Book Five: Save Yourself — 6.

At night, Daphne Nighswander barrels north in her battered 1970 Shelby “Boss Snake,” a barely legal car that howls with wind through rusted holes. She keeps a blanket over her lap and her Sig hidden beneath it, prepared for violence as she chases her headlights into the dark.

The car’s fickle radio sporadically flares to life, offering eerie snippets—a militant preacher, odd news—before fading. In the restless hours, Daphne is joined by the specter of her burned daughter, Jayne, who needles her about old grievances and lost years spent in prison.

Jayne fixates on Gwen’s theft of Daphne’s grandson, Jett, and on Tana’s refusal to let Daphne near the boy. Daphne recalls once hearing Jett screech in the background of a call, the only evidence of his existence she’s ever had. Jayne pushes Daphne toward escalating cruelty, suggesting there will be bullets left over—for Tana’s child.

As the Boss Snake rattles over a metal bridge and the radio surges with a Judas Priest song, Daphne and Jayne recite a revenge litany: Allison Shiner, Colin Wren, Donna McBride, Gwen “Underfoot.” Daphne adds Jett to the list “if it’s not too much trouble,” resolving to deal with “the others” first.

Lit by the radio’s dying glow, Daphne commits herself to a ruthless course: she will not let her grievances go. The chapter closes with her vow echoing the car’s shriek, solidifying the imminent threat to Gwen’s circle—and possibly to Jett.