I spin around and feel an explosive burning in my abdomen. I stagger back into the water, only then hearing the shot echoing around me.

Claire—or Jill—stands with Jasper’s revolver in both hands. She points the gun at me and fires again.

CHAPTER 20

THE BULLET GOES wild, so close I can hear it whining next to my ear like a supersonic insect. I dive into the water and swim, pumping my arms and legs as fast as I can. A geyser of water shoots up next to my head where another bullet hits. The revolver is louder than the other pistols had been, and the shots sound like canon fire bouncing off the rock.

She shoots three more times, the bullets twanging into the water nearby, and then the gun clicks empty. She might be trying to find extra shells, but I’m soon out of range. I swim to the island where I’d hidden the diamonds, and I crawl up onto the rocks. I drag myself to the lone tree, leaving a trail of blood, and lean against the trunk. My stomach lurches and I retch up hot liquid. I think for a moment that I must have swallowed water, but then realize how naive that idea is: my vomit is red and tastes like copper.

I inspect the wound: a dark hole the size of a dime to the left of my navel. There’s no exit wound, meaning the lead slug is sitting somewhere in my belly. My body starts to shiver violently.

The woman on the shore, the woman who said her name was Claire, is on her hands and knees, gathering the diamonds. I might be able to wait her out. When she leaves, I can swim to shore. I might be able to make it to the telephone at the dock. It’s possible.

As I wait, I put together their plan. It isn’t hard to figure out.

Marco had known I would never give up the diamonds to him. If I gave up the diamonds, I would die. So no amount of threats or torture would get me to cooperate. But he knew me—in the end, he really did—and he knew I would give up the diamonds for someone I cared about. Marco had been working with Claire—or whatever her name is—from the start.