Page 92 of Strangers She Knows

“I didn’t hear anything,” Kellen insisted. “Anyway, what difference does it make? You aren’t afraid of dogs, are you?”

“The prison dogs…” Mara’s breathing deepened. “They were vicious. They didn’t care who I was. If I didn’t do what they wanted, they attacked.” She pressed her hand to her thigh as if remembering an old wound.

“You couldn’t bribe them?”

Mara’s head snapped around. “Are you laughing at me?”

Kellen was, but she pretended not to understand. “Most dogs you can bribe with treats.”

“You… You’re playing games, aren’t you? Are you thinking you can distract me with a fake dog barking? You could disarm me?” Mara’s eyes glowed with paranoia and the pistol steadied on Kellen’s face.

Kellen shoved her right hand, with its cold, still fingers, between them. “How couldIdisarm you?”

“You have two hands!”

Kellen showed Mara her left hand. “This one is better. A little.”

Itwasbetter. As in, better than ten minutes ago. Better than five minutes ago. The fingertips on both hands were tingling painfully, like nerves recovering from frostbite.

The effects of the Taser were fading.

“We’re off track.” Mara backed off a few steps. “I want to tell you the game.”

Kellen braced herself. “What game?”

“The game we’re going to play. It’s called, ‘Kill Kellen the Fun Way.’”

39

Kellen needed to buy herselftime.

Besides, she was hungry.

She started for the kitchen. “Look, Queen of Hearts. Before you start announcing your freaky plot… I need something to eat.” She could play her own game, buy time her own way.

“What?” Mara didn’t move. Then she did, running after Kellen. “What?”

“I’m hungry. I haven’t eaten since yesterday.” Since before she’d found Rae wandering through the grasses, crying and hallucinating. “You can talk while I prep.”

“You…aren’t…” Mara adored being the object of fear; she didn’t react well to Kellen’s offhanded dismissal.

“I’m not what? I’m not hungry? I assure you, I am.” The impulse, Kellen realized, that sent her to the kitchen was a good one. She really did need sustenance and hydration. Irritating Mara was a bonus. “I can’t do much cooking with this claw of a hand—” she twitched her fingers to demonstrate her disability “—but I can heat something up in the microwave.”

Mara halted, pulled the pistol and took a shooting stance. “Stop. Right now. Or I’m going to shoot you!”

Kellen faced her and opened her arms wide. “Go ahead. Make it easy on me. Shoot me.”

Mara stood, still pointing.

“In the leg, so you can watch me bleed out? Or through the heart, and end it all right now? Either way, you’re alone on an island in a storm in the middle of the Pacific, with no way to leave. Have you thought this through?” Having put that into Mara’s mind, Kellen turned back toward the kitchen, then faced Mara again. Pressing her hand to her aching ribs, she lifted her shirt and looked. Bruises laddered her skin. “What did you do to me? Kick me while I was unconscious?”

Mara lowered the pistol. “I had to load you onto the golf cart, then drag you into the house. It wasn’t easy.”

“You didn’t care if I hit every step on the way in.”

“I thought you might be faking it, and figured you’d come awake if you were injured enough.” Mara seemed even now surprised. “You didn’t.”

“No kidding I didn’t!” Kellen winced and touched her cheek. “Rug burn.”

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