not. How’s that?” Her voice is soft and confident.

Jesus Christ, what is she doing? Can’t she see how close he is to losing it?

“You took Emily’s phone. You lied to her. You told her you wanted her opinion on a birthday gift for Jake. You lured her with her love for him. A love you wanted for yourself but could never have.”

He pales. The hand holding the gun drops an inch.

“Should I keep going? I think I will. You overpowered her, drugged her, put her in your piece-of-shit car, and that’s when it hit you. What you had done. Am I right so far?”

My heart is trying to climb up my throat, and I breathe deeply and slowly as I assess the situation. Ava’s making him angry but also doubt himself. She’s chipping at his confidence. The cockiness from just minutes ago is waning.

“You panicked. You didn’t want anyone to find you with Emily. How could you explain it? She would tell Jake, and you knew Jake would come after you. Maybe not kill you, but he would hurt you because there’s nothing Jake loved more than his little sister, and you took her away from him. Because you were jealous. You envied him. You thought he had everything that should have been yours. But instead, you had crap parents who didn’t care.”

Jeff’s panting, his chest and shoulders moving with each short breath. “You can’t know that. That’s not possible.” The hand holding the gun drops halfway. A modicum of relief fills me—the gun's not pointing to Ava now.

“You took her to that cave while she was still unconscious. You freaked out and decided the only way to escape was to kill her. Kill her and hide the body where no one could find it. So, you did. You stabbed her. You were terrified at first. But you liked it. You liked how it felt when the knife broke into her flesh. You liked the metallic scent of blood and how warm it felt on your hands. You loved the rush it gave you and how powerful it made you feel. You were a god. Isn’t that right, Jeff?”

The way Ava says his name is a taunt. My heart slams against my chest so violently it hurts. I want to throw up. I want to rip him to pieces. I want to keep Ava safe. I do none of those things. I detach myself as years of training kick in. I hold it together for Ava’s sake and mine because not all of us will walk out of this place alive today. Of this, I’m certain.

Jeff snarls like a rabid animal. Spittle flies, his free hand fisting and flexing. He moves erratically, walking back and forth over the same five or six-foot wide area. The dog's hackles rise, his ears flatten, and he sniffs the air, sensing the wrongness in his master.

I inch to the side, away from Ava and closer to Jeff.

Ava keeps talking, baiting him, keeping his attention on her. This is our only chance. If anything happens to her, I’ll never forgive myself.

“How am I doing so far? Should I keep going?”

Jeff's injured hand goes to his head and grips his hair as if he will pull it out. He's on the verge of a breakdown.

“And then you stuffed Emily into the duffel bag. Filled it with rocks and rolled her body into the lake. Did you sleep well that night? Did you have nightmares? Did Emily's face haunt you when you closed your eyes? Or was it just another day for you?”

His eyes are red-rimmed, and his face contorted with rage. “How? How do you know?”

“You want to know how I know what you did to Emily? I’ll tell you.”

He takes a step closer to Ava.