I looked at her next to me, seeing a little blood on her face, and I quickly dabbed it, trying to get it off.
But she stopped me. “I had to fight back,” she told me. “Now he knows. Now he knows it will never go unanswered again.”
And I pulled her into me, squeezing her so tight.
She was like us. I would say the exact same thing, and even though I hated to risk losing her, she wasn’t a flower.
And now I understood why Michael let Rika be at his side in everything they did. She wanted to feel this, too.
That didn’t mean I couldn’t defend her honor, though.
Now, it was my turn.
“Come here, motherfucker.” I made my way for Martin, but when I turned, he was pushing off the ground and running.
Where the hell did he think he was going?
He raced for the entrance, but Damon spun around, quickly ushering Winter into Rika’s care as he faced Martin, ready to stop him.
I ran for him, and Martin stopped, looking for a way out as he twisted toward me and then back to Damon, realizing he was trapped.
Going the only way he had left, because he was too stupid to give up, he dove between the Ferris wheel and the utility building, probably thinking he’d lose us under the cover of the rides and game booths.
Damon went left, I went right, both of us charging after him into the darkness with the coast looming beyond the cliffs. I rounded the Ferris wheel, looking left and right, and then saw him running along Cold Point in the pitch-black night.
I growled, digging in my heels and running so hard my muscles burned. I reached my hand out, only about four feet of clearance between me and the cliff dropping off into the sea, and pushed him, seeing him stumble to the ground before I came down on top of him. I punched him, we rolled, and he straddled me, climbing off and scurrying back.
I rose to my feet, the sea at my back, and he stared at me, turning his head and seeing Damon come up from behind, trapping him again.
His eyes shot to mine, and I could see it in his gaze.
The rage. The defiance.
I saw the moment his lips tightened, he inhaled, and his eyes sharpened, resolving what he had to do in his head, the decision made.
Oh, shit.
He charged, and I didn’t have time to move out of the way before he rammed his body into mine, sending us both flying over the edge.
My heart jumped into my throat. Emmy…
Screams pierced the air above, and I stopped breathing, my mind paralyzed with so much fear I wanted to cry out.
No, no, no…
I almost closed my eyes, but I refused. I was going to look that fucker in the face, not giving him the satisfaction of my fear.
This was it.
We fell away from each other, but I kept my eyes locked on him.
I love you, Em. I love—
I crashed to the surface, white flashing behind my eyes and every nerve in my body sizzling like the end of an open wire. I floated, feeling the fade, the echoes quieting as I drifted further and further away.
White, white…and gone.
But then, all of a sudden, pain wracked through my body, my neck, and every joint, and I popped my eyes open, sucking in a huge breath.
It wasn’t air I drew in. Water filled my mouth, and I thrashed, looking around and seeing the ocean—above, below, and all around.
We’d landed in the water. Not the rocks.
I started choking, and I didn’t have time to take inventory of my limbs or where Martin was. I had to breathe.
Kicking my legs and crawling with my arms, I popped through the surface, sputtering water and coughing as I tried to clear my lungs. Finally, I took in one big gulp of air, hearing the wave behind me. I twisted around, and I didn’t have time to take another breath before the wave crashed down on me.
I was pushed under the water, carried with the current, and I looked down, seeing the abyss below.
I tilted my eyes up, seeing the moon through the water.
A sob lodged in my chest, reaching for the surface, but I couldn’t get to it. I knew this feeling.
The weight of the cinderblock around my ankle, feeling the slack stretch, and the sudden jerk as I was yanked down, and no matter how much I flailed and how hard I swam, I couldn’t outpower it.
I swam and swam, fighting for the top before the waves pushed me into the rocks, but then something grabbed my foot, and I kicked, seeing Martin pull himself up and lock an arm around my neck.
Bubbles poured out of my mouth as I growled, feeling us sinking as the air expelled from our bodies.
I struggled and fought. What the hell was he doing?
But I knew.
He wasn’t giving himself up, and he was taking me with him.
I twisted and thrashed, trying to pry his arms off me, but without any leverage to push off, we just kept falling.
I bit and hunched forward, trying to throw him away from me, but my lungs tightened and screamed, and I just wanted to open my mouth and take in air, but as I looked up, I couldn’t see the moon anymore.
I couldn’t see anything but the black as the cold covered us, swallowing us up.
Em.
I kept my eyes on the surface as it grew farther and farther away, my body part of the depths now. Too far gone to go back.
Just like the SUV filling up when we crashed into the river. Knowing it was only moments.
The air was gone, I could feel the fight in my chest for oxygen, and the cool comfort of the water.
I closed my eyes. Do you still want to hold me? she asked.
I could hear her in my head. I love you, Will.
No.
I popped my eyes open, fighting.
No.
I shot my head back, hitting his nose with my skull and swimming out of his grasp as he let go.
He grabbed me, and I climbed for the surface, but I couldn’t get far as he held on tight. He clutched my arm, and I couldn’t shake him off, the surface there if I could just get to it.
He had to let me go.
Sweeping behind him, I grabbed his face, his hand still clutching my arm and refusing to release me.
Fuck.
I dug my fingers into his skin, hesitating only a moment, and then…I twisted, feeling the neck snap in my hands.
They shook as his body went limp and fell out of my grasp, sinking to the bottom of the ocean as bubbles left his mouth.
I watched him go for a moment, making sure he was dead, and then I swam hard, one arm after another as I shot through the surface and sucked in a lungful of air.
I coughed, every inch of my body aching as I caught my breath and looked up at Cold Point.
I closed my eyes. “I survived,” I panted, starting to laugh. “Holy shit.”
How the hell was I going to get back up there?
I swam hard for the rocks, trying to beat the wave coming in, and climbed up onto a boulder, pulling myself up with my weakened arms.
I fisted my hands and tensed every muscle, making sure I was in one piece.
Looking up at the cliff, I noticed dark figures and flashlights beaming down, but then I saw something trailing down the cliff wall toward me.
I hopped over the rocks, making my way to the edge, and spotted a rope with knots for climbing.
Where did they get that?
I didn’t wait, though. Glancing behind me and making sure Martin was still buried under the water, I started climbing, pinching each knot with my shoes and hands as I hiked myself up one rung after another.
Emmy.
Everything hurt, but nothing had ever felt better.
I smiled. It was over. God, it was over.
Nothing could stop me. Not my exhausted limbs or the cold or the bruises and cuts.