Chapter 78
CHAPTER 78
PHIL
Jason skidded to a stop, mid-stride. “How did you get?—”
Untied , Phil thought, realizing he was free. The rope no longer bound his wrists. Scrambling to his feet, Phil barreled toward Jason, anxious to choke the life from him.
But his legs felt rubbery and numb from sitting so long. On his feet, he felt wobbly and wondered if the GHB had some sort of time-released effect, making him disoriented.
Jason swung at him, landing a blow against his chin.
Phil stumbled back, slipping on wet, dead leaves, struggling to keep his balance. If he fell, if Jason somehow got the upper hand, Phil knew he would kill him. Jason’s self-preservation instincts would kick in, or he’d change his mind, and he’d decide he didn’t want to kill himself.
And what would happen to Sarah?
Jason would kill her. She might be able to fight him off for a while, but eventually, Jason would overpower her. Phil couldn’t let that happen. Wouldn’t let that happen, even though he owed Sarah nothing, considering the part she’d played in betraying him fifteen years ago. She’d taken her share of the money Alex had scammed from his father.
He should hate her.
Or, at least, he shouldn’t give a damn about what would happen to her.
But after all these years, there was still something about Sarah that entranced and intrigued him. He remembered asking Alex if she had a boyfriend and professing his interest in dating her.
Phil had planned to.
But he’d never got the chance.
Alex had robbed him of the opportunity.
Jason hit him again, his fist glancing Phil’s jaw, hard enough to send Phil skittering toward the cave wall, where he tripped over Alex’s outstretched legs, falling to one knee next to her foot before using his other leg to rise to his feet and regain his footing.
Pivoting, Phil ran toward Jason. With his foot, Phil made a wide sweeping arc across the ground, slamming his toe against Jason’s ankle.
“Fuck!” Jason cried out.
Slamming his fist into the center of Jason’s face, Phil allowed the momentum of the blow to carry him forward. Slipping an arm around Jason’s neck, Phil jerked him downward, doubling him over in a semi-choke hold. Jason fought back, using his elbows, trying to ram Phil’s gut. Holding his stomach, absorbing the blows, Phil pummeled the side of Jason’s face and the back of his head.
“You sick, worthless piece of shit!” Phil yelled. “I should kill you! I should break your neck!”
“Then do it!” Jason taunted, continuing to struggle as Phil fought to hold him. “Kill me!”
“Remember what I told everyone at dinner last night?” Phil said, punching Jason’s ear. “I’m going to destroy you. I’m going to ruin your useless life! I can’t do that if you’re dead. You need to be alive to?—”
Jason’s elbow slammed against his side, sending blinding pain through Phil’s lower extremities. Screaming, Phil loosened his hold on Jason, grabbing his side, slipping on leaves, losing his balance. He hit the ground hard, banging his hip. Groaning, wincing at the radiating pain, Phil tried to maneuver onto his hands and knees.
“Phil!” Sarah shouted. “Watch out! Behind you!”
Phil glanced over his shoulder as Jason pounced.
On the cave floor, they wrestled in the damp, dank dirt, each trying and failing to get the best of each other, trading punches, screaming and cursing until Jason spit at Phil. Instinctively, Phil closed his eyes. Jason flipped Phil over, pinning him to the ground, hands around his throat.
“It wasn’t supposed to be this way!” Jason snarled, pressing his thumbs against Phil’s trachea. “You weren’t supposed to die!”
Gagging and coughing, Phil grabbed Jason’s wrists, desperate to remove his hands.
“You wanted to ruin us!” Jason said, gritting his teeth as he grimaced. “But I had given you something better than that! The death of your enemies!”
Kicking his feet against the ground, Phil jerked side to side, trying to get Jason off him, feeling his lungs burn as he struggled to breathe, dizziness starting to overtake him.
“But you didn’t want that!” Jason howled. “You wanted revenge! I could have given you?—”
The gleaming, sharp tip of a knife burst through Jason’s Adam’s apple.
Blood sprayed forth, drenching Phil’s face as it rained from the wound and slipped from Jason’s mouth.
Horrified, Phil screamed, pushing Jason away from him.
Gurgling and gasping, Jason twitched and writhed, legs thrashing, body twisting as he grasped at his throat, hands coated with blood.
Seconds later, Jason stopped moving.
Phil turned.
“Oh my God … “ Sarah whispered. “I killed him.”
.