“Wreck lot. They were going to take it to Shelter Island to crunch it. I bought it for two hundred bucks.” Who wouldn’t have asked any questions about a sixteen or seventeen-year-old buying a wreck of an SUV that had been part of a deadly accident? Why hadn’t his parents asked any questions? “I got it working again, just enough. I was waiting. Waiting for Ford to come back. I was going to kill him in this thing.” He blushed. “Got a little impatient, though.”

My hands spasmed. Ethan had been impatient when he’d smashed Ford over the head with a piece of driftwood and dragged him into the ocean. “Ethan,” I whispered. “The accident wasn’t Ford’s fault. A deer jumped out into the road. Ford tried to save us.”

“It was his fault! Don’t you dare say different!” Ethan strode away to the back of the SUV. “It’s time for you to go. Time for this to end.”

Shit, shit, shit. I’d pushed too far. There was no time for distraction or anything else. It was now or never. My fingers pulled on the door latch just as the vehicle began to roll forward towards the cliff. I scrambled out, tripping as I went. My bound hands caught the brunt of my fall, and I lurched to my feet.

Ethan cursed. “No! You don’t get away. Not this time.”

I ran—as fast as my muscles would allow. My head swam. I kept blinking, trying to clear my vision so I wouldn’t trip. Footsteps on gravel sounded behind me. Getting closer and closer. I pushed my muscles harder. I pictured Ford in my mind, running to him, into the safety I felt while in his arms.

A hand snagged the back of my shirt, yanking me back. “I don’t think so.” I slammed into a hard chest. “You’re going over tonight. No more breaks for you.”

Tears streamed down my face as I kicked and clawed, trying to get purchase on anything. I had no luck. The steep, rocky incline grew closer, the black sea swirling around the jagged rocks below. No, no, no. My life wasn’t going to end like this. But Vi hadn’t wanted hers to end the way it had either.

My feet scrambled as rocks gave way along the cliff. It was too steep. I’d roll down and land on the rocks below. If the fall didn’t kill me, the mixture of injuries and the sea would finish the job. I had nothing, no one, not a single thing that could save me now. But as Ethan forced me over the edge, I wasn’t alone. My mind saw only one thing: Ford’s face.

46

FORD