Page 87 of Guess Again
Ethan pulled a grocery cart from the chain of others and hurried down the produce aisle.
CHAPTER 93
Lake Morikawa, Wisconsin Tuesday, August 5, 2025
MADDIE SCREAMED AS THEGLOCK HIT THE GRAVEL. AS SHE SPUNaround she saw Kai standing behind her. He raised his hands in fright when she shrieked.
“Kai! Oh my God. I’m sorry.”
“No,” Kai said, yelling over the roar of the pouring rain. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I called your name, but you couldn’t hear me. I decided to see how you were doing when the power went out.”
“Thanks for checking on me. Ethan’s not back yet.”
“Can I help with the generator?”
“That would be great, thanks.”
Kai bent over the generator and fooled with the gauges for a moment before pulling the ripcord. The engine hummed to life and the cabin’s lights came back on.
“The tank is full,” Kai said. “Should get you through the night, no problem. Might have to gas up tomorrow if the storm doesn’t break, but the worst should be through by midnight. No telling how long it will take to restore the power, though.”
Maddie crouched down and retrieved her Glock.
“Sorry about that.”
“No worries,” Kai said. “Do you want me to stay until Ethan gets back?”
“No,” Maddie said over the echoing rain. “Get home to your family. Ethan will be back soon.”
“I’ll check on you both in the morning.”
“Thanks, Kai. Be careful.”
Maddie watched Kai hurry off into the storm, running through the rain and to the front of the cabin. She wheeled the generator back into the crawlspace to protect it from the rain and opened the hatch to allow the fumes to escape. She walked into the cabin and shut the back door, happy to be out of the storm. She placed her Glock on the counter by the back door. Opening the door just momentarily allowed the horizontal rain to come around the carport and soak the floor inside the door. She grabbed a towel to clean up the mess.
Her clothes were drenched, so she headed upstairs to change.
She paused at the front door long enough to see Kai back his pickup truck out of the driveway and pull away. Maddie turned from the window and jogged up the steps before a Range Rover pulled into the driveway.
CHAPTER 94
Lake Morikawa, Wisconsin Tuesday, August 5, 2025
“ANYTHINGICAN HELP YOU WITH BEFOREILEAVE?” ETHANasked after his groceries were bagged.
“Only thing I have left to do is refuel the generator to make sure it lasts through the night,” Uma said. “If my freezers go down, I’ll lose my inventory.”
“Need a hand?”
“Would you mind?”
“Of course not,” Ethan said.
“Generator is in the back.”
“Lead the way.”
A few minutes later, Ethan lifted the heavy five-gallon tank to the generator and poured gas into the funnel. He filled it to the brim.
