Just one blow from the stone giant and he's one, two, three, down for the count.
But Wilson hasn't had his fill. He doesn't want Jack unconscious. He wants him dead. I lunge on Jack, the pillow in my hands. I shove the pillow over Jack's face, but Cain is telling me we have to go. We have to go now.
Cain pulls me backward, but Wilson fights against him. He's not done with Jack. He won't stop. He can't. Jack hurt us. He must be punished.
"Domino!" Cain yells.
Two Lilies appear in the doorway, yelling for Marie. They see me on Jack, scratching at his face.
Wilson, stop, we have to go, I plead.
No, never!
"Domino, you have to come with me." Cain grabs me around the waist and hoists me up. I spin around to face him, Wilson's anger pulsing through me. "I won't make you come," Cain says, "but if you want to, we have to go now!"
"Where do you think you'd go?" one Lily screeches as the other girl rushes to Jack's side.
Marie shoves her way into the small room. "What's going on in here?"
Wilson analyzes the situation, and decides he can still end Jack's life. What's more, he wants the money we were promised. The same envelope one of the Lilies now holds in her hand. She tucks it behind her back, and the other Lily who sees her do it blocks my path. Seems they both want to cash in on my private deal.
Though I know we don't have time for this fight, Wilson makes me lunge toward them.
But this time I'm able stop myself before impact.
I am here, too, Wilson. I didn't leave. And I'm telling you to back down.
But you need me, Domino. I can get our money and finish him, too.
BACK DOWN!
Wilson hesitates just long enough for me to grab Cain's hand and yell, "Run!"
Chapter Fifty-Eight
See Domino Run
Cain and I bolt from the Lilies' home and race toward the main house. I have only two objectives now.
Get Poppet.
Run.
A voice rings out in the night, stopping me. "You're running, aren't you? Morons!"
I turn to see Lola staring back at me, the red lipstick on her mouth smeared. Swallowing my apprehension, I call out the first thing I think of. "Come with us."
She blinks in the dim light. "You're crazy."
Cain pushed my lower back. "We've got to go."
"Will you tell?" I ask.
Lola looks up at Madam Karina's window. "Yeah, I will. But I'll throw them off. It'll give me time to run while they're looking for you."
"We're headed that way." I point down the road, to the right.
"Well, I saw you go that way." She points to the left.
I tip my head at her, and then race toward the main house. Mr. Hodge isn't at the front like I expect him to be, so I fly up the stairs. Cain is one step behind me. When we get to the third floor, I sweep into the Tulips' entertainment room. Poppet is sitting in a white high-back chair, speaking with an older gentleman. When I see that he's holding her hand, drawing circles in her palm, I have to once again fight Wilson for control.
She sees me, sees the sweat on my forehead and the expression on my face, and she's on her feet. She zigzags through the customers and bolts past me toward her bedroom. I take off after her and then watch as she fills a bag from her closet. Each thing has its place, and it's as if she went over this a hundred times in her head.
"I've got it," Cain says when she's done. "Can you run in those?"
She kicks off her high heels. "I grew up barefoot. Why change now?"
Cain hurries down the hall, and Poppet and I rush after him, adrenaline firing through me. The three us storm down the stairs, turning corners and hearing girls yell in our direction. We sound like a herd of water buffalo moving through the house. Between stealth and speed, we choose the latter.
I think we're in the clear until I see Mr. Hodge standing at the bottom of the stairs.
Cain sees him and drops Poppet's bag. Mr. Hodge readies his short, massive torso in front of us like there's no way we're getting past him.
Jack appears from the side door, holding his jaw. Behind him are a half dozen of Madam Karina's girls, doting on the injured customer.
"You're going to pay for this." Mr. Hodge narrows his beady eyes. "I'm going to make sure-"
He never gets the rest of the sentence out, because suddenly Cain is moving. He rushes down the stairs like Usain Bolt and skips the last three steps, opting to lunge through the air instead. His fist connects with Mr. Hodge's face and, déjà vu, Mr. Hodge goes down.
Unlike Jack, though, he's not out.
"Come on!" Cain urges.
"Oh my God," Poppet laughs as she grabs her bag and leaps over Mr. Hodge. "You punched The Neck!"