Shivering and weak, he followed Tanya to a stairway. They climbed slowly toward the second floor. Each time a stair creaked, Jeremy flinched. Somehow, the mad thud of his heart was causing a dry clicking noise in his throat. He swallowed hard, and the sound stopped.
The stairway seemed endless.
I could’ve been at Shiner’s right now, Jeremy thought. God, why didn’t I go there instead?
Handcuffs. A hammer. A hatchet.
It was worse than he could’ve imagined.
He pictured himself whirling around and racing down the stairs—running from the house and from Tanya and from whatever form of madness waited for him in the minutes ahead.
Then he remembered his hand inside her sweatshirt.
We’ll have time later. For everything.
She was three stairs above him, barely visible in the darkness. He knew that she was naked under the sweatclothes.
He knew that he wouldn’t run.
She waited for him at the top of the stairway. “Don’t do anything till I say so,” she whispered.
Jeremy nodded. He pushed the handcuffs into a pocket of his jacket.
Side by side, they walked down the hall. Tanya stopped at the open door of a bedroom. She peered inside. For a long time she didn’t move. Then she pressed the head of the hatchet against Jeremy’s back and nudged him forward. He entered the room. In the dim moonlight from the windows, he saw a bed. The covers were mounded.
It’s them.
Tanya was right. They’re here.
What if she lied about killing them?
What am I doing here?
She closed the door. She nudged Jeremy’s left forearm with the hatchet, then put it into his hand. Why wasn’t she keeping it for herself?
She wants both hands free, Jeremy realized as he watched her sneak across the room, not toward the bed but toward a dresser by the wall. At the end of the dresser was a straight-backed chair. She picked it up and started to return.
If I don’t let her have the hatchet…
She set the chair down silently on the carpet in front of the door, tipped it backward, and eased its backpiece under the knob.
The chair would prevent anyone from entering the room, but Jeremy knew it had a different purpose. It was there to stop a quick escape.
She took hold of the hatchet. Jeremy made no attempt to keep it from her. She switched it to her left hand, gripped his wrist, and guided him to the foot of the bed. From here he could hear the breathing of the people beneath the covers.
Tanya glided along the left side of the bed. She bent low over the sleeping form. Her right hand took the hatchet.
Jeremy saw the hatchet rise.
Chop down.
No!
The thud flashed pain through his own head. He cringed and felt his legs go rubbery, but he heard a harsh gasp, and the covers on the other side of the bed suddenly flew up. “Get her!” Tanya snapped.
The girl was naked and dusky against the white sheets, one hand thrusting the blankets aside as she squirmed to free her legs and sit up.
He dived onto her, smashing her down. The mattress bounced her against him. She twisted and writhed. He pinned one hand, but the other was free and he couldn’t catch it because of the hammer. Her nails ripped streaks of fire down his cheek. He let the hammer fall. As it pounded the floor, he grabbed her wrist.
Now I’ve got you!
She bucked, hurling him sideways. He fell. His back slammed the carpeted floor. The hammer jabbed his shoulder blade. She came down on top of him, whimpering and snarling. She bit his chin and he cried out, released her wrists, and punched her in the face. The blow ripped her teeth from his flesh. In a frenzy of pain, Jeremy grabbed the short hair over her ears and twisted her head, rolling with her as he forced her sprawling onto the floor beside him.
She drove a knee into his stomach. His breath blasted out. He doubled up, hugging his belly.
“What the fuck’s going on!” Tanya’s voice.
Sucking for air, Jeremy saw the girl push herself up and get to her feet.
The room filled with light.
The girl seemed to freeze in position, hunched over and ready to run, head turned, looking over her shoulder toward the other side of the bed.
“Don’t move a muscle,” Tanya warned.
Jeremy struggled to sit up. Panting and clutching his chin, he saw Tanya glaring at the girl. She was bent over Nate’s motionless body, the hatchet poised for another