Page 69

Tired. I’m so fucking tired of this island and the people on it.

Especially Nigel.

My eyes wearily open, and Ezra is scowling. I thought that at least Ezra didn’t want me dead, but forcing me to meet Nigel is basically a death sentence.

“I’d rather not,” I say flippantly.

He bends down and grabs me effortlessly, like I’m made of feathers. “We have to meet him. He’ll know you’re gone by now, and I don’t want to make him angry.”

“Why is that such a concern for you?” I ask, needles prickling my skin. Ezra lifts me up, placing me on the ground above the cave. My knees are weak, my body thin and broken, and under my baggy clothes, the grime on my body is melting into me.

He jerks his head for me to follow. “Because I don’t want him to find this place. I’ve managed to keep my location a secret from him, and I’d rather keep it that way. He left me a message, though. He wants me to bring you to him.”

I hitch a breath and follow him, keeping my eyes wide open. “Ezra, please let me stay with you,” I beg.

He doesn’t answer, or at least, he pretends he didn’t hear me, and I follow him through a few thickets of brush and over the barren rocks, plumes of mist hovering over the wet parts of the ground. The safety and warmth of his cave are replaced by an icy chill cutting through my clothes. I stay near him, almost touching him but not quite. After a few minutes, he reaches back and grabs my good hand, which I hadn’t realized was trembling.

“Let me handle this. Don’t fucking say anything,” Ezra says quietly as we approach wherever their hidden meeting spot is. He holds a hockey skate spear in one hand and hangs onto me with the other. I step back behind him, half expecting Nigel to jump out of the woods and slice me open.

“Why are we even doing this?” I ask him. The last couple of days have been peaceful. Just existing for once, with no intense energy from Micah, no Nigel. Just a peaceful co-existence with Ezra, who seems just as sad and empty as I am.

His sandy blond dreads fall in his face as he turns to face me. What’s left of him—which is very little—is reflected in his eyes. “We meet every three days. I think he has more food, and he gives me some if I cooperate with him.”

My blood freezes. So his plan is to trade me to Nigel for food?

“Ezra, you’re not thinking straight,” I whisper. “There is another way.”

What I’ve learned from Ezra is that he gives information in small spurts, but if I push him too much, he will shut down. So, instead, I don’t push him and stand by his side. “We can find more food… Nigel isn’t the answer.”

We approach a small clearing. The ground is dead and muddy, as is everything else in this godforsaken spot. Ezra pauses in front of me. “Quiet, we’re here.”

I’m not sure where here is, exactly. I notice small remnants of a cooking site, with empty cans strewn around and a circle of ash sitting between two fallen logs. My skin crawls as Nigel joins us, emerging from the trees as if he’s been watching us for some time. His hair hangs in his face, and his stalky body is withered beneath his clothes.

“I see you’ve let the bitch out of her pen,” he mutters, otherwise dismissing me. A flash of anger flickers in his eyes. In fact, he’s seething. He must have gone to check on me—to torment me—only to find me missing. I wish I could have seen his reaction.

Ezra bristles, and because I haven’t let go of him, the fingers of my good hand move from his wrist to his muscled back. My body is silently shaking as Nigel carves his deadly eyes over me, his gaze lingering for a moment before his eyebrow twitches.

His wicked presence is so thick in the air that I could choke on it.

“She would have died otherwise,” Ezra barks back at him, “and that wasn’t part of the plan.”

This plan of theirs.

The plan I will derail once I dig my claws further into Ezra. He’s already mine, and Nigel senses my hold over him. That’s why Nigel’s proceeding with caution as Ezra flexes his body in a protective stance. Nigel circles me with his usual snake-like smile like he just captured a mouse.

“You don’t get to keep her,” he says with finality.

Clearly, Ezra and Nigel can’t stand each other. I can’t comprehend how Ezra can stand to be around him after what he did to Maison. However, it’s not like Ezra has other options. Unless… I’m slowly becoming one.

“Just kill him,” I whisper. “You don’t need him, Ezra. We’ll find his food; it has to be around here.”

My heart nearly stops when Nigel steps toward me, keeping his eyes on me the entire time. He pulls something from behind his back and waves it in front of us.

A can of Heinz beans.

My mouth salivates.

Such a simple thing, yet it wields so much power over us all. I understand why Ezra is bound to him. Ezra and Naomi have two mouths to feed, while Nigel has only one. It makes sense that Nigel would still have some food, but they don’t.