30

Keeping the gun pointed at Carmella, Anton takes a few steps closer to her and presses the gun against the side of her head. ‘Keep still, bitch.’ He looks at the rest of us. ‘We’re locked in this place because of her. She brought us here and she compromised our security. This is all her fault.’

Carmella is trying to stay still but she’s crying and her whole body’s shaking.

JT gets up from his seat. ‘Put the gun down. This isn’t the answer.’

Anton swings the gun from Carmella to JT. ‘Stay the fuck where you are.’

My stomach flips. Memories of the horrific bloodbath I witnessed at the Miami Mob compound flash across my mind’s eye. I feel lightheaded, like I might throw up. Can’t let that happen here. ‘Anton, please. Let’s talk about this.’

Anton ignores me. Keeps staring down the barrel of the gun at JT.

‘This isn’t the way, dude,’ Johnny slurs. He wobbles towards Anton. ‘You need to just—’

Anton swings the gun towards Johnny. ‘Stay back. Don’t make me shoot you.’

Johnny puts his hands up. ‘I’m not making you do a thing. I’m just saying—’

‘Well, don’t. Stop talking.’ Anton waves the gun around. His eyes are wild. It looks like he’s losing his shit. ‘All of you stay still.’

‘Like Anton says, it’s best if everyone stays where they are until we’ve got this situation resolved,’ says Cabressa. He sounds calm, looks unbothered. He glances around the group, scrutinising each of us, then repeats his original question. ‘So which of you is Herron?’

No one speaks.

Our silence hangs awkwardly in the air. The only noise is the whir of the central air. No one moves. No one makes eye contact.

Seconds tick by. Still nothing happens, no one speaks. I glance at JT, and he gives a small shake of his head – Say nothing. I sit, and I wait, and I hope to hell I can think of a way to get us out of this. I think of our baby girl, Dakota, waiting back in Florida for us, and I know I can’t sit passively any longer. I grip the base of my chair, and get ready to spring across the table at Anton.

I’m beaten to it.

There’s a roar, and Thomas, the security guy, leaps up from the floor and launches himself at Anton. I don’t know how long it’s been since he came round from getting knocked out, but he’s wide awake now and punching Anton with all he’s got. Anton tries to fight back, but he’s tubby rather than muscular, and without the element of surprise on his side, as it was before, he’s struggling to defend himself.

Thomas rains blows down on Anton. Anton tries a grab and misses, but manages to hook his leg around Thomas’s and destabilises him. As he falls, Thomas pulls Anton with him. They land hard. Anton drops the gun and it goes skittering across the floor. I drop to my knees, looking for it. When I see it, my breath catches in my throat. It’s smack up against Cabressa’s foot.

Cabressa’s long, thin fingers close around the grip of the gun. ‘Enough!’ he yells, straightening up and firing the gun once into the floor. The force of the shot in this contained space vibrates in my chest. The noise makes my ears ring. The noise around me is muffled, like I’m underwater.

Anton and Thomas spring apart.

‘Asshole,’ says Anton, glaring at Thomas. ‘Know your fucking place.’

Thomas lunges for Anton again.

I jump as Cabressa fires the gun a second time.

Carmella screams.

The bullet hits Thomas between the eyes. Red mist plumes like a stained halo from his head, and he staggers backwards, his body propelled by the force of the shot, but already dead.

‘What the…?’ Anton looks on in horror as Thomas’s body slumps to the floor at his feet.

‘Oh my God.’ Carmella’s crying again. Thrusting her chair away from the table she rushes to Thomas’s body and kneels beside him. Puts her hand on his arm then glares up at Cabressa, anger chasing away her tears. ‘You killed him. Why the hell would you do that? He was a good man. He had a family.’

Cabressa stares back at her, unmoved. ‘A security guard needs to be able to follow directions. I told him to stop. He disobeyed.’

She shakes her head. Tears run down her face, and she wipes them angrily away. ‘You’re an animal. You disgust me.’

Cabressa shrugs. He gestures to Carmella’s empty chair. ‘Sit back down, so we can get this done.’

I watch as Carmella presses Thomas’s eyes closed and then removes her fitted jacket and places it over Thomas’s face and chest. Getting to her feet, she steps around the puddle of blood that’s spreading out from his head and across the hardwood floor, and returns to her chair. She looks pale, deeply shaken, but there’s rigidness to her movements, and her jaw is clenched. I recognise her expression and what it means. I’ve felt that way too. Carmella is a woman whose anger is turning into a need for revenge.

Cabressa, gun in hand, seems unaware. He looks around the group. Nine of us remaining of the ten that we were. ‘Let’s try that again, shall we? Who is Herron?’

‘Don’t you realise that none of us are Herron?’ Carmella says, her tone frosty, her anger seeping into every word.

‘Aren’t you?’ Cabressa says.

‘It’s just some twisted game,’ says Carmella. ‘Someone is messing with us. Probably someone who wanted to join the poker game and didn’t make the cut.’

‘You sure about that?’ Cabressa says. ‘All this seems overly dramatic for a disgruntled poker player to instigate.’

‘I am sure,’ she says. But even though she’s nodding, she doesn’t look completely certain.

‘Look,’ says Mikey, ‘like you said earlier, Mr Cabressa: if each of us owns up to our secret shit then we’ll be able to see who’s Herron by a process of elimination.’ He lights another cigar and takes a long drag, trying to seem unconcerned. It almost works, but as he takes a second drag I see that his fingers are trembling.

I’m feeling real concerned myself. I can’t admit that I’m a police, or at least an FBI, informant – if I do Cabressa will kill me for sure. But if I don’t own up to something then he’ll think I’m Herron, and then he’ll kill me anyways. I glance at JT. His expression is grim. Of the secrets on the list there’s one both of us could admit to being. It’s not something either of us are proud about.

‘Okay,’ says Cabressa, a sneering smile on his lips. ‘Let’s try this again, people. It’s time to share your secrets.’

JT, Carmella and me stay silent. Mikey and Carl glance at each other, then Johnny. Anton stands like a sentry beside Cabressa, rubbing his jaw. He doesn’t look worried, I guess because he’s already shared his secret and made his alliance with Cabressa.

Otis clears his throat. Looks at Anton and then Cabressa. ‘I’m not who you want, man. I’m not Herron, I swear.’ He takes a breath. Puts his hand on his chest. ‘On that list they read out, I’m the addict.’

Cabressa’s smile widens. He cocks his head to one side. ‘Tell me about your addiction.’

Otis swallows hard and glances at Carmella, and then me.

‘Don’t look at anyone else,’ Cabressa says, his finger tracing the trigger of the Glock. ‘It’s me who needs to believe you.’

Otis’s hands start to shake. He clasps them together. Nods. ‘It started when I was—’

Two loud beeps sound over the penthouse’s speaker system. Otis falls silent. No one else speaks. We’re all waiting for the electronic-voiced message we expect will follow. But the message doesn’t come immediately. Instead there’s a pause, then another set of two beeps.

I look at JT. And mouth, ‘What’s happening?’

He frowns. Shakes his head: I don’t know.

That’s the moment the central air cuts out and a strange whistling sound starts up from behind the vents.