Chapter 26
There was an insistent pounding in my head. It was nothing compared to the burning need for air. My lungs screamed for it, for me to breathe, but that wasn’t an option. Not with being trapped underwater.
Cameron’s voice was dull in my ears, but the anger and hate behind it spoke loud enough. Fighting back was pointless. Nonetheless, I persisted. I had to. Declan was on the other side, and if Andrew rescued him, he could recount what happened.
My eyes shot open as I realized he was pulling me up out of the water once more.
Oxygen was a gasp away, and I was desperate for it.
I sucked in as much as I could the moment my lips broke the surface.
Within seconds, another blow struck my face.
This one brought forth bright bursts of stars.
They exploded around me, blocking out my vision.
“You stupid, worthless bitch. I had one simple request for you, and you couldn’t even do that right. You don’t care about our son. Now you will pay.”
I’d refused to play his game and drown Jenny, basically calling his bluff.
He wouldn’t hurt Declan. Not today anyway.
I was another thing, and now his anger was off the charts.
After failing to get an erection, he abandoned rape as part of my torture.
My final punishment was what he wanted me to do to Jenny.
Drowning.
I had barely caught my breath before my head was once more held down in the tub.
I had lost count of how many times and prayed that this time he’d see it through.
I didn’t know how much fight I had left in me.
With the last of my strength fading, my mind drifted away, and I imagined myself on that beach long ago.
Except this time there was no Andrew. There was only me and the sea. Truth was, I was meant to die that night. I allowed myself to disassociate. My memory had conjured up the exact scene of that night, down to the way the waves broke against the shore. I looked around in awe.
The moon was full, and there lingered a longing inside me, a calling to surrender myself. It was an ache deeply rooted in my chest. It was different from the pain I currently experienced from not being able to breathe.
In front of me lay salvation. In my dreamlike state, I waded into the deep, dark blue water.
White foam sea-caps weaved around my feet as I walked forward.
Soft, wet sand squished between my toes, and my nightgown tangled around me, yet I walked further still.
I expected to feel fear, but in recognizing defeat, I’d freed my mind.
The waves still crashed around me, swirling angrily, but I was calm.
All of my weariness disappeared. I drifted away, feeling like I was floating on a cloud across time.
I opened my mouth with the last of my breath as the water sucked me down.
Eyes open but not seeing, time passed and my life drained from me.
Closing my eyes for the last time, I let the memories flood my mind.
Bright spring flowers swirled and formed the shape of a swan on a lake. Autumn leaves, with all the brilliant red and orange colors, drifted down and formed a pile. A white rabbit emerged, and its cute nose twitched. Winter snow fell, but it couldn’t hide the red fox as it bound toward me.
My season sisters had come to be with me in the end. They surrounded me and called my name. An incredible peace warmed me from within. I wasn’t alone anymore.
Please let this be the end.
Then, without warning, I was ripped from my dreamstate.
Pain shot through me like a bullet. I was tossed aside like a rag doll, my body hitting the cold, unforgiving floor.
My mind tried to reconcile what was happening, and I was trapped between fantasy and reality.
It was as if the waves rejected me, throwing me back on the shore somehow.
“You’re still alive! Fight, damn it!” the rabbit screamed.
“Please, you can’t leave us,” the swan cried.
“Scream louder. That’s it. Now fight,” the fox chanted.
I was hallucinating, clearly, but my girls asked me to fight.
Instinctually I sucked in air. A renewed sense of strength replaced the apathy and defeat from earlier.
Rough hands grasped me, and I did exactly that.
A fresh surge of adrenaline jolted through my body.
In my disorientated state, I reached out for something and felt an arm.
I lashed out, my nails digging into the flesh.
Scratching fiercely, I saw myself as Hercules.
I was now on a mission, intent on ensuring that I left evidence behind.
Cameron’s DNA would be under my nails. Bucking wildly in confusion because I expected to feel water covering me any second, I punched and kicked.
My vision cleared just enough to see a familiar figure with beautiful hazel eyes that were filled with concern.
Marcus?
My head twisted around, pain searing through my neck.
Through my own hazy vision, Andrew’s once gentle and kind eyes blazed with an unmistakable rage.
His brows were furrowed, his jaw clenched in a steely determination that seemed capable of tearing down mountains.
He’d transformed into a force of nature, and the air around us crackled with tension.
His nostrils flared with each heated breath he took.
He had Cameron in a headlock and moved him toward the water. I gulped, fascinated by the events unfolding. Andrew’s lips were pressed into a tight, unforgiving, thin line. He was controlled fury, a warrior, and Cameron was going to pay.
“Motherfucker, you’ll die for this,” he seethed.
His movements were sharp and precise as he lowered his head. Over and over, he dunked Cameron, and my heart rejoiced. Each gesture Andrew made was done with a lethal grace.
“You like that, you sick fuck?” he said calmly, taking in breaths as Cameron tried to fight. “Always picking on those who were weaker than you. So pathetic. Not so strong now, are you?”
His voice cut through the chaos, a deep sound that commanded attention.
Every word was laced with a chilling authority.
Andrew was far more than I’d thought him to be.
Staring, I understood he was a dangerous force when provoked.
Cameron tried to speak, but Andrew slammed his head against the side of the tub.
“Oops, sorry about that.” He shoved his head underwater.
His hands, once gentle and loving, were gripping Cameron’s neck. The muscles in his arms and shoulders flexed and rippled with unrestrained power. He glanced at me, and his lips curved upward in a sinister arc. I couldn’t help but be both terrified and in awe of the transformation.
“My son…where’s my son?” I croaked, pulling at Marcus’s shirt.
“He is with Pasha. Both of you are safe.”
Those simple words broke me, and my frantic struggling subsided. My hands and knees gave out. The knowledge that Declan was safe, that I was safe, had me slipping away into unconsciousness.
I awoke sometime later. The world around me was muted colors and hushed voices.
My eyes shot open, and for a moment, disorientation reigned. I was caught in limbo. The room swayed gently, and I blinked to clear my vision. A paramedic leaned over me. His gloved hand held a penlight, and he examined my eyes.
“I’m checking for head trauma. Can you hear me?” he asked.
His voice was professional yet soft, a soothing contrast to my earlier chaos.
I nodded weakly. Words eluded me as my mind struggled to catch up.
The throbbing pain in my head reminded me of the struggle I’d gone through.
His gaze remained fixed as he continued the assessment.
Fingers probed lightly at my neck, checking for signs of injury.
Despite being groggy, I forced myself to stay alert. My eyes combed the room. Where were Andrew and Marcus? Pasha and Declan? Who were these other people?
“I think we should take her in,” the paramedic said, speaking to a man beside me.
I couldn’t bear to be separated from Declan for another second. My heart skipped a beat. With a surge of determination, I croaked, “No…I need to stay with my son.”
The paramedic hesitated, torn. He exchanged a look with the man who studied me strangely. In the end, after answering several questions for him, he relented. His expression softened.
“She won’t be left alone,” the man spoke once more.
The paramedic nodded and stepped to the side.
I let out a sigh of relief. I was battered and bruised, but I had survived.
My place going forward was with Declan. Nothing and no one would ever come between us again.
I slowly lifted my eyes toward the rough voice of the man I was now sitting alone with. I stared at him, bewildered.
He was huge, a mountain of a man dressed all in black. Piercing aqua eyes bore into mine. In the depths of them lay determination, a hardness, and something else. I wanted to look away but was transfixed by him.
My gaze froze on the tattoo on his arm. It was in the shape of a large knife with a skull forming the blade. I cleared my throat. He nodded to someone by the door and then turned and spoke to me. I put two and two together. This had to be someone from Andrew’s crew. One of his friends.
“We’re going to take you and your son home soon.”
“Where is Declan?” I asked.
“I’m here, mummy.”
At the sound of his little voice, I sobbed.
My heart raced as I finally laid eyes on him.
He was clutching Fuzzy, wide-eyed, his beautiful face a mosaic of confusion and hope.
Pasha released his hand as I reached out.
He ran to me, throwing himself into my arms. He clung to me with all the strength a small boy could muster.
The world around me faded, and I kissed the top of his curls, inhaling the fresh, clean scent of him. Whispering words of comfort and love, I promised him right then and there that we would get through this.