Chapter 16
“You’re gonna lose your house if you don’t secure it against this storm,” Granger pointed out.
“I don’t care. I don’t trust you. Turn out your pockets.”
Granger instantly turned out his jeans pockets, and one of the security goons came over and patted him down.
“At least take me to dinner first,” Granger said as the guard cupped his balls.
“Nothing on him,” the guard said resentfully. “And no room in her dress for anything.”
“I don’t want to see you again,” Chamberlain snapped. “Let this be the end of the matter.”
“Fine by me. The cooking sucked here anyways.”
But as he left, he had one more parting shot.
“This fucking pervert has been hiding in the other room and watching women changing into Siren costumes,” Granger said, gesturing back at Hayden. “And his sister knew about it. Maybe someone should investigate that.”
He pulled us out of the pool house just as the back wall collapsed, then slapped my ass and pointed me toward the beach path.
The wind was howling as pieces began to tear off Hollingsworth House, and at last the guests became aware of the danger, and they began to stream away from their little beach tables.
At least I didn’t see any Sirens around. Thank god they’d all left earlier.
The waves were whipping into a foam, and I couldn’t see more than a few hundred yards out to the ocean.
My fingers felt frozen with the cold spray, my dress sopping wet and heavy against my ankles.
Tiles began to shear off the buildings, and I ran, the flute clutched in my frozen hands.
Getting closer! But what would I find when I arrived?
As my feet dug into the cold sand, I heard a terrifying crunching sound, and I saw the left side of Hollingsworth House begin to crumble.
I tried to go fast as I could to the guesthouse to wait for Granger, but my skirt was weighing me down so much that I could barely move.
At last I tore at it with trembling, angry hands, ripping it at the waist and leaving it on the ground, stepping out like a chrysalis.
Had that ever been a genuine opportunity?
When I got to the guesthouse, it took an effort to open the door, but all my packed bags were gone.
Had Granger taken them?
I went back outside to the howling of the storm, and I saw waves were rushing in faster and faster now.
What was going to happen?
The waves were washing over the roadway that led to Hollingsworth House now.
Oh my god, where was Granger?
I didn’t know which way to go. To the left the big house was splintering apart, and to the right the spray and surf was so high that I couldn’t even see a path out. And even if I could, the rocks were too slippery and dangerous.
Shit shit shit.
“Granger?” I screamed out into the wind.
The rain was lashing my face like crazy, making me so disoriented that I wanted to puke. I was no match for this storm.
My baby and I were going to die out here, and I wanted more than anything to live, to see if the baby looked like me or like Granger.
To give our baby the kind of happy childhood I’d never gotten.
But why had I trusted Granger?
A man who I knew damn well was a manipulative liar and a cheater.
He had probably gone to save Pippa and take her to some luxury hotel, while I was going to die here.
“Sosie!” someone called, and I whirled around to see Hayden striding up the soaked path toward me.
There was an angry frown on his face.
“You’re going to pay for this. This is going to ruin my sister’s career and my family name.”
“Shouldn’t have been peeping at my tits,” I snarled back, discovering my fortitude just when I was alone in a storm, with no help around.
He gripped my hair and ran me into the sheer rock of the cliff behind me. I only managed to put my hands up at the last minute, but the sharp edge scraped all down my face.
“Stop!” I screamed, beating at his head with my fists, but he was too powerful, and he turned me around and aimed my head at the rocks again!
I shrieked even louder, and suddenly, Hayden staggered forward, and was violently knocked down onto the rocks.
“Hello, songbird,” Granger said, his voice cool as the very devil himself.
“Isn’t it sad that in the storm he slipped on these slick rocks? Tragic, really. But not unexpected.”
“But—”
“Did you really think I was going to let him live after he dared to look at you? No, darling, I’m afraid not.”
“I didn’t even know if you were going to come back for me.”
He tutted.
“Sosie, I’ll always come for you.”
“You’ve spent the entire time since I’ve been back fucking another woman!”
He grinned. Granger was completely soaked, his blonde curls plastered to his face, but his smile was as irrepressible as ever.
“Hush now. You know I never loved her. Wasn’t this all worth it?”
And he put strong fingers between my breasts and drew out something that sparkled like scarlet sun rays after a storm.
“Keep it tucked right there. You did good.”
I should reject it, I should reject him.
If I went along with this, I would be throwing my lot in with a common thief, a grifter, a con man.
“Are you going to be faithful? I don’t even think you know how.”
He kissed me.
“Sosie, I knew from the first moment I saw you that I was going to give you whatever those big green eyes wanted. You were such a good girl to wait while I fucked another woman to get it. Now you get your reward. We’re gonna sell these and get us the biggest, most beautiful houseboat you’ve ever seen and the three of us are gonna ride around fiddling and playing the flute and go wherever we damn well please. ”
“And if I go with you, hell, what are the chances you end up in jail by the end of the year?” I demanded.
He grinned, ran a knuckle across my wet cheek.
“Guess that’s a risk you’ll just have to take. Are you willing to?”
I bit my lip, but had there ever been any doubt?
“Well, how are we gonna get out of here? I’m afraid the road is washed out by Hollingsworth House.”
“Right up here,” he said.
“But it’s a sheer cliff wall!”
“I did all the renovations here. Which means you could never lock this guesthouse tight enough against me and that I was always prepared to make a getaway.”
“With me?”
“Of course,” he said, giving me a kiss, his fingers cradling my head. Tight. Possessive. Predatory.
“Get on my back.”
And I obeyed, clinging on, both of our sopping wet bodies pressed tight enough to join each other’s skin. Granger stretched for a handhold in the cliff face, and we began to climb.
Step by step, deep grooves and cuts appearing into the cliff face at exactly the right place.
I heard screams as I climbed, as Hollingsworth House crumbled behind us, but I didn’t look back.
And when we reached the top, Granger set me down gently, very gently, and kissed me again.
“Let’s get the hell out of here, sweetheart. Forever begins today.”
THE END
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