Total pages in book: 238
Estimated words: 231781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1159(@200wpm)___ 927(@250wpm)___ 773(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 231781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1159(@200wpm)___ 927(@250wpm)___ 773(@300wpm)
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.