Thomas stared at the road ahead, sweat streaming. They were coming up to a crossroads: Georgetown ahead of them, a narrow track looping to the right into barren rocks. Thomas hesitated. Kane could see him making a decision. Suddenly he wrenched the wheel and they swung north into the emptiness.

“Why are we going this way, Daddy?”

“Small diversion, sweetheart.”

“You said we were going sailing.”

“We are. Just got to drop Edward off.”

The lava plains stretched endlessly around them. It would be hours before Kane’s body was found. Kane eyed the door lock, which was up, then the man’s grip on the gun. The road they were on began to climb into the basalt hills. The gun didn’t waver.

“We can get out of here our own way,” Kane said. “There are options. I can speak to people, make an arrangement to ensure you stay with Carina.”

“What about me?” Carina said.

“We’d get you out of here together,” Kane continued. “You’d have my word.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“You got trapped. I understand that. You didn’t have a choice.”

“You don’t know anything.”

“I know this isn’t what’s best for the girl. What’s she going to do in Russia? What’s she going to do without her mum?”

They were still climbing, on the edge of a sheer drop now. Thomas pressed the accelerator down, throwing Kane back in his seat. He released the gun’s safety catch. He was driving directly into the rising sun. Kane turned and saw the man was blinded by tears.

“Poslushay menya,” Kane said. Listen to me. He continued in Russian: “There is a peaceful way out. For you, your children . . .”

“What’s happening?” the girl said.

“Look at her,” Kane said. “For Christ’s sake.”

Thomas’s eyes flicked to the mirror. Kane punched him in the throat.

The girl screamed. Kane grabbed Thomas’s wrist and he fired through the windscreen. The car swerved wildly. Kane couldn’t get the gun out of his grip. They were on the edge of the drop now, with the windscreen cracked. Kane changed course; he opened the passenger door and jumped.

The ground never arrived. He tumbled down a slope of loose cinder, arms up to protect his head, heard a second shot that whistled past him, then the car continued away. When Kane eventually came to a stop, he looked up toward the road and it had gone. His left side was bruised agonizingly where he’d landed, clothes shredded at the knees and elbows. But he was able to stand, able to walk. That was a small miracle. Kane caught his breath and began up the slope.