That churning now calm.
“Jesus.” My glare snapping back to where Glassman was chest-deep. “Get out! Get out of there!”
Glassman reached for one of the gold bars, his face contorted into triumph. The boat tipped as he pulled on the side of it to clamber up—capsizing it.
He surfaced, this time trying to climb onto the upside-down boat, struggling to make it.
Glancing at Anya, I turned my focus back on the man who was frantically trying to pull himself out of the water while his hands kept slipping off the base.
And then he wasn’t there.
There was splashing. Violent thrashing. Water circling.
Grabbing Anya, I turned her the other way, not allowing her to see the horror of it.
Not that far away, a heron watched on with cold indifference, uniquely mastered by nature.
Gliding my flashlight over the swamp, those grey murky waters, I stared at the ripples expanding and then calming.
A circle of bubbles lifted to the surface.
A gator.
An eerie stillness followed.
The upside-down boat drifted into the darkness.
A chorus continued as though the creatures didn’t even care.
Anya leaned against me, and I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her close and closer still, knowing the swamp had taken him.
Anya
Drenched in terror, I clung to Cassius as we stood on the bank looking out at the surface of the water, glassy and now still.
I didn’t know how to feel and didn’t know what to think anymore as my eyes scanned the surface of the green water.
Unsure of these feelings. The loss heavy even as his cruelty left shadows within me. He’d planned on letting me die—ironically at the hands of the man who stood beside me.
The man who’d ended up saving me instead.
“It was quick, right?” I asked, even now conflicted at the horror of that kind of death.
“It was, Anya.”
Even after all Stephen had done, my heart searched for understanding.
“Where are they?” I whispered.
Cassius grimaced in pain.
And I then realized. “You were shot? Are you okay?”
Pressing his hand to his side, he reassured me. “Flesh wound. A graze, really.”
“Let me see.” I tugged at his shirt and pulled it up. By some miracle, the bullet had left only a superficial wound. “We need to get you to a hospital.”
He frowned. “I’m fine, I’m more concerned about you.”
“Cassius, you have to tell me where they are.”
“Stop.” He stepped into me, his arm reaching out, his fingers touching my jaw and tipping my face up. “They’re fine. I’ll take you to them, but first I need to do this.”
He cupped my face, and his lips touched mine. He breathed life back into me with a brutal kiss. Like he thought he would never kiss me again.
Against my mouth, he whispered, “I love you. I love you so fucking much it scares me. I thought—”
I stopped him with my own mouth then. There was no need to talk about what-ifs. We had both lived through this and had survived because of each other.
His arms wrapped tight around me, and we lost ourselves in this embrace for a moment. Our kiss spoke of all the pain we had been through but had come out stronger, having endured this together.
“I love you too,” I responded against his lips. After our mouths pulled apart, my eyes stung a bit but I felt a surge of so much emotion for this man standing in front of me. “I am unequivocally in love with you Cassius.”
Neither of us moved for a beat, letting the moment wash over us. Then, when we were sure this was real, Cassius pulled back. “I know what you need.”
“To see Archie.”
“He’s at the house.”
Relief washed over me that he was safe.
“And the others,” he whispered.
Words stuck on my tongue as the reality set in. I was going to meet the real Anya. The real Archie. I was going to see them.
“If they are back in the world,” I whispered, pushing the fears out of my mouth, “who does that make me?”
“It makes you Anya. It makes you mine. It makes you the strongest woman I know.”
Interlocking our fingers, we walked back the way we’d come, nudging the moss out of our way.
“I’ll come back for the car,” he said.
In a daze, he maneuvered me forward with a gentle arm until we were back on his estate, back on familiar property.
A place I considered home.
We walked past the maze and swapped a knowing smile with each other.
Ridley was heading our way to meet us and beside him, walked Archie. My brother took off in a run toward us, trying to get to me, opening his arms and slamming into my chest in the biggest hug he’d ever given me.
“What happened?” He crushed his face against me.
“It’s over.”
“Dad—Stephen, he was going to hurt you—”
I nodded. “Yes, he’s dead. We’re free.”
“We’re free? We can go out and things?”
“We can go out.”
Archie looked as dazed and confused as me. Lost. Like he had stumbled out of the maze behind us, disoriented from the hell he had escaped.
“Dad told me you were at a friend’s house,” I asked him.
“No, I overheard Dad arguing with Ridley about you—” He glanced Ridley’s way—“so I looked up his number and went to his office.”
“You ran away?” My voice was wistful, proud of his bravery.
“I came looking for you.” Archie fell into my arms again and hugged me like he’d never let go. “He told me Cassius was protecting you.”
“What do you need?” I asked him. “What can I get you?”
“Just seeing you’re safe is all I need.”
“You’re the best brother.”
Archie looked nervously toward the door.
“What’s wrong?”
“Do you want to clean up first?” asked Cassius.
“What?” And then I realized what he was insinuating and looked toward the house. “They’re in there?”
“Yes,” he replied warmly.
Cassius stepped toward Archie and placed a supportive hand on his shoulders. “You’ll always have a place with us.”
I watched Cassius as he kindly reassured my brother.
With us, he was telling him he could live with us—if he wanted.
I knew Cassius loved me, but still, I wasn’t sure what that meant. I had hoped, but as my heart thumped rapidly in my chest, I was scared of what he really meant.
He turned and pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my head. “I’ll fight for the rest of my life to make you happy, Anya.”
Tears welled in my eyes, and I bit back a sob.
“Thank you,” I mouthed, the words lodged in my throat.
“Ready?” He gestured toward the house.
Taking a deep, cleansing breath, I walked that way with him and drew on Cassius’s strength as he led me inside the house. We made our way toward where Glassman’s children were waiting.
Grief stuck in my throat for what we’d have to tell them.
Turning the corner, we entered the room.
The hairs on my nape prickled.