CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Kolan
My lungs are on fire by the time I make it back to my section of the beach, a fear I’ve never known raging deep inside my chest. It only escalates when I see the back door wide open.
“Sophie!” I jump onto the patio, my swift feet faltering as I enter my house. “Jesus!” Panic constricts my throat from the amount of blood staining my floor, her cell phone lying only feet away.
“Motherfucker!” In a fit of rage I flip over my kitchen table, the glass top shattering into a million pieces. “I’m going to fucking kill you.”
My rage echoes through the empty house as I grab the flashlight from the kitchen drawer. Hitting the panic button on my alarm, I bolt back outside and head in the opposite direction I came from, her name tearing from my throat.
She has to be close. I wasn’t gone that long.
Long enough.
I shove aside my guilt and concentrate on finding her, my flashlight moving wildly over the dark beach.
The distant sound of a motor trying to turn over catches my attention. Stopping in my tracks, I listen more carefully and try to calm the blood pounding in my ears.
After a few seconds, I hear it again.
Urgency propels me forward, the sound becoming more distinct the closer I get. I cast the light toward one of the docks in the distance and spot movement.
“Sophie!” I dig deeper, my quick feet destroying the sand beneath them.
“Shit!” I hear the heated curse just as I reach the dock and see the boat floating away while he continues to try and ignite the motor.
Vengeance boils in my blood, spinning into a black spool of rage, burning me from the inside out. I tear down the wooden plank and hurdle through the air to land in the aluminum fishing boat. It teeters on its edge, rocking wildly beneath us as I find balance.
“Stay back! Don’t come any closer.” He stands behind Sophie with an arm banded across her chest, the moonlight reflecting off the silver blade he has pointed toward her throat.
Violence pumps ruthlessly through my veins at the sight of her bound and gagged, tears mixing with the blood staining her face.
“I must admit you’re quick,” he says, his breathing more winded than mine. “I was hoping to be gone by now, but it was a struggle to get this rope around her. My sweet Sophie has turned into quite the fighter. You’ve taught her well. She even broke my nose.”
Pride fills my chest, mixing with the deep-seated anger I have locked inside. “Good. It leaves less for me to destroy, because I’m going to do a hell of a lot worse to you than what she did.” My voice is calm, contradicting the rage pounding through me.
He chuckles, the maniacal sound floating through the salty air. “Sorry, I’m going to have to take a rain check. My love and I have big plans. We have a destiny to fill.”
“You’re not taking her anywhere.”
“Yes, I am,” he snaps, his blue eyes holding an edge of darkness. “You have no say. She’s mine and she will die as mine.”
“She’s not yours. She never has been.”
“Yes, she is!” he screams back, his cool façade shredding. “She’s always been mine, and you’re going to pay for tainting her with your touch.”
I spread my arms wide, praying he takes the bait. It’s my only hope at the moment. “I’m ready, asshole. Give me your best shot.”
All I need is an opening. For him to move that knife, then I can steal my chance.
He hesitates like the coward he is.
My attention moves to Sophie, her terrified sobs penetrating the moment. “Sophie, baby, look at me.”
“Don’t you fucking do it.” He gathers a fistful of her hair, forcing her head down. “Don’t you look at him, bitch. You are mine!”
Her cry of pain shatters my control. “I swear to God, I’m going to fucking kill you. Let her go!”
“No! You are going to watch her die as mine and know we are spending eternity together.”
“It will never happen. As long as I’m still breathing, she will always be mine. She—belongs—to—me.”
“Never!” His roar tears through the night.
I wait for him to make his move, knowing it pushed him over the edge, but Sophie ends up striking first. She throws her head back, smashing it into his face.
At the sound of his enraged roar, I lunge for her but don’t make it in time. Horror seizes my chest as he knocks her over the edge. My fingers swipe the air between us, her muffled screams vanishing as she hits the water.
“Fuck!”
As my knees bend to jump in after her, he charges at me, his lanky body slamming into mine. I grab his wrist, stopping the knife inches from my face and trip over one of the seats, landing on my back.
“You’re going to die,” he snarls above me, the blade pointing down at my forehead. “You will never touch what’s mine again!”
Sending a blow to his temple that dazes him, I twist the knife in his hand then pierce it through the side of his skull, relishing in the feel of his fucking blood splattering across my face.
His eyes widen in alarm for the briefest second.
“She will never be yours, you sick fuck.” With a lift of my legs, I send him over the opposite side of the boat.
Without a moment of pause, I dive into the cold ocean, the freezing water a shock to the system, but it does nothing to penetrate the panic rushing through my veins.
I’m unable to see a goddamn thing, my hands reaching in every direction for her. I stay under for as long as I can manage, the depths of hell raging in my lungs.
I come up for air, taking in my direction from the boat then pull in another long breath, knowing it could very well be the last one I take.
I will not come back up without her.
My ears begin to ache from pressure the deeper down I swim. With every moment that passes my dread grows. Defeat stakes its claim as darkness begins to invade me.
Until my hand connects with something soft at the last second.
Grabbing hold, I bring it against me, a newfound hope surging through my blood when I feel her familiar curves. I fight my way back to the surface and clear the water on a rush.
“Soph, baby, can you hear me?” I ask through winded breath, tapping her cheek.
When there’s no response, I begin swimming back to shore, knowing there’s no way I’ll get her up on the dock myself right now. Exhaustion weighs down on me as I keep her limp body close, my tired muscles threatening to give up.
As soon as my feet touch ground, I cradle her in my arms and fight through the crashing waves. “Hang on, baby, we’re almost there,” I whisper into her hair.
Carefully, I lay her down on the sand and drop next to her to begin CPR. A few rotations pass and I get nothing—no response.
“Come on, Soph,” I grind out, relentless with my compressions.
She blurs before me, my eyes and throat burning like a motherfucker as I breathe every bit of air from my lungs into hers.
Seconds later, water spews from her mouth. Sweet fucking relief explodes through my chest as I turn her to her side. “There you go. Good girl,” I breathe, rubbing her back as she coughs and sputters, her lungs heaving for air.
My heart pounds a steady beat of fear and guilt. Thoughts of what almost happened running wildly through my mind. Sirens sound in the distance as I gather her shivering body in my arms.
“I’m sorry, I tried,” she croaks through chattering teeth.
“Shh. Don’t talk.” I burrow my face in her wet hair, feeling something hot leak from the corner of my eye. “Everything’s going to be okay. You did good, baby. I’m proud of you.”
I hold her until the paramedics show up, my chest becoming hollow once again when she’s taken from my arms.