When Braithe dropped her fork to signal that she was done, Paul led her to the bathroom, where she spent no more than five minutes. He had her handcuffed back at her spot with not a peep. She was as docile as a deer.

He came toward Rainy with his keys. As he crouched behind her, she felt the pressure on her shoulders ease and the handcuffs release, and she was able to move her arms forward. It took her a minute to get up, the feeling slowly moving back into her limbs in needlelike pricks. Paul’s presence behind her made her move forward, her steps an awkward shuffle. She didn’t want him behind her, she needed to see what he was up to. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that he was smiling.

“Move,” he said, shoving the barrel of the gun into the small of her back.

“Did you see that in a movie?” she asked. The blow felt sharp, and then wet; he’d struck her on the back of the head. Rainy fell, sliding across the floor as her vision flashed to bright white and then black. Was there blood? She felt for it, and her fingers came away sticky.

“Get up. You have two minutes.”

She did as she was told, pulling herself up by the bathroom door handle and glancing back at him.

He was still smiling.

Rainy peed with her eyes closed. When she was finished, she washed her hands and then wet a paper towel, dabbing it on the back of her head as gently as possible. She was going to have the king of headaches. When she walked out of the bathroom, Rainy didn’t think—she just walked toward him until she was standing right in front of him. He was taller than her, but only by a few inches. She took a natural stance, tucking her head down and clenching her jaw. Then she said something in barely a whisper. Paul cocked his head and then leaned toward her to better hear her. “What was that?”

Rainy said it again, but only a fraction louder. The gun hung limply at his side. His head dipped closer. Rearing her head back, she repeated the rules to herself: if you went in mouth gaping, you’d risk biting off your own tongue, and if you weren’t braced for impact, you could damage your neck. She snapped her head toward her target, using her body to propel her, aiming for his nose. She heard the crack before she felt it. Paul’s first scream was muffled, the second loud and pained, but he moved quickly. Rainy didn’t have time to move before the butt of the gun hit her in the temple. So this is the way you die, she thought as she fell.