Page 99 of You'll Never Know

Her—but this time I know he isn’t referencing Bailey. The anguish splashed over his face as he says it is too raw for that, the pain too real. He’s talking about his daughter. I don’t respond. Anything I say right now is likely to get me killed.

You’re dead already.

It’s true. It’s just a matter of time. Still, I don’t speak. I simply stand there and wait for Zane to continue. When he does, it’s in a mutter, his face cycling through a storm of emotions: An angry flare of his nose. A quick flash of his teeth. A painful downturn of his lips. I realize he’s no longer talking to me.

“He shouldn’t have been there. I shouldn’t have put him in that situation.”

He’s talking to himself.

“I failed him. I failed them both.”

Go,I think.Move.

I’m about to, but his gaze snaps to mine as if reading my mind. “Don’t even think about it.”

I raise my hands.

His lips tremble. The gun wobbles. His complexion has faded to a pale, sickly yellow I know isn’t just from the blood loss but also from what I’ve done to his son. He looks so bad, I don’t know how he’s still able to stand.

“This is all your fault.” He jabs the gun toward the open door through which Bailey fled moments earlier. “She was Cora’s last chance.”

And mine,I can’t help but think, bitterly.

He continues to stare at me, and his eyes clear. He raises his chin.

“Live or die?”

“What?” I ask, confused.

“It’s a simple question. Do you want to live, or do you want to die?”

His words slam into me with a terrible weight.Do I?Aftereverything I’ve done, after everything I’ve taken and lost, what’s the point?

“Live or die!” he growls again.

It should be so clear, but even now I don’t know the answer.

But I do know what I deserve.

“Kill me,” I say.

He appraises me for a long moment before the corners of his lips curl into a sad grin. There’s no light in his eyes, no relief at my answer. All I see are two empty black holes leading to a bottomless pit of despair.

My heart thuds as he draws the gun from my chest and levels it at my head. His grip on the weapon tightens, his knuckles blanching white. He blinks, and a single tear slides over his cheek. “If that’s really what you want, you’ll have to do it yourself.”

And then he brings the gun to his temple—and pulls the trigger.

Chapter 51

REED

I spend hours sanitizing the cabin. By the time I’m done, the place is sparkling.

A three-quarter moon hangs overhead when I step outside, draping the world around me in a sick, pale light. I stare at the van in the driveway, and a thick wave of revulsion rolls through me. In the back, wrapped in a tarp I found in the garage, is Zane.

It took me a while to figure out what to do with him, but when the answer hit, it was clear; I know exactly where he needs to go.

It’s almost three in the morning when I reach the field. I park beneath a bank of trees that mostly conceal the van. It’s possible someone might see it if they’re paying attention. But it’s highly unlikely. No one will be out at this hour, and if they are, the last thing they’ll care about is a stray vehicle.