“Don’t be such a pussy,” Marco says. “I don’t care if they pipe the water in straight from Antarctica, you’re going with him.”

Jasper shakes his head. “I ain’t such a good swimmer in normal conditions.”

Marco rolls his eyes. “All right,” he says to me. “Don’t you forget for a second that we got your girl. I don’t care if you drown out there, if you don’t come back, we’re gonna kill her deader than Bruce Lee. And she’s gonna wish she was dead long before I pull the trigger. Got it?”

I take a long drink from my CamelBak and then drop the pack on the ground. I kneel and untie my shoes. I pull my shirt off and stand barefoot in front of the others. The rock is cool under my feet. The air is chilly against my skin. Goosebumps rise on my chest.

I want to tell Claire that I will probably not survive after all of this, but that I will do everything I can to make sure she will.

Instead, I say, “I’m sorry The last few days have been among the best in my life.”

“I think I need a box of tissues,” Jasper says.

Claire is looking hard at me, her eyes bloodshot, her skin pale. “I don’t even know who you are,” she says.

“Yes you do.” I gesture to Marco. “It’s this guy who doesn’t know me.”

“Oh, I know you,” Marco says. “You’re just pretending to be someone you’re not.”

I don’t respond. I’m not sure who the real Logan is. But I need the old Logan if Claire and I are going to get through this.

I look across the lake, not turning my head but scanning the shoreline for other people. I see no one: no tents, no fishermen, no one. We haven’t seen a soul since the boat driver dropped us off. We are all alone out here. There is no one to hear gunfire.

“What are you waiting for?” Marco says. “We ain’t got all day.”

I step into the water, taking deep breaths. When I am waist deep, I dunk my head and swim outward. The water is so cold that it feels hot, burning my skin.

I skip the Volkswagen Beetle island where I usually stop to catch my breath, and I go directly to the island with the skeleton tree.

I swim down and pull out the small cloth satchel. On the ledge, with the arc of the island keeping my actions hidden from the others, I untie the satchel and pull out the plastic sandwich bag. I let the satchel float away and tuck the bag into the pocket of my cargo shorts. Then I take a deep breath and swim back down to the crack where the diamonds were hidden.