“Seth!”
His hands are on my face, his eyes going up and down my body. “You’re okay?”
“I’m fine—”
And then he’s gone, diving to the ground for Kendall’s handgun as it skitters toward the edge of the ravine.
A scream comes from behind me.
I spin.
Gen, grappling with Kendall, the two of them rolling, kicking, Jeremy’s gun between them—
Gen, who saved us—
I launch myself on top of them, trying to help Gen keep Kendall down. I have one arm, and Gen has the other, but Kendall is fighting with every ounce of strength she has—
“Stop.”
Seth’s voice comes like from a dream.
All three of us freeze.
I turn to see him standing above us, steady as a rock, Kendall’s gun his hand.
Kendall goes limp underneath me. I take my hands off her, and so does Gen, Jeremy’s gun safely in her hands. We rise from the ground, and I go to stand beside Seth while Gen slowly backs away. Kendall gets to her feet, brushing dirt off her legs. Her hair is a mess. Her face is a mask of rage.
“You don’t know what you’re doing—” she starts.
“Shut up, Kendall.” Seth sounds weary. “It’s over.”
Her eyes go from Seth’s face to the barrel of the gun. “Not until I say it is.”
And then she turns and runs.
I’m frozen in place, not quite believing my eyes. Seth, too, seems in utter shock. His eyes go to the gun—and then he’s shoving it into my hands and taking off after her.
I stare at the heavy object in my hand. I want to run after Seth, help him, but I don’t know—
“You should put the safety on if you want to run with it,” Gen says.
“I don’t— Do you know—”
“Yeah.” Gen holds out her hand.
I hand the gun to her, watch as she flicks on what I assume is the safety. Then I take it back and run off after them.
Kendall ran north, farther into the Bier property, toward the state park. Without the gun, she’s no match for Seth—or so I believe. Still, I don’t want to leave him alone with her.
Gen’s breaths are behind me. I have to ask her how she knew Kendall was lying, thank her for saving our lives. Jeremy wouldn’t—
Jeremy.
I trip on a tree root and go down, hard, onto my knees.
At once, Gen is at my side. “You okay?”
I swallow. “Yeah.” I can’t fall apart. Not yet. “But Jeremy—”
“He was still alive.”
Hope washes over me. “Oh—”
“I called 911. They should be here soon. I was going to stay with him, but then he told me about Kendall—and how she was with you.” Her voice is tight.
She helps me up as she pulls her phone out of her pocket. “I have service now,” she reports.
“Call Detective Carter,” I say. “Not your uncle. They paid him off.”
Her eyes widen, but understanding comes into them. “That money.”
I nod.
I strain my ears, but I don’t hear anything. I want to keep running after Seth and Kendall—but I’m not about to catch up to them now, and if we want to get Kendall, we need more than just us.
“Detective? Yes, this is Genevieve Rodriguez. We’re in the woods behind the Bier house and we need help…”
Gen keeps talking. I look up at the sky, the white turning to gray above the trees, clouds swelling with rain. I feel the weight of the gun in my hand. I can smell ozone on the air; a storm is coming.
