He rode up alone. They had time for nine holes of golf. And a nap before dinner. Maybe he could talk Amy into a sex bet that would turn nine holes into foreplay that would make winners of them both either way. The best thing he could do, always, was get her laughing. Riding around on a golf cart would give them the distance from others they needed.

Come on, take off your panties.

Here? You’re not ready. Call me when you’re ready. Well, hell, maybe I can get you ready. I hate to see you suffer.

That had been going on between them for a decade and a half. To hell with golf, he was thinking as the elevator door opened again, maybe all they needed was another shower, this time together.

And this time he’d call room service.

Merrill realized he was hearing screams.

Muted and distant, or muffled, but real screams and a lot of them. They were coming from outside. The pool? Merrill ran for the room, fumbling in his pants pockets for the coded card that opened the door.

He didn’t need it. The door was partly open. He could see through to the balcony, where one of the white-clad German-looking men was leaning over the railing, looking down. The screams were louder, clearer. How many others were there? How many had he seen enter the elevator? Merrill had to do something quickly – now! If these guys were in their room, their partners were after Amy downstairs.

At least there had been no shots. Or, more accurately, Merrill had not heard any. Yelling, he ran into the room, across the carpet, yelling like a madman, past two men caught flatfooted. He headed for the man on the balcony, who raised his arms defensively, giving Merrill one last moment of doubt – - suppose they were FBI? — before he focused on the screams from below again. Still yelling, he hit the man chest-high, knocking him against the rail. The man teetered back, windmilling his arms, giving Merrill a split-second to get a quick look at whatever was happening down at the pool. He didn’t want to turn his back for long on the two men in the room when he was so close to the railing himself. The man grabbed at Merrill as Merrill finally saw Amy in the middle of the pool struggling with the other three. They were in the pool, fully dressed, grabbing at her. She was fighting back.