leaning on their cues staring
at me with matching
expressions of disbelief.
‘What?’ I asked, feigning
innocence.
Jack turned to Amber. ‘Is
she cheating?’ he demanded.
‘Of course not,’ Amber
said, smiling sweetly at him,
before turning to line up her
own shot.
We won. Of course we won.
And then we ceded the table
to Jesse and his three friends.
Nate and Suki hadn’t unglued
their eyes from him, not that
he seemed to notice that he
had collected two groupies.
His focus was on the girl he
was with, who seemed so
flustered by his very nearness
that she reminded me of how
I’d been before Alex and I
had got together.
I heard her introduce
herself as Ren. She spoke
with an English accent,
which straightaway grabbed
my attention. It seemed like
eons ago that I’d been living
in London – the memory of
those years was as faded and
distorted now as an
Instagram photo. Who knew
that being mugged at
knifepoint would turn out to
be the best thing that ever
happened to me? If that
hadn’t happened would I be
standing here now? Would I
be with Alex? Would I know
anything at all about my
mum? It didn’t bear thinking
about. Sometimes the worst
events paved the way for the
best.
I listened in idly to the
conversation the group was
having. The English girl was
a nanny. The other three were
locals. The object of Suki and
Nate’s lust was called Jesse,
the guy we’d seen at the bike
rental place earlier.
‘You’re nosier than Suki,’
Alex whispered in my ear as
I watched the boy lean over
the table and take a shot.
Nate sighed loudly at the
sight.
‘Just so you know: he
doesn’t like boys,’ said Suki
in a theatrical whisper.
‘That’s what he thinks,’
Nate answered. ‘If he met me
. . .’
‘He’d ask you who your
super-cute, astonishingly-
fashionable friend was.’
Nate elbowed Suki hard in
the side and she yelped,
making the boy start and
miss his next shot.
Ten minutes later the band
came on and we all stopped
talking and moved closer to
the stage. All except for
Amber who couldn’t stand to
be in confined places with
too many people – all those
emotions flying about gave
her a headache. She chose a
corner away from the crowd
and sat down.
I scanned the stage,
wondering what kind of
music the band were going to
play, and it was only then
that I noticed the guitarist
was Jesse, which explained
why Suki and Nate were now
fighting their way tooth and
claw to the front of the mosh
pit.
‘He said he didn’t play
anymore,’ I shouted to Alex
over the roar of the crowd,
confused to see him up on
stage. ‘That’s strange.’
I watched him pull the
guitar strap over his head and
start fingering some chords,
at which point someone
sighed loudly beside me. It
was the girl, Ren, and I didn’t
need to be Suki to figure out
what she was thinking. I
grinned to myself and turned
back to see Nikki of the
panda eyes and smoky voice
saunter on stage and take
hold of the mike.
Beside me, Alex squeezed
my hand and then the band
started playing and I forgot
all about everything, even
how annoying Jack was and
how many times Alex and I
had been interrupted. They
were good. No, better than
that. They were incredible
and my earlier thought about
Jesse belonging on the front
of Rolling Stone magazine
suddenly seemed more like a
premonition. The whole
crowd went wild and I knew
it was only a matter of
seconds before Suki and Nate
started throwing their
underwear onto the stage.
So I wouldn’t have to
witness that I squeezed out of
the crowd and went to get
some air. I glanced around
the bar area looking for
Amber to see if she wanted
some company, but she was
nowhere in sight. There was
only the English girl, Ren,
sitting on her own at one of
the far booths by the door,
staring into the depths of a
dirty glass as though trying
to divine her future from the
dregs. I remembered that
feeling well and hoped she
managed to figure it out
without too much drama.
I wandered outside to see
if Amber was waiting for us
there, but the street was
eerily deserted.
‘Amber?’ I called quietly
into the darkness.
There was no answer. I
turned to head back inside
when there was the sound of
gravel crunching in the
parking lot, and a muffled
cry made me whip back
round.
Before I could stop to
consider what I was doing I
had started running,
adrenaline flash-flooding my
system. The thought briefly
flitted through my mind that
I should be fleeing danger,
not throwing myself head-
first into it, but something
had shifted in me since the
fight with Stirling
Enterprises. I’d learned that
nothing ever came from
running away.
As I sprinted, I was
already scanning the lot,
looking for something –
anything – I could turn into a
weapon. There were only cars
though, rows and rows of
cars. A scream sounded from
somewhere at the far end
where trees pressed against
the starless sky. Was it
Amber? I couldn’t tell.
Shadows blotted the treeline
– movement blurred out of
the corner of my eye, and
suddenly a burst of red
flamed against the darkness .
. . I skidded to a halt and
dived between two cars as I
recognised Amber’s hair.
‘Amber?’ I shouted.
To my right a shadow leapt
towards me. I ripped a wing
mirror free from a Jeep and
spun it
into the sky above my
head, bringing it to a
shuddering halt in the air as
Amber stumbled towards me.
She fell into my arms. I
caught her, almost collapsing
under her weight and twisted
her away from the darkness,
looking over my shoulder
into the shadows, trying to
see who was out there.
‘What happened?’ I asked.
‘I don’t know, he came up
behind me . . .’ Amber
shuddered. Her fingers bit
into my shoulders. She pulled
away, standing upright, but
her breathing was unsteady
and she was shaking. The
wing mirror hovered above
us still, spinning like a top.
Just then a branch snapped
underfoot close by, leaves
rustled. Someone was
pushing through the bushes,
trying to get away. I bolted
after them but Amber caught
me by the arm and yanked
me back.
‘No!’ she yelled. ‘Don’t.’
I whipped around, blood
roaring in my ears, ready to
argue. But the expression on
Amber’s face stilled me. She
looked petrified and a streak
of blood running down her
cheek brought me up short.
She shook her head at me,
her eyes wide.
‘Lila!’
‘Amber?’
We both jumped. Alex and
Jack were sprinting towards
us across the lot, Suki and
Nate skidding behind them.
‘I heard you both,’ Suki
panted.
‘What’s happening?’ Alex
asked, his voice tense. He
and Jack had switched
straight into Unit mode.
They’d drawn their guns and
as soon as they got close they
took up flanking positions
around us, facing out towards
the dark. Jack cut a glance in
Amber’s direction and did a
double-take at the sight of
the blood pouring down her
face. He grabbed hold of her
and spun her towards the
light from the street, his hand
under her chin.
‘Who did this to you?’ he
growled.
‘Some guy attacked her.’
‘Who?’ It was Alex
asking.
Amber shook her head. ‘I
don’t know.’
‘Is it the Unit?’ I asked,
suddenly feeling the ground
tilt beneath my feet.
‘It’s not the Unit,’ Alex
said, his hand finding mine
and squeezing. ‘If it was the
Unit it would have been a co-
ordinated attack with
weapons. Besides, the Unit’s
gone,’ he murmured. ‘They
can’t hurt us any more.’
‘Did you get a look at
whoever it was?’ Jack asked.
Amber shook her head.
‘No. I didn’t even feel him
until he was right on me.’
Alex turned to Suki. ‘Suki
– you hear anything? Is there
anybody out there?’
Suki tipped her head to one
side. ‘No. I can’t hear
anything.’
I could feel the tension in
Alex, he was vibrating with
it. Jack’s jaw was pulsing.
The two of them wanted to
give chase, hunt down
whoever had attacked Amber,
but I could tell they were
torn. They didn’t want to
leave us.
Jack took a step towards
the trees but Amber grabbed
for his hand. ‘Please don’t
go. Don’t follow him,’ she
said, her voice barely more
than a whisper. Jack scowled.
‘I mean it, Jack,’ Amber said,
staring up at him, her bottom
lip trembling. ‘I know evil. I
know it more than any of you
do. I see it every day. Every time I walk down the street I
pass people who are thinking
such dark thoughts I can’t
believe they’re not behind
bars. But this . . . person,’ she
swallowed again. ‘I’ve never
felt anything like that before.
I couldn’t fight him off.
Usually—’
‘Shhh,’ Jack whispered,
suddenly pulling her towards
him. He placed his hand over
the cut seeping blood above
her eyebrow. Amber winced.
Jack closed his eyes. A few
seconds later he removed his
hand and I blinked in
astonishment. There wasn’t a
single blemish or mark
visible, just the blood now
dried and smeared a little on
her cheek. Amber pressed her
fingers to her temple and
then held them in front of her
face. Her eyes flew to his and
she stared at him, speechless.
Jack shrugged, a smug
smile playing on his lips. He
tucked a strand of her hair
behind her ear and let his
fingers linger there. A soft
smile broke on Amber’s lips.
‘Guess we’re bunking in
with you guys tonight,’ Suki
whispered in my ear.
I pressed myself against
Alex’s side and closed my
eyes. I’d thought that now the
Unit was gone and life had
returned to normal I was
safe, and that everyone I
knew was safe too. But that
wasn’t the case, was it?
There would always be
people as bad as Richard
Stirling in the world.
We stood there in a
subdued circle, none of us
willing to turn our backs on
the darkness. I glanced at my
brother with his arm around
Amber, at Alex who had one
hand on his gun and the other
on me, at Suki and Nate
holding hands and, with a
jolt, I realised that even
though there were countless
bad people in the world (and
I always seemed to cross
paths with them), there were
also good people, people who
were fearless and loyal and
who never turned their backs,
but who always chose to
fight.
Three days later
The Inquirer & Mirror
Nantucket’s newspaper since
1821
A girl was attacked on Dionis
beach last night. The girl,
aged 18, was working as a
nanny for a Boston family
and had spent the night with
friends at popular Nantucket
venue The Ship. It’s believed
she was abducted while
walking home alone later that
evening.
Police responding to
another disturbance in the
area discovered her partially-
clothed body among the
dunes. She was air-lifted to
hospital in Boston where
doctors describe her injuries
as crit
ical. There is mounting
speculation, that the girl was
attacked by the same person
who murdered 19-year-old
Brazilian nanny Juliana Da
Riva last summer.
Da Riva’s body washed up
on Dionis beach but police
have refused to comment on
whether there is a serial
killer at loose on the island
targeting nannies.
I swallowed the lump in my
throat and stared wide-eyed
up at Alex. ‘It’s the same
guy, isn’t it? The same guy
who attacked Amber?’
Alex, reading over my
shoulder, nodded. ‘Looks like
it.’
‘Oh my god,’ I whispered.
‘What if it was that girl?’
‘What girl?’
‘The girl – the English girl
who was at The Ship. I heard
her introduce herself as a
nanny. What if it was her?’
‘We told the police. We
did what we could,’ Alex told
me, but I knew he was
wondering too whether we
should have done more,
could have done more.
‘They’ll catch him, don’t
worry,’ Alex said, pressing
his lips to the top of my head.
Beneath us, the engines
thrummed angrily. Suki and
Nate stood leaning over the
railing of the boat, throwing
bread to the seagulls
overhead.
Jack walked over then,
carrying two styrofoam cups
of coffee. Amber was behind
him. They sat down beside us
on the plastic bench seats and
we stared out in silence at the
choppy waves of the Sound
and Nantucket, receding to a
dot on the horizon.
Jack nodded at the
newspaper I was holding.
‘Now aren’t you glad I
showed up? I told you
Nantucket was a dangerous
place.’ He yawned and
stretched, one arm resting on
the back of Amber’s chair.
‘I’m not letting my little sis
out of my sight from now
on.’
I felt Alex tense beside me
and squeezed his hand.
‘Allow me,’ I whispered,
swivelling my eyes in Jack’s
direction . . . and to the
steaming cup of coffee in his
hand.
Meet Ren, Tyler, Parker and
Jesse this summer in The
Sound, out August 1st.
THE SOUND
When aspiring music
journalist Ren Kingston takes
a job nannying for a wealthy
family on the exclusive
island of Nantucket,
playground for Boston’s
elite, she’s hoping for a low-
key summer reading books
and blogging about bands.
Boys are firmly off the
agenda.
What she doesn’t count on is
falling in with a bunch of
party-loving private school
kids who are hiding some
dark secrets, falling