“And still, that didn’t work. Nothing worked. Nothing is going to work. But I can’t keep going, Noah. Not without you. I can’t explain it. You treated me right—you treated me like a human. You were like my father, the only other man in my life who ever loved me. I only had him for nine years before he died of a heart attack. A monster took his place. My stepdad messed me up, Noah. He would lock me in the bathroom for days, telling me to drink from the toilet like a dog until I decided to come out acting like a man.

“He hated me for being gay, for being flamboyant. And I hated him. And I hated myself. And now I hate you both. I hate all of this.” His hands were shaking, but mine were now steady. Adrenaline sharpened my focus, turning it into a diamond’s edge, sharp and lethal. I just had to untie Jake, and then maybe the two of us could overtake him. As heartbreaking as Robby’s story was, I knew I couldn’t let it affect me. The innocent Robby was gone, transformed by the hatred he’d been fed as a kid.

“What are you doing back there?” Robby asked, eyes dropping to Jake as if he could see right through him. “Step the fuck back.”

“Robby, listen to me,” I said, my voice proving to be not nearly as steady as my hands. “You can still walk away from this. We all can. Just put the gun down and let us go. Please, Robby. What your stepdad did to you was wrong, but it—”

He aimed the gun at the ceiling and let out a shot, the explosive sound making my entire body vibrate. My ears rang. He trained the gun back onto the two of us. He was about five feet away from us, way too far for me to try and make a grab for the gun.

Shit, shit, shit.

“Don’t talk about him. Just step away from Jake. Step away, there. Stop.”

I had to listen to him. But with each step I took, I could feel the hope I had for getting out of this alive slipping further and further out of my grasp.

“Please, Robby, please.” I entered into the begging phase. Would dropping to my knees make a difference?

I looked to Jake, and I realized one thing: if I couldn’t make it out of this, I needed to make sure he did. “At least let Jake go. Please. You want me, don’t you? Then take me, but let Jake go.”

“No, no,” Jake said, looking at me now. “I’m not going anywhere, baby. Where you go, I go. It’s a done deal. I love you, baby. I won’t leave you here. Never.”

“You’re right,” Robby said, face twisted with a rage-filled grimace. “It is a done deal.”