No Exit by Taylor Adams 2

Darby shook her head sharply, squeezing her nostrils.
Blood poured down her throat in clogged mouthfuls. Droplets
speckled her lap.
Oh, Jesus, don’t cry.
Sandi crossed the room, her big purse swinging. She
grabbed a lump of brown napkins from the coffee counter, and
laid them in Darby’s lap. She touched her shoulder. “Are you
sure? It’s … it’s really bleeding.”
Darby felt her face tighten up, like her skin was being
stretched taut around her skull. Fiery heat on her cheeks. Her
vision blurred with tears, her breaths hissing through her teeth,
while Ashley calmly watched her from across the table with
his hands tucked neatly in his lap.
Don’t cry, Darby, or he will kill everyone here.
“I’m fine,” she choked. “It’s just the elevation—”
“I had my first beer at eight thousand feet,” Ashley
chimed in again. “Sliced my hand on a fluorescent light, and I
bled pure red water for two straight days—”
“Oh, shut up,” Darby snarled.
He froze, startled by her sudden ferocity. This should have
been another win for Darby, another small moment of prey
catching predator off-guard, but she already knew it was a
huge mistake.
Because Sandi had noticed.
“I …” The lady hesitated, palms up. She glanced between
them, her yellow parka crinkling as she moved. “Wait. What’s
really happening here?”
Silence.
Ashley chewed his lip thoughtfully, and then nodded to
Lars.
No, no, no—