Things We Hide From the Light

Nash goes to the office and sorts through complaints filed against Tate Dilton. He cannot get Lina out of his head, so he decides it is time that he and Lina have an official first date.

Lina and Nash meet at a swanky Italian restaurant. Nash is distracted by thoughts of Lina in bed, so their chit-chat turns quickly into foreplay. When Lina kills the mood by mentioning her fears that Duncan Hugo may decide to eliminate Nash at any moment, Nash chides her. Plus, such worries only confirm how much she cares about him.

At the restaurant, Nash brings Lina to orgasm with his hand under the table. They decide to rush back to Nash’s apartment. Lina performs oral sex on Nash while he tries to keep the car on the road. Just then, Nash sees a police car’s flashing lights in his rearview.

The person pulling them over is Nolan, who is miffed that Nash left the restaurant while Nolan was in the bathroom.

At Lina’s urging, Nash summons his friends and family to his apartment to work out a plan to take on Duncan Hugo. Within an hour Knox, Nolan, Sloane, Naomi, Lucian, and even the feisty Mrs. Tweedy arrive. Nash looks around with pride: “We’re all part of the team” (424).

Nash assigns each person a responsibility to canvas the town. If Duncan Hugo never left, there must be evidence he is still in Knockemout. Everyone will keep their phones locked into GPS in case they get separated. They will stay in contact until someone finds Hugo’s henchmen or Hugo himself. Knox cautions that this operation needs to wrap up before he and Naomi get married in six days. Before the meeting breaks up, Nash insists that Lina move in with him for her safety. Lina “freaks out,” but sees the logic in the idea.

With the help of a PR firm, Nash stages an interview in which he explains to a fake reporter that he has suddenly recalled the night of his shooting.

Nash tries to calm Lina about their new living arrangement: “Think of it as an extended sleepover” (437). He drives Lina to the women’s penitentiary to question Tina again, but Tina keeps mum about where Duncan Hugo might hole up if he decided to stay in Knockemout.

Four days after the media blitz about Nash’s memory recovery, Lina is out for an early morning jog. She sees Knox heading into the gym. Knox assures Lina that his brother is good for her, and she is good for him, but Knox understands that Lina might be trepidatious about the relationship: “If you’re not scared shitless, you’re doing something wrong” (444). Later, Lina calls her mother, who cautions her to stop looking at relationships as “potential prisons” (448). Lina has still never told her parents what she does for work.

Lina takes Waylay for ice cream, hoping the girl might remember anything about the time her uncle was shot. As Waylay thinks about what happened when Duncan Hugo kidnapped her to lure Nash to the crime ring’s warehouse, she recalls that they let her play video games, that Duncan yelled at the screen while playing video games, and that they gave her disgusting pizza and too much candy.

Lina has an idea when Waylay mentions video games: If Duncan Hugo is playing online, they could trace his location. All they need is his username. Waylay remembers it: KingSchlong85. Lucian’s stealth IT team can trace that username unless Duncan Hugo has changed it.

That night, a rock with a threatening note meant for Lina flies through the front window of her apartment.

The rock alarms Nash. Suddenly, Lina is a target. Is Tate Dilton upset over the bar showdown or has Duncan Hugo decided to go after her?

Nash gets a letter from his father. Nash disdains his father for relying on alcohol to get him through a tough time, but he worries that he might be relying on Lina in the same way: “It’s impossible to outrun your genes” (464). Despite his best efforts, he could not help his father out of alcoholism.

Later that day, an accident on a rain-slick highway sends a young mother to the Intensive Care Unit, where her husband and two little boys begin a prayerful vigil. Nash feels helpless to protect anyone. He heads to Lina’s motel room and tells her that it would be best if she left town. He pretends to break up with her: “This isn’t working” (468). Confused, Lina agrees to leave. Nash tells her she may as well take Piper, since the dog is crazy about her. Lina realizes that Nash is lying about wanting to end things—he would never part with Piper. Pushed by Lina, Nash admits he fears that “I can’t save anyone” (471). Lina decides to go back to her old apartment and they can talk in the morning. Nash says nothing, convinced that Lina deserves better than to be someone’s “crutch” (472).

Lina goes for a walk and her tears mingle with the rain. She sees Nash come out of his apartment and impulsively runs the other way, but Nash follows her. Nash catches up and apologizes for being an “asshole” (475). Lina is not some “bad habit” he needs to break—needing each other is the best part of a relationship. Lina comes back to Nash’s apartment, and the two have sex in the shower. He feels that “You breathed life back into me” (482).