He ignored me. “Sam, you move over here.”
“Lazzo, don’t be stupid.”
“Sam, this might not be the best time to call me stupid.”
“Sam, do what he says.” I patted the seat beside me.
Lazzo’s body was calm but his eyes were wild. I’d never seen this Lazzo before. Clearly this wasn’t some prank. His voice was angry. “Anyone screams and I shoot you all. You keep her quiet.” Lazzo pointed at Abbey.
As Lazzo moved behind the boat controls I slid down the bench towards Reagan. Emily was hidden behind me now. “Lazzo, talk to me. What are you doing?”
“What I must, Hayley.” Lazzo fixed his eyes on Sam, who had moved across from us. “Sam, don’t get any ideas. The gun isn’t there anymore.” He waved the gun in the air, implying he’d taken it from the box under Sam’s bench.
Sam stood back up. “Lazzo—”
“Sam,” I cautioned.
“Shut up, Sam.” Lazzo trained the gun on him.
I had a bad feeling about where this was going. I wanted to tackle Lazzo and push him off the boat, but I couldn’t possibly cover the space between us quickly enough. And even if I could, Danny had told me Lazzo was a member of the Libyan Special Forces at one point—not too long ago. Me—even in all my fury—I still probably couldn’t take him.
Reagan had placed herself between Lazzo and Abbey. This had to be a terrible déjà vu for the vice president’s daughters—being held at gunpoint by a Qi Jia officer. If Lazzo still was one. Could he have had ulterior motives this entire time in Hawaii? Had the hard-working, friendly, volunteer for everything, person we’d all come to know and appreciate been an act—an impostor? I didn’t want to believe that yet.
“Tell us what’s going on.” I was trying to keep his attention on me. “Please.”
Lazzo rubbed his eyes. “I can’t, Hayley. I’m sorry.” He moved over to the boat motor, never taking his gun off Sam. “This has to be done.”
Lazzo turned the motor on and pushed the throttle forward, simultaneously firing the gun—the revving engine somewhat masking the gun’s discharge. The bullet tore into Sam’s chest, propelling him overboard. I heard myself scream, and I jumped up to go after him, but Lazzo yelled. “You jump in, I kill the other three.”
I froze on the edge of the boat looking frantically into the inky black water as we moved away from where Sam had fallen in. There was no sign of him and I couldn’t hear anything other than the sloshing of waves against the boat. Panic spread through my body, revealing itself in my shaking hands. I spun towards Lazzo ready to explode but froze at the cold glare in his eyes. He was going to shoot me too. I shouldn’t have untied Six, but I did. He’d been lunging against his leash but it had held. Now loose, he flew at Lazzo. Lazzo killed him mid-jump with another gunshot. “That was stupid, Hayley,” he yelled, pulling back on the throttle.
Those shots and my scream may have been our only hope of drawing attention from Redemption. But given our current distance from the island, I knew even that was unlikely.
Reagan now shielded both younger girls with her body, and I stood in front of the three of them. “Why, Lazzo? Why did you have to kill him?” I couldn’t contain my sobs, and my chest ached as if I’d been shot. I felt like throwing up. I could hear the girls crying behind me. Even Lazzo was wiping away tears. What is going on? Why is he doing this? This didn’t seem malicious. It seemed forced.
“I must kill Reagan too.”
“No!” I backed up against her, blocking her more. “No, Lazzo.” I shook my head emphatically. “You can’t need to do that. She—we—we’re no threat to you. That can’t be the only way in whatever this is.” Lazzo was looking around and rubbing the gun nervously against the side of his head. I kept talking. “I don’t understand. We’ve done everything for you. Haven’t we? What is—”
“Hayley, shut up. Shut up!” He pointed the gun at my head again. “No more. Shut up!”
I bit my lip.
“Hayley, you need to move out of the way.”
I shook my head. No way! “I won’t.”
“Now!”
I crossed my arms and stood my ground. He opened his mouth to yell at me but stopped. Something he saw in me made him lower the gun. He held it loosely at his side now. I spoke up again. “You’re going to have to kill me first.”
Lazzo shook his head, suggesting he couldn’t do that. Why the hell not? Why do you need me? “No. Only Reagan.” He sounded less convinced this time. He continued to steer us toward Kauai and Waimea Bay, his head constantly on a nervous swivel.
I pushed my luck. “Tell me what needs to happen.” I took a few steps toward him. “And why.”
“Not another step, Hayley. You must know I’m serious—I will kill someone you love if you don’t listen to me.”
You don’t think I know you’re freaking serious? “You already have,” I mumbled, trembling. “You’ve already killed someone I love.” I never told Sam I loved him. He said it all the time, but I never did. Not one time…
Lazzo ignored me. “I will kill Reagan. I will kill the girls. I will kill your father, his wife, and the baby too if I must. There is a bomb on the island.” He held up a small black box with red buttons. “One push of this button and they’re dead, all of them.”
“Lazzo, you don’t have to do this.” I realized this wasn’t impulsive. If there was truthfully a bomb planted, then he’d planned this all out. But how? “You don’t have to do this.” He’s listening… keep going. “Whatever you need… I’ll do it. Anything. What can I do?”
He seemed to be thinking about what I said. “Sit down and shut up.” He continued guiding the boat in silence for a minute. Finally he killed the motor. “I don’t know why I’m even considering this, but if—if—I let them live…”
“Yes?”
“If I let them live… you will do everything I ask? Anything I ask?”
I stood back up, making certain I was between his gun and the other girls. “Yes, anything. Whatever you want. As long as they don’t get hurt.”
“First, you promise no more questions.” He pointed the gun at me again. “Not why I’m doing this… not why I tell you to do something… I need you to follow everything I say.” He stared at me, as if expecting me to object, but I didn’t. “There is a van in the parking lot at the marina. All of you will walk to it and get in. I won’t tie you up. I won’t gag you. Hayley, you will drive where I tell you to drive, and then Reagan, Abbey, and Emily will go into the house.” He paused again, still staring at me, seemingly surprised I hadn’t interrupted. “What, Hayley?”
“Nothing. I’m listening.”
“I don’t know the people at the house we’re going to—no names, backgrounds…nothing. I only know they are African—probably all Libyan. I don’t know what they’ll do to Reagan and the girls. They will be prisoners there, but I’ve never met these Africans before. They could be evil; they could be nice. I have no assurances. But I will not hurt the girls myself if I have your word you will do all of this—that they will do all of this. It is that or I kill them now.”
I couldn’t stay quiet anymore. “What about me? Can I at least ask that now before I agree to anything? Why do you need me?”
He nodded. “We are going to America on the ship. You will get us to Colorado. The men at the house will let Danny know I have you, and he must bring the book to Colorado to exchange for you. If he does, you will live, and you can come back and rescue these three when I have the book.”