Her smile freezes. ‘You expect me to believe you?’
‘Believe what you like, I don’t care.’
She lunges forwards, snatching at the phone. We grapple, her nails tearing at my wrist as I hold the iPhone above my head. Her strength catches me by surprise and I feel myself losing balance as she tugs at my arm. Fingers pinch my skin and the phone slips from my grip and clatters to the ground inches from the cliff edge.
I dive towards it, the bare earth skinning my knees as my hand closes around it. But my relief is premature. With a roar of rage, Simone stamps on my wrist. Something snaps, a crack like a gunshot over the sound of the sea, and a searing pain shoots up my arm.
‘Give me the phone!’ she yells.
‘Over my dead body!’
I just hope I’m not tempting fate.
My arm is throbbing so much I’m seeing stars, but I half crawl, half roll towards the phone, my right hand hanging uselessly. I take a deep breath and reach out with my left hand, sensing rather than seeing Simone’s shadow blocking out the sun.
‘Simone!’
We both turn. Dominic is sprinting towards us, his eyes wide with fear.
‘What the hell’s going on?’
Simone’s hair whips across her face. ‘The little bitch was recording me. Get her phone!’
‘What? No, Simone.’ Dominic stops, his gaze tracking between us and my iPhone. Sweat beads his brow and darkens his T-shirt. He must have run from the villa when he realisedwe were both missing. But how did he know we’d be here? Unless…unless he and Simone have been colluding from the start. My mind buzzes with possibilities. Did Dominic ask me out because I reminded him of Simone, his first love? Did he invite me to Pelagia because they’d planned to frame me for Felix’s murder from the get-go?
Dominic drops to his knees beside me. ‘What’s happened to your wrist?’
‘She s-stamped on it,’ I splutter, nodding towards Simone.
‘Jesus Christ, Simone. What the fuck?’
‘Spare me the lecture, Dom. Just grab the phone and we can get out of here.’
‘No, I’m calling Demetriou. Amber needs a doctor.’
‘There are no doctors on Pelagia. She’ll be fine. It’s only a broken wrist. Get the bloody phone so I can delete the voice note.’
‘No, I?—’
‘Fuck’s sake. I’ll get it myself, shall I? Mind out of the way.’
She barges past Dom and stoops down to scoop up the phone. I grab her arm with my good hand, digging my nails into the soft skin on the inside of her wrist as hard as I can.
‘Bitch!’ she shrieks, pulling her hand back.
She loses her balance and we roll around on the ground, grappling like brawling teenagers. For a moment I think I can wriggle free. But then, as the rocky edge digs into my ribs, Simone gives a final shove and suddenly there is nothing beneath me but empty air.
67
AMBER
Time loses all meaning as I fall, and I brace myself for the impact.At least it’ll be instant. It’s my last thought as I crash onto the ground. For a moment everything goes black, but just as quickly I come to, my body throbbing as if I’ve had an argument with a steamroller and lost. Everything hurts like hell. Tentatively, I move my head from side to side, then wriggle my toes. When I try to flex the fingers of my right hand I almost faint from the pain.
I raise my head, trying to work out where I am. I’ve landed on some kind of rocky outcrop. With a jolt, I realise it’s the narrow ledge where I saw the goat the last time I was here. My right arm is useless, so I feel around with my left until there’s nothing but air. My stomach swoops. The ledge is barely wider than a hammock.
Seagulls wheel above my head, oblivious. Wincing, I prop myself up onto my good arm and look up. There’s no sign of Dominic or Simone. All I can see is the top of the lighthouse peeking over the edge of the cliff.
I’m pulling myself to a sitting position when shouts break out over the sound of the gulls.
