“I just wanted to say I’m sorry. Going out there was stupid—”
“Later,” she said, cutting him off. “For now, go get something to eat.”
He looked confused. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” She peered through the security glass.
“Lara, about last night, with Gwen…”
She gave him a reassuring smile. “Roy, we’re all adults here, aren’t we?”
“Yes.”
“It’s fine. You found someone. I’m happy for you. For Gwen, too. And about what you did… Well, it worked out for the best. I’m not saying it was the right thing to do — and yes, I’m still pissed off you did it — but no one died. That’s all that matters for now.”
He nodded, looking not pleased exactly, but relieved. “Just be careful with him. I’ve seen guys like this before.”
“What kind of guys is that?”
“The dangerous kind,” Roy said.
She nodded. He was talking about West and Brody, two men Roy had traveled with since The Purge. He was right. Those two were dangerous men. Every now and then, she wondered whatever became of West…
“Go grab some breakfast, Roy.”
“Just be careful with him,” Roy said again before heading down the hallway.
“Roy,” she said after him. When he stopped and looked back, “Don’t ever do that again without asking for my permission first. Do you understand?”
He nodded and pursed his lips. “I understand.”
“Go eat some breakfast.”
She waited until he turned the corner before reaching for the key that hung from a hook. She unlocked the makeshift cell door and pulled it open.
Keo looked up from the floor where he was sitting with his back against the far wall. A white plastic plate with thick dripping syrup rested between his bent legs while he shoved the last piece of fluffy pancakes into his mouth using a flimsy plastic spork. Crumbs from biscuits were sprinkled liberally on his clothes and around him.
“Frozen pancakes,” he said.
“Frozen pancakes,” she nodded.
“Tastes just like the real thing.”
“They are the real thing. Just thawed out. How’d you like the biscuits?”
“What’s not to like? The only thing missing are eggs and sausages.”
“We were thinking about bringing a hog or two onto the island and letting them run wild in the woods.”
“I always wanted to try my hand at being a pig farmer.”
She picked up Roy’s chair and set it down in front of the open door, then sat down on it. She leaned forward and smiled at him. “You don’t strike me as the farming type, Keo.”
“What do I strike you as?”
“Dangerous. That’s what everyone says.”
He shrugged. “I’ve been called worse.”
He hadn’t moved from the floor and his eyes watched her curiously, first dropping to the Glock in her hip holster, then to the open door behind her. Ten feet of space separated them. It wasn’t very much and she wished it were more.
He was tall for an Asian-American. Six-one, easily, and was obviously in good shape. Muscled; more toned than huge like Blaine. Fast, too, she thought, remembering last night. If she had any doubt that he was, as Roy said, dangerous, one look at that long scar along one side of his face took it away. This was a man used to violence, even before the world came to an unceremonious end.
So what were the chances she wasn’t about to make the biggest mistake of her life right now?
You wanted to be the leader, so lead. This is what it means to lead.
The hard choices. The tough calls. This is it.
So lead.
She replayed everything Carrie had told her about this man in her head for the fifth time in as many minutes. The soldiers at the marina in Dulcet Lake. The ones on the shoreline of Beaufont the next day. The man was dangerous. A professional, she had thought when she heard about what he had done. She had come so close to telling Will about him during their radio call this morning.
So why hadn’t she?
Because Keo is dangerous. Too dangerous.
And after West and Brody, Will would never agree to let me do this. And maybe he’s right, and I’m dead wrong, because that’s exactly what I’ll be if I misjudge this man.
But she had other information Will didn’t. She had seen Keo up close and in person. She knew what he had done, why he was even on the island. The fact that he had saved Carrie and Lorelei and never asked for anything in return and in fact had shouldered the responsibility of bringing them down here with him…
“I’m Lara, by the way,” she said. “We didn’t get a chance at introductions last night.”
He stuck a finger into the leftover syrup and licked it clean. “You know what I miss most about the end of the world, Lara?”
“What’s that?”
“IHOP. Best damned pancakes in the history of the world. Their French toasts with fruit topping and sweet cream? To die for.”
“I don’t think we have any of that in our kitchen.”
“Heaven without the fluffy clouds?” he smiled.
She smiled back. “Carrie told me you were headed somewhere else, that you only came here to find out whatever became of your friends.”
“I’m keeping a dead man’s promise. It was the only reason he came down here with me in the first place. I figured, what the hell. It’s already on my way.”
“The seven people.”
“Yeah.”
“So you don’t know if they actually made it to the island.”
“Nope.”
“But I didn’t lie to you last night. If they did make it here, then they’re probably dead. My group only survived because we got lucky. Does that answer your question?”
“Yes, if you’re telling the truth.”
“What reason would I have to lie? Look at where you are now.”
He chuckled. “Point taken.”
This time, it was her turn to watch him closely. She thought he looked almost relieved by what she had told him. Then again, she didn’t know this man at all, and she could be misreading him completely.
God, please don’t let me get everyone here killed.
“So what’s next for you?” she asked.
“I move on.”
“Santa Marie Island.”
“That was the original plan.”
“Who is she?”
“What makes you think there’s a ‘she’?”
“There’s always a she, Keo.”
He grinned. “I met her when all of this first happened. We got close, and like a fool, I told her I’d meet up with her later. It’s been four — five? — months since, and I’m still trying to make good on it. Hell, I don’t even know if she’s still alive.”
“So all of this could be for nothing?”
“A big fat nothing, yup.”
“Must be true love.”
“Sure, that’s one way to look at it.” He nodded at the Glock at her hip. “Can you use that thing?”
“Yes,” she said without hesitation.
“I believe you.” He picked up the spork and sucked at the syrup clinging to it. “So what happens now? You going to lock me in here for the rest of my life? Even after how Carrie and Lorelei told you what a swell guy I am?”
She leaned back in the chair. “I have a proposition for you, Keo.”
“I thought you already have a boyfriend.”
“You wanna hear it or not?”
He gave her a noncommittal shrug. “Not like I have a choice.”
“I’m expecting an impending attack. It might be today, or tonight, or tomorrow. But it’s coming.”
He gave her a knowing look. “The soldiers I ran into yesterday.”
She nodded. “You told Carrie you thought it was a staging area. She also told me about the boat that was going up and down the lake. It was watching us.”