Quintin seemed surprised, but he only smiled. Just remember, everyone on good behavior. Everyone. We keep close together, like a good family, and no one gets hurt.
They left the entry hall and moved into the kitchen, and Kat was left alone with her roiling thoughts.
She felt frozen, paralyzed, but she knew she had to get past that. Her mother had kept them from knowing she was in the house for a reason: so she could save the family.
Or so she could live when the invaders massacred the rest of the family.
No. That wasnt going to happen. She would find a way to make sure of it.
She prayed silently for strength. What the hell should she do? How was she supposed to get help in the middle of a blizzard?
She couldnt wait until the weather calmed down, because Quintin and Scooter were waiting for the same thing. Then they would no doubt steal one of the familys cars and get back on the road.
And before they went on the road
They would kill her entire family. They hadnt hidden their faces. They had blithely offered their names. Of course, they might have made up the names they had given, but she didnt think so. The most likely scenario was that they would have dinner, savor the warmth of the house and then kill her entire family.
She turned and hurried silently down the hall to her room. She tried her cell first, but she wasnt at all surprised to discover she had no service. She hesitated, then quickly tried the landline. But either the wires were down or their unwelcome visitors had cut the lines.
Think, she commanded herself. There had to be something she could do.
She could run, but where?
Oh God, it was all up to her. And she was in a panic, failing
She drew a deep breath.
She could notwould notfail.
She must be in a state of delayed shock, Skyler decided. She should be paralyzed, either entirely mute or screaming, but instead she was talking, moving, almost normally. They all were, thanks to that basic instinct for survival that kicked in no matter how dire the circumstances.
The singer on the CD that had gone on playing in the background moved on to O Holy Night. She had wanted peace so badly before but now
Now she just wanted everyone to live.
What the hell is that stuff? Scooter asked, staring at one of the serving dishes.
Bacon and cabbage, to go with the corned beef, David said sharply. Bless him, he was actually bristling at the insult to her cooking, despite the circumstances.
Dont look like bacon, Scooter said.
Its more like Canadian bacon, Frazier said. Its the Irish tradition to have bacon with the cabbage.
Cabbage is worse than bacon, Scooter said, wrinkling his nose.
Taste it. All the flavors mix together. Its good, Skyler heard herself say as if she were coaxing a five-year-old. Brenda, would you pass the potatoes, please?
She could do this. They all could. It was the only way to stay alive. Because if they didnt stay calm and pull this off
At least, she prayed, Kat would survive.
As Scooter reluctantly accepted the bowl of cabbage, Skyler dared a glance at David. His jaw was locked, a pulse ticking at his throat. His eyes touched hers, and they were filled with humiliation. He had failed to protect his family. He wanted to do something.
She shook her head. No.
Hey, youre right. This shit is good, Scooter said.
My mother does not put shit on the table. Jamie bridled.
There was silence for a moment; then Scooter grinned. Sorry. Its just thatbeen a while since Ive eaten a family dinner. He set his fork down suddenly. I cant do this.
You cant do what? Skyler demanded, her heart racing. He couldnt sit and eat with them when he planned to shoot them all in a few hours?
Leave it, Quintin said.
Come on, Scooter protested. The kid could be dead.
Quintin frowned, then swore in exasperation. The kid could be a cop.
No, hes not, Scooter insisted.
What kid? Skyler demanded, feeling as if she were about to explode, as if she were choking and stars would burst in front of her eyes before the total darkness of death descended.
Surely they couldnt mean Kat?
What kid? David breathed.
Quintin waved his fork dismissively. Nothing for you to worry about, buddy.
Skyler was surprised to see David lean forward intensely. Havent you guys ever been in a blizzard before? If you left someone out there in this, hell die. A few years ago, one poor old woman died after the storm. She froze to death just trying to get her mail.
Scooter looked at Quintin. The kid is no cop, he insisted. I dont want anyone to die if I can help it. Then, as if realizing that he was sounding too soft, he added, But dont any of you forget weve got guns, and well use em if we have to.
Mom first, Quintin reminded them very softly, and Skyler lifted her head to stare at him. He laughed suddenly. Look at the little lioness. You think it would be worse if I threatened one of the children. For you, yes. But for the kids hereYou think theyd want to go on living, knowing they got you killed?
Ah, its all clear to me now, Paddy said suddenly.
Whats clear, you old Mick? Quintin demanded.
Why, that you were abandoned by yer blessed mother, Paddy said.
I wasnt abandoned, Quintin snapped back. The drunken bitch died. Maybe you should watch it, Mick. You could be next.
Speaking of abandoning people Skyler cut in. Have you abandoned someone outside?
Quintin grinned. You want us to bring in our buddy and put the odds even more in our favor?
There was no way she could hide the confusion that filled her when she added that thought to the mix.
Thats all right. Youre good people, Quintin said surprisingly.
I want to get the kid, Scooter said stubbornly.
The food will get cold, Quintin said. And how do you propose we get him?
Those two get him out of the car and carry him in, Scooter said, indicating David and Frazier. You sit here with your gun trained on Mom and they wont make trouble.
The wind is blowing like a son of a bitch, Paddy noted.
So it is, Quintin said. Go get coated up.
The blow to his head had been bad. Craig groaned, shivering, his teeth chattering. He tried to open his eyes again.
Somehow he managed to sit up so he could get a look at where they were, and his heart sank.
Oh God. Hed hoped it was just the blizzard and the pain confusing him, making him see the familiar where it didnt exist, but he hadnt been confused. What hed seen was all too real.
This was Kats familys country home, the one she always joked was out in the boondocks, where people still knew one another and where they cared.
Kat.
With her music and her laughter. He could remember far too vividly the times they had come up here for weekends when her family was away, the nights they had spent cuddling on the couch, watching old movies, unable to keep their hands off each other.
Casablanca rolled across his mind. He could hear Humphrey Bogart saying, Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she had to walk into mine.
Except that Kat OBoyle hadnt just walked into his life.
He had plowed into hers.
Maybe it wasnt the house, he thought, and looked again.
Nope, it was. Painted white and black with detailed Victorian gingerbreading. The porch, the sloping yardThis was the house, all right.
Maybe they werent here. But he knew they were. He could see lights in the windows, and in the living room, a Christmas tree strung with colorful lights.
What the hell was the matter with these people? They lived in Boston. Why hadnt they bought a vacation home somewhere warm? Anywhere but here.
Maybe, he hoped against hope, Kat wasnt there.
No, Kat never missed Christmas with her family.
He closed his eyes, wishing he couldnt see the house. When he opened them, he thought about getting out of the car, then decided to give it another second, even though the backseat now seemed as cold as the middle of an iceberg.
Even if something had happened and Kat wasnt here, her family was inside. Hed never met them, but he felt as if he knew them. Her father, set in his ways. Her twin brother, Frazier, whom hed at least seen when Kat pointed him out once across campus. Her little brother, Jamie. Hed wanted to meet her family. Even when she had complained about them, it had been with love.
Her parents were just so old-school, she had told him once. They had both been born in the States, but their parents had come over from Ireland, and sometimes it felt as if they had only recently come over themselves. Her father thought Mexican food was weird and sushi would kill her one day. Shed once suggested they hire a country singer at the pub, and her mother had looked at her as if shed betrayed the nation.
They fought too much, Kat had said, even admitted that they probably should have gotten a divorce.
No, hed told her. It was great when people believed so strongly in marriage that they made it work no matter what. Hed never told her about the way his parents had gotten divorced. They hadnt meant to hurt him, of course. They were decent people whod gotten so caught up in their own pain that he had gotten lost in the shuffle. And then, when time had passed and some of the wounds had healed
Then everything had really gone to hell.
He closed his eyes again, and when he opened them
There was a face looking in the window at him.
Kats face.
He blinked to banish the hallucination. Then he heard the door open and realized she was real.
Craig? she murmured incredulously. Craig Devon?
Kat? He couldnt see clearly, couldnt think clearly, but he knew he had to shake it off.
Oh my God! What are you doing here? Did they kidnap you or
She broke off, staring at him. He steeled himself, feeling his heart freeze and then shatter into little pieces.
I heard you were in jail, she said. Her voice had gone as cold as the snow around them.
Jail? He felt like laughing. She didnt know the half of what had happened.
His choice, of course. The turns his life had taken werent the kind a man longed to share with the woman he loved. The woman he longed to have love him in return.
Kat.
So impossible.
Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world
Damn, his head hurt and his tongue was thick, but he needed to speak and speak fast. What are you doing out here? he asked her. Those bastards in your house
I know, she said coldly.
So how did you get out
They dont know about me, she said.
The world seemed to steady around him. He could see her in the moonlight that glowed softly through the snow. The red fire of her hair was like a silk frame around her face, and though there wasnt enough illumination for him to really see her eyes, he knew them well. Technically speaking, they were hazel, but the word wasnt enough to describe the reality. They were green, and they were gold. Sometimes they were the sun, sometimes like emeralds. But tonight they were filled with disappointment, even revulsion.
They didnt kidnap you, did they? she asked.
He struggled to sit. No. But, Kat
He broke off when he heard a sound, and turned to look as the door to the house opened. Scooter was there with two men. Craig squinted. Kats older brother and her father, he had to assume. Kat. He found the strength to grip her shoulders. Someones comingone of them. So if they really dont know about you, you need to get the hell out of here. Do you understand me? Disappear.
Youre one of them.
Nonot exactly. One of them hit me and
One of them hit you? she interrupted skeptically.
Yes, and left me out here. Now get the hell out of here!
The men were coming down the walk. She could see them now, Scooter, her father and Frazier.
Craig, if youre with them
Please, Kat, I dont know what theyll do. Go for help.
Go for help? she inquired. I barely made it to the car in this wind. See the way theyre all hunched over against it? Where am I going to go, Craig? How the hell am I going to get help?
Snowdrifts were everywhere. They were going to see her footprints, he thought, as the wind picked up, howling. Maybe the snow was blowing around enough to hide her footprints.
He roused and took hold of her shoulders again. He could see her eyes. Gold and emerald. His stomach lurched. Shed been the first really good thing in his life, and he had screwed it up. Im begging you to get out of here and find help before Scooter sees you.
There is no help, Craig.
Then hide somewhere.
Hide? she asked indignantly. They have my family. I cant just run away and hide. Do you have a gun? If you have one, give it to me, damn it.
Kat, I dont have a gun.
But you were with them.
Kat, Im begging you, go!
Are you with them or not?
Kat, I
His head throbbed with pain and humiliation at the look in her eyes. If they caught herLord, if they caught herHe opened his eyes and looked up.
She was gone, vanished into the snow.
He prayed for the snow to fall faster, the wind to blow harder, to cover all traces of her escape.
Scooter and the others had nearly reached the car. The door shed used was still open, and her prints were still obvious. With a desperate burst of strength, he dragged himself out of the car and let himself collapse into the snow, thrashing to cover her tracks, his thoughts tormenting him.
Once upon a time, he had lived in a different world. Hed been in love with a gorgeous redheaded coed. Theyd saved money by eating in and watching old movies on television.
Bogie.
Bergman.
Casablanca.
Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world
Run, Kat, run.
THREE
Everyone left in the kitchen stared at Quintin except for Uncle Paddy, who continued to eat without even looking up. Yeve outdone yerself, lass, he told Skyler. This is delicious. Isnt itQuintin? Thats yer name, right?
Quintin had been staring back at Skyler and Jamie, but now he turned his attention to Paddy. Yes, its very good, he said.
Thank you, Skyler said. Ridiculous. She was thanking a killer for complimenting her cooking. But they had to get through this somehow, and if being polite was what it would take, then she would be as polite as if shed been valedictorian of a finishing school.