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I flail my arms as water surrounds me on all sides, but it’s to no avail. The water drags me back into the ocean, and my life plays before my eyes as I prepare to drown.
Chapter Four
Evan
A few hours earlier
As soon as I feel full from my boring cereal bowl, I realize that I acted sub-optimally when I met the new renter. She assumed my food was a welcome spread waiting for her—not that crazy of an assumption. I’ve actually toyed with the idea of leaving snacks out, but I’ve never implemented it.
I blow out a breath. In my defense, she didn’t need to be so truculent. Still, I will strongly consider apologizing if I get the chance.
Except when I start cutting the grass, there she is, even more adversarial than before.
Fuck. Why is it always the attractive ones? Forget the apology. I’ll just avoid her for the duration of her stay, which kind of sucks since we’re next door to each other, and she’s the only person younger than sixty-five in a ten-mile radius.
Whatever. Since I have the energy and the lawnmower, I cut the grass for one of my nicer, elderly neighbors—one of the few who don’t give me HOA-related grief.
When the hour is up, I make sure Brooklyn’s car is not in the garage, then cut the rental’s lawn. Afterward, I walk in to get my tools from the kitchen—and there she is.
Sally, my cat.
“How are you here?” I ask.
She slowly blinks at me, and it’s not difficult to guess what that lazy gaze is saying:
Well, duh. Using our wiles, we escaped the evil palace where our captor hides us away from the tomcat-in-shining-armor.
With a sigh, I grab Sally and the tools before heading home, where I find one of the sliding doors slightly ajar, which is probably how she got out.
“How did you open that?” I demand.
Sally swishes her tail.
Wiles, remember?
Harry, my dog, runs up to me and wags his tail with so much enthusiasm you’d think I was gone for a year.
Human dude and cat dudette. You’re both finally home. Awesome sauce.
I fill both of their food bowls, and while they eat, I get everything ready for a trip to the beach.
As soon as Harry is done with his food, he sprints over to sniff the surfboard.
Don’t forget me, bro. You know how much I like to ride them waves.
I smile. “I’m going more for you than for me, so you’re coming, don’t worry.”
I load Harry and the board into the car. As I grab my keys, Sally gives me a baleful glare.
If our evil captor so much as hints about bringing us near that obscene amount of water, eyes will be gouged.
Everything is as usual on the beach: Boone and Bonnie are sitting on the couch they found at a junkyard a week ago, and in the far distance, Calvin is walking one of his pet cows.
No. Wait. Something is different. There’s a woman lying on the sand.
Given how pale her back is, she’s either a tourist or a vampire.
Just my luck. The locals don’t mind when Harry is off leash, but she might.
