I look down and see a boat. A small boat with three people in it. My heart floods with joy. Gloria, Ally, and…Rachel, of all people. Alive and here to get me.
Maisie comes skittering into the room. “Okay, I have my coat. And my computer. I messaged Dad.”
“Shit.” My happy feeling leeches away. “I wish you hadn’t done that.”
“Why? He’ll save us.”
“Only to kill me later.” I point at the little boat down on the waves. “Those are my friends. They’re here to rescue me.”
“Oh.” Confusion washes over her face. She suddenly doesn’t look so ready to go with me.
The helicopter pulls back, giving me room, and I can see Rachel’s hands out in front of her as she balances on the front of the boat. Ally waves and I realize what they want me to do.
“Come on,” I tell Maisie. “We’re going to jump.”
“We can’t,” she says. “There are rocks down there.”
“I jumped out of a skyscraper the other night. That turned out okay. It can’t be worse than that.”
At least this time, if I die in the fall, they can get Maisie, Winston and my body into the boat. Ally was fine, so they’ll probably be okay too. I hope.
She clutches Winston to her chest but doesn’t come any closer to the broken window.
“Come on,” I tell her again. “I can’t leave you here with Caldwell. It’s like child endangerment or something.”
“He won’t hurt me.”
“You don’t know that. He hurt me just fine. And yes, maybe he loves you more or whatever, but it isn’t safe for you to stay here. Come on.”
Maisie takes a step toward me, resolve in her eyes.
“I’m going to jump out first, holding Winston in the front,” I explain. I want you to hold on to my back. If we hit the rocks, I think my shield will protect you from the worst of it.”
“What about Winston?” she asks. “If you hit the rocks, he’ll be crushed.”
“No, the front of the shield will cover him,” I say. “Okay? Ready.”
I inch forward, my toes sticking out over the lips of the broken window. The water below thrashes against the side of The Needle’s metal base, looking far more ravenous and sinister than the concrete below ever did. My heart lurches.
I hold Winston to my chest and try to situate him in such a way that he lies flat. I feel Maisie’s arms around my waist.
“Hold on tight.” I clamp one of my free hands over hers.
“I don’t know about this,” she screams into my ear over the roar of the wind and waves. She squeezes me tighter.
Neither do I, I think and jump.
Chapter 43
Ally
I watch Jesse ease her toes to the edge of the punched out glass, cradling Winston against her chest like a baby. Then I see two white hands wrap around her black hoodie.
“What the—” Rachel says, obviously seeing the hands too, but doing the math.
But I already know the answer. Maisie.
I look at the water beneath them, the jagged black rocks jutting up from the waves, and my heart hammers harder.
“No, no, no,” I say and stand up. The boat rocks beneath me, almost pitching me out into the icy gray water.
“Sit down,” Gloria barks. “You’ll get hypothermia if you fall in.”
“No, Jesse, don’t. Don’t,” I scream and wave my hands over my head. She doesn’t look at me. She inches farther forward.
“You have to get closer.” I sink into the boat. “Even if they survive the fall, we’re going to have to pull them out of the water fast.”
“I’m doing the best I can,” Rachel hisses.
I give her a blank look.
“Oh, did you think we were just sitting here? Nope. We’d have been bashed against the rocks by now if it wasn’t for me.”
It takes me a second to catch up. She’s been moving the boat, or counter moving it amongst the thrashing waves.
“Can lower them down?” I ask, unable to take my eyes off of Jess. “Or slow them down?”
The words are barely out of my mouth before Jesse jumps.
“Shit.” Rachel screams and jolts to her feet, arms out in front of her as if she could catch them from here.
Gloria swears and tries to steady the boat from the back.
“Pull forward,” Rachel shouts, chancing a half-glance over her shoulder at Gloria.
The motor sputters to life and we lurch forward.
The boat cuts through the waves more violently than before, cold water sloshing over the edge and freezing my bare hands. Already my hands are chilled to the bone, a bluish-purple color settling into my fingers. I clutch the rim of the boat harder.
“Did they make it?” I scream, unable to see around Rachel.
She doesn’t respond.
I try to look around her, but Gloria yanks me down into my seat by the back of my coat.
“Stay down,” she barks. “I can barely see where we’re going as it is.”
“Okay, stop. Now, stop,” Rachel cries.
Gloria cuts the engine and the boat bumps into something hard. I move my hand just in time, but not quite fast enough. My knuckles scrape across a rock and blood blooms from the torn flesh. Because my fingers are so cold, I barely feel it. I press the bloody knuckles into my red coat and find it damp from the spray coming off the waves.
I see Jesse. She is sitting on a big rock. Her hair is wet and Winston is shivering against her chest. Maisie too is soaked beside her, pushing damp hair out of her big blue eyes with a quivering hand. They’re being pummeled by the waves assaulting the rocks.
“We’ve got to get them into the boat,” I say.
“No shit,” Rachel hisses.
“Why are we in such a small boat?” I ask.
“I needed something small enough that I could control,” Rachel says. “Praise baby Jesus that we didn’t have anything bigger.”
The boat slams against the side of the rock a little hard, and I’m suddenly terrified that one more wave will crush the boat altogether.
“We have to get away from the rocks.”
“I’m trying,” Rachel says, clenching her fists. “Do something other than critique me.”
“Pull forward,” I tell Gloria. “And I’ll get them into the boat.”
After much difficulty, Gloria gets the boat to inch forward enough that Jesse is in arm’s length. Her teeth are chattering.
“Come on.” I stretch my arms out for her. “Get in the boat.”
She hands me Winston first and I put him on the floor of the boat between my feet. He’s never looked more pitiful, resembling a drowned shivering rat.
Then Jesse reaches behind her and pulls Maisie forward. Maisie is shaking almost as bad as Winston. Her hands feel like ice even to my own frozen hands as I pull her into the boat. She curls up on the floor beside Winston, seemingly oblivious to the inch or so of water that has accumulated there.
I reach out for Jesse.
She grabs on to me and I yank her into the boat, almost crushing Winston and Maisie. But it feels so good to have her in my arms again, alive and breathing, and relatively unharmed.
“Fucking hell,” she says through her chattering teeth. “Let’s never do that again.”
Chapter 44
Jesse
I can’t feel my hands and my teeth are chattering so hard that I’m giving myself a headache. Winston looks like the saddest dog in the world, and I don’t have anything remotely dry to wrap him in. My knee is skinned from where it scraped against the rock after I dropped my shield because Maisie had let go of me and I was afraid of knocking her into the water.
Maisie’s soaked all the way through.
“Are you okay?” I’m looking her over for scrapes or any damage.
She nods her head but can’t speak.
“We don’t have anything dry.” Ally reaches across the boat and places a hand on my wet knee. “I’m so sorry I didn’t think to bring something dry.”
I clasp her hand in mine. “I’m sorry that I made you come get me.”
Gloria arches an eyebrow. Is it because I said I was sorry? Is it that rare I actually apologize for something I do wrong? Okay, maybe.
I squeeze her hand. “I won’t make you chase after me ever again.”
A bizarre tingling in my knee makes me look down. I spread open the rip in my jeans to inspect the scrape. The skin is closing before my eyes.
“Weird.”
Ally sees it too, her eyes widening. “How are you?”
I remember the four dead bodies in the hallway of the church. “I don’t know.”
“Once we get you dry, we should talk.” Ally cuts her eyes to Maisie. “Are you okay, honey?”
Maisie nods for a second time. “Is Winston okay?”
“He’ll live.” I reach down and place a hand on the wet, shivering pug. “Can pugs die of hypothermia?”
“We’ll get to shore soon, Jessup.” Rachel lowers her hands from the Moses pose she’s been holding this whole time.
I throw up my hands. “Where the hell have you been?”
“Oh, you know.” She sinks down onto her little seat while Gloria starts the motor again and shoots off in the direction of the aquarium on the far bank. “I went to Bermuda and Tahiti for the sunshine. I had a scone in Bruges.”
“Really?” I ask.
“No,” she says with a snort. “I’ve been working.”
She grins and I mirror it. It’s good to see her. And it’s especially good to see her in non-asylum clothes.
“After this we’ll take a vacation,” I tell her. “We deserve one.”
“A little help,” Gloria yells over the motor.
“Right.” Rachel returns her attention to the water. The boat’s horrible choppiness and zig-zag approach straightens out a bit. The helicopter overhead whizzes off, growing smaller.
“Who was that?” I ask, shielding my eyes so I can see the copter fly away.
“Gideon,” Ally says. “Someone Brinkley sent to help.”
“Brinkley is dead. How can he send help?”
“It’s a long story.” Ally tries to burrow into her coat.
“Is it part of the same story where you knew I had a sister before I did?” I ask.
Maisie looks up from her fetal position in the floor, giving Ally a wary once-over.
“Yes.” Ally forces a smile. “I’ll catch you up after we get you dry and warm. I promise.”
“Almost there,” Rachel shouts, turning back to flash us a grin.
I want a latte. “After I dig my wet underwear out of my ass, can I have a coffee?”
Ally smiles. “I think a second hot chocolate would be good.”
“I’ve been locked in a tower and you’ve been having hot chocolate?” I pretend to be angry. “You must’ve been real worried.”
Her brow furrows, her mouth falling open in indignation.
“I’m kidding,” I’m quick to add. “Relax. I’m so freaking happy to be away from the psycho.”
Ally closes her mouth, swallowing whatever she intended to say.
“Shit.” Rachel shifts her weight in the front of the boat. “We have a problem.”
All of our heads snap forward. Caldwell stands on the shore. The planetarium’s large golden dome behind him is a majestic backdrop.
“Can we drive the boat somewhere else?” Ally asks.
“Wherever we go, he’ll be there,” Maisie says.
“We can’t stay on the lake,” Rachel adds. “I’m getting tired.”
Unfortunately, they’re both right.
“Grab on to me,” I shout. “I’ll try to make my shield big enough.”
Rachel, Ally, and Maisie huddle close, Winston safe between our feet. My shield goes up and covers Ally and Maisie, but not Rachel. I can’t make it any bigger.
“Get in here,” I yell to Gloria.
“I won’t fit,” she says.
“Damnit, Gloria. I will climb in your lap if I have to,” I yell.
“I have to drive the boat,” she says. “Focus on the girls.”
“Rachel—”
“I’m fine,” she says. “I’d like to see the asshole try me today.”
Gloria drives the boat right to shore, and Caldwell companionably reaches down and yanks the boat onto the embankment.
“Hello, Ms. Wright,” Caldwell says with a grin. “Where have you been hiding?”
“Up your ass,” she hisses.
“Ah,” he says, as if this is the most normal response ever. “I didn’t think to look there.”
“I’m surprised,” she quips. “Your head is up there most of the time.”
He regards her for a second longer, and Rachel holds his gaze.
“Get out of the boat, Maisie,” he says.
“No,” I say and grab onto her arm.
“Get out of the boat, Maisie,” he says again.
Maisie starts to rise but I hold on to her tighter.
“No,” I say. “You shouldn’t be with a person who locks you in a tower.”
Caldwell makes no defense. Instead, he says, “Your mother will be upset if you don’t come home. Look at the city. It isn’t safe out there for you.”
He motions over his shoulder at the burning city. Pillars of black smoke funnel up into the sky. Too many to count. In the distance, sirens wail.
“You know why it isn’t safe,” he says, his gaze never leaving Maisie’s. “Do you think it’ll be safe for you with them? They’ll kill you as soon as they know what you are.”
Caldwell cuts his eyes to Rachel.
“I do not abuse children, you homicidal maniac.” I think she’s going to jump up and attack him. Every muscle in my body tenses. If she fights, I’ll have to fight too and I can’t firebomb with everyone here.
“What you are?” Ally asks Maisie.
In my momentary distraction, Maisie wrenches herself from my grip.
“Hey—” I lurch forward trying to grab hold of her. “Don’t be stupid. We wouldn’t hurt you.”
Maisie slips right out of my shield. Caldwell reaches down and pulls her onto the sand.
“It’s okay,” Maisie says, as Caldwell wraps his arms around her. “My mom needs me.”
Her words hang in the air as Caldwell takes a step back, and they are gone.
Chapter 45
Jesse
“Well, you win some, you lose some,” Rachel says, jumping out of the boat onto shore.
“Don’t say that,” Ally snaps. “She’s a little girl. God knows what he’ll do with her.”
I give Rachel a harsh look. “He’s hardly father of the year.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Rachel says, rolling her eyes. “No, I’ll tell you. She’s partis.”
“What?” Ally and I say in unison.
“She’s partis.”
“She’s a kid,” Ally argues. “She isn’t some murderer seeking world domination.”
She’s partis. I try to absorb this information but I can’t quite wrap my mind around it. You have superpowers. Do something? Was she just trying to trick me into thinking she was weak? Or does she have a power that isn’t much good for jumping out of buildings?
“Did you see her do anything?” Ally asks.
“No. If she’s partis, she didn’t give any sign.”
“Maybe you’re wrong,” I tell Rachel.
Rachel rolls her eyes. “You’re smarter than that Jessup. Don’t let the kid googly-eye you.”
I remember Gabriel’s warning about Maisie. Be careful with that one. She’s different than the others.
“We need to get out of here,” Rachel says, holding her hair back from her face and surveying the museum campus.
“How?” Ally stands on the shore, reaching out to help Gloria from the boat. Gloria takes her hand, more to pacify Ally than anything else, I’m sure. The shore is nearly empty in this freezing weather, but a couple of bundled onlookers stare at the city like we do. Many more sta
nd in clusters on the steps of the museum, planetarium, and aquarium, as if waiting for the next explosion to come.
Rachel points at a helicopter landing in the distance. The black smudge lowers itself down slowly at the edge of the green field. “There’s Gideon. Come on.”
We run across the lawn toward the helicopter. People are now flowing out of the buildings as if a dam has broken. At first, I think they’re going to try to steal our helicopter, but they aren’t. Most are running for the parking lot. Others push themselves back inside the buildings as if they believe the massive structures will protect them
“People are starting to lose their shit.” I grab Ally’s hand and pull her closer. “It’s going to get worse.”
Gloria catches up to us, appearing on my right side. “Once the National Guard is mobilized, we won’t be able to fly. They’ll ground all planes trying to contain the perpetrators.”
“It doesn’t help that our helicopter pilot is Middle Eastern,” Rachel says.
Ally makes a surprised clucking sound deep in her throat.
Rachel arches her eyebrows. “Sad but true, honey.”
Gloria adjusts the pack on her back. “I’ll fly if I must.”
I whirl on her. “You can fly a helicopter?”
“It’s been a long time.”
The helicopter blades whirl to life as we close in.
“Hurry up,” a man shouts from the cockpit of the plane. “We have seven minutes before the airspace over the city is shut down.”
Rachel jumps in first and starts strapping herself in. I push Ally in ahead of me and let her have the next available seat. She cradles Winston in her lap.
I slide into the seat by the open door, and Gloria slips into the one next to Gideon up front. If he has any objections about her as copilot, he keeps them to himself. In fact, he looks relieved to see her.
She doesn’t look as happy to have him.
Rachel makes gestures, trying to catch my attention. She mimes putting the headphones on and I do, lifting the heavy device from its hook on the wall.
Her voice is loud and clear in my ears.
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