My shoes squish across the floor, and Lloyd rolls his eyes, not at all happy that his bedroom has morphed into our family conference room. I remind myself to thank him and Catalina again.

  Mackenzie closes the bedroom door. She looks like she’s about to burst. “Okay, Dad, I want to tell you this in private because I’m not sure anyone else will believe me. I mean, I think Mom does—”

  “I do.”

  “—but I’m not sure anyone else will.”

  “What is it?”

  “Okay.” Mackenzie holds her hands toward me, palms out. It’s the way she always prepares to tell us something important. She’s done it since she was about three years old. Who knows where she picked it up? “So, when that guy was knocking on the door before, whoever he was, I heard something. Remember how Mom went up to the door like she was a badass and everything?”

  “I remember.”

  “Well, I went with her, just to make sure she didn’t get into any trouble. And when the dude was knocking on the door, I heard what he was saying.”

  “How could you hear him over the storm?”

  “The wind wasn’t as intense then. It kind of calmed down and got quiet for a minute. And that’s why I could hear the dude on the other side. And, Dad? He was screaming. Like a maniac.”

  “She’s right, Jake. He was pretty worked up.”

  “What did he say?”

  “If you don’t believe me, I’ll be pissed.” Mackenzie is glaring at me now. I know she’s serious. “You have to promise to believe me.”

  “Kenzie, I believe you. I always do.”

  She looks from Jordan to me, her hands still extended. “Okay, he said something like ‘Hazel, I know you’re in there. Hazel, I need to talk to you.’ ” She makes her voice deeper when she imitates the man, but she just sounds like a teenage girl imitating a man.

  I look at Jordan. “Did you hear him too?”

  “I heard something like that. I’m not as sure about it as Kenzie, but I know she wouldn’t say it if she wasn’t sure.”

  “Dad, I know what I heard. I promise.”

  “I believe you, Kenzie.” I scratch the tip of my nose. “I just don’t have any idea why someone would be that anxious to talk to Hazel.”

  “Now that you mention it, she did say something interesting,” Jordan says. “After you were gone, she told me she’s being stalked. Did you know that?”

  “Oh, yeah, we’ve all heard about it.”

  “Then isn’t it possible that’s the guy?” Jordan asks.

  My wife is much more compassionate than I am. She stops to buy food for homeless people on the streets. She gives rides to people who need them, even when it’s against her better judgment. It makes complete sense that she’d believe Hazel’s story.

  I want to believe it—and I hate to think of Hazel growing increasingly disconnected from reality. But I’ve seen change coming over her during the six months I’ve been here. “She’s not well, Jordan. She has dementia. She’s convinced some guy’s following her, but do you know what she told me right before the storm hit? She told me he can control the weather too. That it’s her stalker who’s making the hurricane hit the island. Besides, she’s ninety-one. Who would stalk her?”

  “Then why was some guy yelling her name?” Mackenzie asks.

  “I don’t know. Maybe he didn’t say it.”

  “Dad, you just said you believed me.”

  I lift my hands in futility. “I don’t know, then. Maybe I’m wrong.”

  Jordan jumps in. “The thing is, Jake, if there really is another person besides Tyler on the island, maybe Tyler isn’t really the problem. You’ve got that poor guy restrained….”

  “I know, okay? I know. And I feel sick about it. Stanley—well, he was pretty gung ho about tying Tyler up. I’m going to check on him soon. I promise.”

  “But then you’ll have to go out in the storm,” Mackenzie says, pouting like the teenager she is. “Again.”

  “I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t check on him, Kenzie.”

  The building groans. This time it’s louder than I’ve ever heard. Then it groans again, louder still.

  “That’s not good,” I say. “That’s not good at all.”

  Forty-Five

  “We need to get back out there,” I say. “They’ll be freaking out.”

  “Wait, I want to ask you something.” Jordan puts her hand on my arm. She’s wearing her engagement ring and wedding band. And the watch Mackenzie and I gave her for her last birthday. “What do you know about this Stanley guy?”

  “Not much. He lives on the sixth floor. We say hi at the elevator. That kind of thing.”

  “Doesn’t he creep you out?” she asks. “He was awfully determined to hold on to that gun. And he’s got Tyler tied up in another apartment. You didn’t really say if you were okay with that or not.”

  “We’re safer with Tyler separated from the rest of the group. We don’t know him. Or what his intentions are.”

  “But, Dad, tying a guy up? Who does that? And letting this Stanley guy run around with a gun? It’s dangerous.”

  “This is all dangerous, Kenzie. Someone is dead. What do you want me to do?”

  “Not tie up some defenseless dude.”

  “Did you see Tyler?” I look from one of them to the other. “He’s hardly defenseless.”

  “Did you actually see him hurt someone?” Mackenzie asks.

  “He had Dallas’ key in his pocket.”

  Mackenzie starts to argue, but I cut her off.

  “Sometimes you have to make tough decisions, Kenzie.” As I say the words, I recognize how closely they echo what Stanley just said on the landing. Suddenly I feel a lot less comfortable with them.

  Jordan won’t let it go. “Jake, are you really okay with this guy being tied up? And left alone in another apartment?”

  I sigh. “Not entirely, okay? Does that make you both feel better? But I said I’ll check on him. I’m not sure what else we can do.”

  “It’s so disturbing,” Mackenzie says. “It’s like…threatening.”

  “You’re right,” I say. “It is. But our lives are on the line here. Someone killed Dallas. Someone attacked Ethan. And a hurricane is moments away from making landfall on this very island. I just feel better keeping Tyler in another apartment, okay?”

  Mackenzie wants to continue the debate, but Jordan cuts her off with a look.

  “Okay,” Jordan says, “we trust you.”

  “I don’t feel great about any of this, but Tyler grabbed me too—on the stairs when I was trying to get to Hazel. That’s not normal, Jordan.”

  Jordan squeezes my arm. Mackenzie looks away.

  “What else do I need to know? Did anything else happen while I was gone? Did anybody say anything?”

  “Not really, no,” Jordan says. “Lloyd and Catalina are really sweet. Apparently, she’s pretty sick. And they still opened their home to all of us.”

  “Lloyd’s rough edges are definitely smoothed by Catalina. I didn’t even know she existed until a few hours ago.”

  “I guess Hazel and Ethan are pretty tight,” Mackenzie says, seeming to have finally let go of the whole thing with Tyler. “As soon as he came in here, she was raving about how much he helps her with her projects. What projects? I mean, no offense to old people, but Gramps is, like, seventy-five, and he doesn’t do anything but watch TV. And you said Hazel’s kind of…you know…out of it.”

  “She’s a retired historian,” I say. “She specialized in the history of the Treasure Coast, local stuff. Ethan’s a computer guy. Maybe he’s helping her on the computer. Or humoring her. I’m not sure what she’s capable of anymore. She’s drowning in paper. Maybe he’s cataloging or scanning some of her stuff.”

  “Everyone here seems really nice,” Jordan says.

  “Except Stanley.” Mackenzie scratches her head. “And Tyler. They’re both total creeps.”

  Something thumps above us. It’s so loud all three of us flinch.

  “What was that?”

  It thumps again. And again.

  Then a screeching sound starts. It goes on and on, and it’s really loud. It sounds like the building itself is being tortured and is crying out in excruciating pain.

  I aim my light at the ceiling. Nothing. I move it around the room.

  “Shit. Holy shit.”

  “What, Jake?” Jordan says. “What is it?”

  “Look.”

  A stream of water is pouring from the ceiling in the back corner of Lloyd and Catalina’s bedroom.

  It’s like the building really is falling apart.

  Forty-Six

  When I get to the other room, I point behind me.

  “Lloyd, you might want to—”

  He sees the look on my face and rushes past me into the bedroom. I follow along, but not before stopping in the kitchen to find a bucket and some rags.

  When I return to the bedroom, Lloyd stands under the leak, catching the falling water in a plastic cup. At least the trickle has slowed.

  I hand him some towels. While he tries to soak water out of the carpet, I position the bucket under the drip. The water thwacks against the plastic as steady as time. Thwack-thwack-thwack.

  “This is a disaster,” Lloyd says.

  “Maybe a pipe burst upstairs.”

  “The water’s not on upstairs. That apartment’s been vacant for over a year. They shut the water off and pulled out all the pipes, sold them for parts. This leak originated somewhere else.”

  Jordan and Mackenzie stand by, looking helpless.

  “That grinding sound—” I look at my family. No secrets. No lies. “It’s the roof, isn’t it? It’s the roof coming loose.”

  “I think you’re right,” Lloyd says. “It was already in bad shape. A storm like this…”

  “What can we do?” Mackenzie asks.

  “Do you have a rosary?” Lloyd says. “Do you pray?”

  “My parents didn’t take me to church, so I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

  “It means—well, people have been in tighter spots than this one, but not many.”

  “Is it safe in here if the roof is going?” Jordan asks.

  “Jake was right to bring everyone down to a lower floor,” Lloyd says. “It’s the best place to be if—”

  Boom!

  It sounds like someone detonated an M-80 right over our heads.

  We all duck, bending low to the floor. Mackenzie rushes to my side, huddles against my body.

  Boom—boom—boom.

  “What is that?” Jordan asks. “Did something blow up?”

  “Is it gas?” I ask.

  “It’s the roof,” Lloyd says. “It’s starting to go. Come on.”

  “What can we do?”

  “Get to the center of the apartment,” Lloyd says. “The hallway out here.”

  “Why?” Mackenzie asks. “What is the hallway going to do to protect us?”

  “If the building collapses, you want to be in the center. So the debris falls around you rather than on top of you.”

  “Oh. My. God.”

  Lloyd leads the way. When we get out to the other room, the booming continues. Everyone is talking all at once.

  Stanley stands by the door. “It’s the roof coming loose. I was in a tornado once when I was stationed in Kansas. It sounded exactly the same.”

  “You all need to get in the hallway. It’s safer there,” Lloyd says. “Right now. Go.”

  Everyone goes to the hall. Nina and Kiara grab bags of food. Hazel starts rocking and manages to rise to her feet with an assist from Ethan. Pretty quickly, everyone is past Lloyd and me, squeezed together in the short hallway. The banging stops for a minute and then resumes with greater force.

  All of a sudden it’s only Lloyd and me in the living room.

  And Catalina.

  Lloyd’s standing at the foot of the hospital bed, Catalina gazing at him with surprise in her eyes.

  “Lloyd, do you—can I help you carry Catalina into the hall?”

  He waves a hand at me. “No, no.” He moves to the side of the bed and sits next to Catalina. “It’s okay, isn’t it?” He places her hand in his. “We’ve talked about this, haven’t we?”

  “Yes.” Catalina struggles to get the words out. “We have.”

  Lloyd goes on. “That hallway is barely big enough for the eight people who are already in there. I doubt we’d fit.” He glances over his shoulder at me before turning back to Catalina. “You go, Jake. Squeeze in there as best you can.”

  A wave of emotion passes through me. Gone is the Lloyd who wouldn’t let us in the door a few hours ago. In his place is a person who ushered everyone else into the safest place in his apartment.

  “No, Lloyd. No.” I’m adamant. “I’ll get everyone out. Catalina is more important—”

  Lloyd interrupts me. “We’ve had to discuss things like this, Jake. The end of the road. We’re ready for it.” He speaks to me but keeps his eyes glued to Catalina. “We’re going to face it together.”

  Something catches in my throat. Even if I knew what to say, I wouldn’t be able to say it. I feel like an intruder. I turn away from the two of them and start for the hallway.

  Catalina makes a low noise, something between a cough and a throat clearing. I know it’s directed at me, so I stop and return to the side of the bed opposite Lloyd. I drop to one knee, and Catalina lifts her hand, limp and fluttering like a wind-battered butterfly. I take it in mine.

  Her skin is as soft as well-worn cotton.

  “Your…family…” Each word comes with great effort.

  I nod. “They’re amazing, aren’t they?”

  “Lucky…”

  “Yes, I’m very lucky.”

  Her eyelids flutter and close. She’s clearly exhausted by the effort of speaking.

  I look across the bed to Lloyd, but he’s gazing down at Catalina, pure devotion on his face.

  I gently extract my hand from hers so she can rest. But before I break contact, she opens her eyes again, fixing her gaze right on me.

  “Hold…on…to…them.”

  “I will,” I say. “I promise.”

  Her eyes close again. A moment later, her breathing resumes its deep, regular pattern.

  I listen. The banging has stopped. For now. The wind rattles the shutters and the door. I’m sure the roof is hanging by a thin thread.

  Maybe, just maybe, it will last….

  I look across at Lloyd again. “Do you want me to stay with you? So you’re not alone?”

  “I’m not alone, Jake. Ever.”

  “I just mean, do you want some company?”

  “I knew what you meant,” he says. “Thank you, Jake, but I’m all right.” He nods at Catalina’s sleeping form. “We’re all right. And you heard the boss. Hold tight to your family. You never know what tomorrow will bring.”

  “You’re right about that, Lloyd. You’ll be okay. As long as this place holds…”

  “We’ll be together. No matter what. Right here.”

  “Let me know if you need anything. And, Lloyd—”

  He lifts his head a bit, listening.

  “Thank you. Not just for letting us stay here. For getting everyone in the hallway too. I know what a sacrifice that was…. If we weren’t here, you could…Catalina could…”

  He doesn’t say a word, but I know he hears me.

  I stand to leave the two of them. And as soon as I do, the banging resumes even more loudly than before.

  I drop to the floor next to Catalina’s bed, as if that will protect me from disaster.

  The banging continues, growing in volume each time we hear it. All I can picture is an angry god pounding on the building with a giant hammer, trying their best to beat us into the ground.

  A second later, there’s another screeching sound. It goes on longer than the last one. It sounds like thousands of metal sheets being torn in two. As soon as that stops it’s followed by a giant whoosh. The exhaled breath of the hurricane.

  We’re all holding our collective breath, waiting to see what’s next.

  A gigantic crash sounds above us, a pounding, tumbling roar of noise. It’s louder than the hurricane, louder than anything I’ve ever heard in my life.

  Like a thousand airplanes landing on top of us.

  Like a thousand bombs falling.

  “Lloyd? Is that what I think it is?”

  “That would be the roof. It’s going. Completely, and once and for all, going.”

  PART three

  Forty-Seven

  2:11 a.m.

  The storm pounds us for what feels like days.

  In reality, it’s hours. Hours and hours of limbs and debris crashing against the building nonstop. The walls moan like they’re being tortured.

  When the noises finally start to slow, we’re all left feeling shell-shocked.

  In their wake, the wind continues to blow. Only it’s louder now. It makes an eerie keening as it pushes against the door. Howling against the walls so hard I worry the whole building will be shaken off its foundation.

  I’m down on the floor. When the crashing hit, I ducked, covering my head like I was in one of those old-time nuclear-bomb drills. Duck and cover. As if placing my hands over my head and flattening my body against the floor could protect me.

  I remove my hands and lift my head. I blink a few times.

  Lloyd stands up from the other side of the bed.

  “Are you okay?” I ask.

  “For now.”

  “Do you really think the roof blew off?”

  “No doubt about it.”

  Stanley comes out from the hallway on all fours, his flashlight beaming up against the underside of his face. “Oh, yeah, that was the roof going. For sure.”