“It’s in my motel,” Adam said, “down the road. If you let her go we can go together, you and me, take your car if you want. Just let her go. That’s all I care about.”

“You must think I’m a real idiot, don’t you?” Xan said. “I’m some kind of moron, right? Just because you got those letters in front of your name, that makes you, what? Better than me?”

“Just give him the money!” Marissa yelled. The she said in a quieter, shakier voice, “Please, Dad… just give him the money. Please… please just give it to him.”

“He can’t give it to me,” Xan said. “You know why? Because he didn’t bring it, that’s why. Why don’t you tell her the truth, Doc? You didn’t bring any money, did you?”

Trying to aim his gun between Xan’s eyes, Adam said, “I told you, the money’s in my room.”

“You’re a lying bastard,” Xan said. “You didn’t bring any money because you wanted to handle it your way, didn’t you? You thought you could get off cheap, save your spoiled brat daughter, be the big hero. Now give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill her right now. Give me one reason.”

“Give him the money, Dad,” Marissa said, crying. “Just give it to him… Please, just give it to him… Please… Please…”

Part of Xan’s head was now behind Marissa’s head. Adam wasn’t sure he had a clear shot anymore.

“The police know I’m here,” Adam said because he was desperate and couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“Now that I seriously doubt,” Xan said. “If you called the cops they would’ve been here a long time ago, and they sure as hell wouldn’t’ve had you follow me in a bright red rental car. You really thought I wouldn’t notice you, huh? You should’ve just had a big sign on top of it-It’s me. Here I am.”

Marissa was sobbing.

“The cops,” Xan continued, smiling. “Come on, I knew you’d never call the cops. That isn’t your style, is it, Doc? Nah, you’re a handle- it- yourself type of dude, right? Who needs cops? Get your gun, get your name in the paper- Dr. Bloom saves the day. Except it doesn’t always work out the way you want it to, does it? Yeah, it’s just like that night in your house all over again, when you killed my brother, Carlos. He wasn’t really my brother, but he was part of my family. You know what it feels like to lose part of your family, Doc? Well, maybe you do.”

Adam wanted to shoot him, squeeze off ten rounds like when he killed Sanchez, but he remained calm, as calm as he possibly could, and said, “You can’t get away. The cops’ll be here any second. Just let her go- this is between you and me. It has nothing to do with her.”

“I’ve listened to enough of your bullshit,” Xan said. “Drop your gun or I shoot the little bitch in the head.”

Xan had shifted a little. Adam had a clear shot at his right eye.

“Let her go,” Adam said.

“Listen to you, still thinking you can tell me what to do,” Xan said. “It doesn’t matter that your daughter’s about to die. You just have to be right, don’t you?”

“Drop your gun, Dad!” Marissa shouted. “Just fucking drop it!”

Adam knew he couldn’t drop his gun. If he did, Xan would shoot him, then shoot Marissa. He was sure of it.

“If you shoot her, I’m gonna shoot you,” Adam said.

“So you really think I give a shit about that?” Xan said. “What kind of shrink are you anyway? You really have no idea who I am, do you?”

Adam thought about all those times in the range when he’d hit the bull’s-eye, and the targets were much farther away than Johnny was right now. All he had to do was hit that bull’s-eye one time…

“You think I’m messing with you?” Xan said. “As you know, I had no problem killing your wife, who really wanted me, by the way. Man, she was so hot for me. I really wish I had a chance to-”

Adam fired. During the millisecond between when his finger pressed the trigger and when the bullet left the gun, he was aware of his shooting hand shifting slightly downward and to the right. But it was too late to do anything about it, and he had to watch helplessly as the bullet entered Marissa’s chest.

The rest seemed to happen in super slow motion- Marissa falling, all of that blood, his realization that he’d shot his daughter. Maybe Adam had started to scream, No, or maybe he was just thinking about screaming it, when he heard the second shot.

Marissa had been thinking one thing all along: Stay alive. On the way to wherever she was now, most of the time she didn’t know whether she was asleep or awake- everything was blurred, part of the same nightmare. A few times the confusion lifted and she realized what was going on, that for some reason, Xan, her Xan, had drugged her and was taking her someplace. What the fuck? She also knew that he’d probably killed her mother, but this concept was impossible for her to comprehend. She had no idea what the hell was wrong with him, how any of this could possibly be happening, but she knew she had to do whatever she had to do to stay alive.

In the car, she tried to beg him to let her go, but he put that rag over her face, and when she woke up again, tied to a bed, she screamed and he hit her and drugged her again. She had to go to the bathroom so badly, she could barely breathe, her nose was probably broken, and he still wouldn’t let her go. She knew it was pointless to try to fight it anymore. He was too strong and she was too weak- there was no way she could possibly win. Her only option was to stay alive, to wait. Either he would kill her or someone would come to save her, but nothing she did would change the situation.

She woke up alone, dazed, tied to the bed, her nose hurting like hell, lying in her own feces, the ropes cutting into her arms, and she was afraid that he’d left for good- that he was going to let her die like this. Her throat was already dry as hell from all the screaming and crying she’d done, but she yelled for help until she could barely make any sound.

Then, finally, Xan returned. Weirdly, she was actually glad to see him. At least he hadn’t abandoned her.

Then she saw he had a gun, and she screamed, or tried to scream, “Don’t shoot me.”

“I’m not gonna shoot you, baby. Relax.”

He was such a total maniac, the way he sounded so calm, so detached. How could this be the same guy who she’d thought was so great, who- Jesus Christ- she’d said “I love you” to?

He started untying her, saying, “You wanna live, just do what I say, you think you can do that? I don’t think that’s so hard, just to keep your pretty little mouth shut.” Then he winced and said, “Man, you stink. If there was a shower here I’d let you clean yourself off. I’m really sorry. I know how uncomfortable this must be for you.”

His face was near hers as he untied the rope over her chest, and she wanted to bite into his cheek, hear him scream. But she restrained herself, thinking, Stay alive. Just stay alive.

As he finished untying her, she asked, “Where are we going?” and he said, “Nowhere.”

His tone was ominous, threatening. He lifted her out of bed and held the gun to her head. Was he going to shoot her now? Why untie her just to shoot her?

Then she heard a noise, a door opening.

“We’re back here, Doc,” he said.

Was it really her father? Then she saw him, aiming the gun. She figured he must’ve called the police. The whole building was probably surrounded. In a few minutes, even seconds, this nightmare would be over.

But why did Xan still seem so cocky? And why would the cops have sent her father in here alone? With a gun?

It started to hit her that her father had done it again. There were no cops.

Xan told her father to drop the gun or he’d kill her. She knew he meant it, and she screamed at her father as loud as she could to drop his gun.

Of course he didn’t listen. Her father never listened.

Then he shot her. It happened so fast. One second she was standing, the next she was on the floor, bleeding, pain ripping through her chest.