Chapter Thirty-Three
Cold water rushed over Rachel’s head as she sank beneath the surface. The shock of it threw her situation into stark relief. The cousin she’d thought cared about her was trying to kill her. And she might just succeed.
Gathering what little strength she had, she kicked upward. Her only hope was to break away from Samantha and call for help before the drug rendered her helpless.
Again.
As her fingers broke the surface of the water, a hand clasped her ankle and pulled her back down into the deep center of the pool. She forced her eyes open, to see Samantha grinning maniacally as the skirt of her dress billowed in the water around her. It was as if Rachel was looking at a strange underwater fashion shoot. Her cousin’s beauty and the surrealness of the situation made it hard to fathom. And with that thought came the dull realization that the drug she’d been given was making it difficult to think clearly.
She had to escape before she couldn’t think at all.
A rush of pure adrenaline coursed through her and, with herculean effort, she punched and fought and kicked until the hold on her ankle loosened. Lungs burning, she swam the short distance to the surface, her clothes weighing her down and her shoes long gone.
Hope surged through her as air hit her face, only for it to be dashed as hands clasped her shoulders and pulled her back under. She’d barely had time to take in a breath before she was trapped underwater again, with Samantha holding her down.
She tried to twist out of her cousin’s grasp, but the drug slowed her movements, and it seemed impossible to break free. She was going to die in that pool. In the water she stared at every night. Even if she got out of there alive, she’d never be able to look at the pool again. It was one more thing her cousin had stolen from her.
Which made her furious.
And rage gave her a renewed burst of strength. Desperate, she kicked out, catching her cousin’s thigh and sending her toward the bottom of the pool. It wasn’t far, but it gave her a few seconds to escape. Rachel didn’t hesitate. She clawed her way through the water, scrambling for the side. But as her fingers clutched the tile, harsh hands shoved her face into the hard edge of the pool.
She screamed, blood filling her vision before she was sucked back under. Barely managing to close her mouth before she took in water. Her lungs were aching. Her energy failing. Each movement felt heavier, more lethargic than the one before. Part of her just wanted to give up. To sink into peace. To make it stop.
But the rest of her was desperate to live.
For the man she’d found who made her love him.
For Harvard.
Summoning every last bit of her strength, she wrenched herself from Samantha’s hold. Only this time, she didn’t immediately rush to get out. Instead, she aimed a kick at her cousin’s stomach and almost cheered when she felt the impact. Samantha doubled over, and Rachel surged to the surface, where she grasped the side and pulled herself up.
The water wrapped around her, clinging to her like greedy hands. Determined to keep her submerged. With a cry of desperation, she hauled the top half of her body onto the tiles outside the pool. Gasping for air, she struggled to get her legs to follow. They felt as though they were filled with lead. And her fog-filled mind struggled to communicate with them.
“No,” Samantha yelled, grabbing Rachel’s ankle. “This time, we end it.”
Rachel saved her breath, not bothering to reply; instead, she kicked back with what strength she could muster. It took three attempts but, eventually, her foot connected with Sam’s face, sending her back into the water.
With a cry of rage, Rachel hauled the rest of her body out of the pool, then dragged herself across the tiles to the small table where her handbag sat.
“You selfish bitch,” Samantha screeched. “Can’t you do something for someone else, just once? Stop fighting me. Make this easy on both of us.”
Rachel glanced back to see Samantha climb out of the pool. Right beside that smiling gnome Sebastian had given her. The strange sight of her would-be killer and that freakish sculpture almost made Rachel question reality. Maybe she was already drowning, and this whole thing was just a hallucination. The walls moved in and out around her, her limbs barely moved, and her brain was a shattered mirror—reflecting pieces of thoughts rather than letting her think any one thing clearly.
“I should have given you a higher dose,” Samantha snapped as she stalked toward her.
Rachel swung back around to the small table and tugged at the handle of her bag. It toppled to the floor, spilling its contents everywhere.
“Trying to call your fiancé for help,” Samantha scoffed, her talons encircling Rachel’s ankle again. “It won’t make any difference. He won’t get here in time.”
Rachel ignored her cousin’s taunts, focusing what strength she had left on getting what she needed. There. Under the lounger. She just had to reach it.
Her arm stretched, and her fingers skimmed the butt of the gun Callum had given her.
And then she was moving again.
Being dragged on her stomach, back to the water.
“No,” Rachel shouted.
Her legs too weak to kick anymore, she was shivering from the cold and the drugs. All she could do was scrabble for anything that might slow her cousin down.
Her hand hit something solid. Cold. Her phone. She grabbed it, twisted, and threw. The phone smacked Samantha on the cheek, and she yelped. It was enough to make her loosen her hold.
Rachel lurched forward, sliding on her belly and reaching for the gun as Samantha screamed with frustration. The gun slipped into her hand, and with one last burst of adrenaline, she fired.
And missed.
For a second, Samantha looked stunned, and then she laughed. “At last, I’ve found something you can’t do.” She reached for Rachel’s leg.
“No,” Rachel shouted before squeezing the trigger over and over. But between her shaking hands and her blurred vision, her aim was completely off.
“I don’t know how I’m going to explain the bullet holes,” Sam said calmly, as though they were having a polite conversation. “But I’ll think of something.”
With nothing but hope and desperation, Rachel aimed and took her last shot.
And it hit.
Almost…
The bullet skimmed the side of Samantha’s head, leaving a line of red across her temple. Stunned, she staggered back, her hand lifting to the wound. The look of absolute horror on her face when her fingers came away bloody might have been comical under other circumstances. But nothing about this situation was funny.
With pure stubbornness to drive her, Rachel dragged herself across the tile toward her cousin. And while Samantha stood there in bewildered shock, Rachel kicked at her knee.
It was weak. But it was effective.
Samantha’s legs buckled, and she staggered backward. With a scream, she hit the gnome, and together they tumbled into the pool.
Rachel didn’t wait around for her to surface again. She had to get somewhere safe to wait for Harvard. He would come for her. She knew it.
Half crawling, half dragging herself across the floor, Rachel made it through the open doorway and down the few steps to the hall. There was no way she could stand; her strength was gone, and she was close to losing consciousness. All she could do was pray she managed to stay awake until she made it somewhere that Samantha couldn’t get to her.