And the entire time, he was the one who killed Violet. Hands I held were tainted with her blood.
He was the subject of every nightmare I ever had, and I didn’t even know it.
“Of course I did. But even then, you were surrounded by protection. Men who would see right through me if I didn’t play my cards right. Especially Sawyer. He watched you like a hawk. But he was a fool, too. Blinded by his own jealousy. Still, I was patient. I played the good guy. I helped. And eventually, I got that taste I wanted. Part of it, anyway.” He reaches forward and runs his thumb over my lip.
That bile rises again.
“But then you went and ruined it.” He grips my face with such force I cry out. “You threw me aside for that SEAL. You know, I do love you. I would have given you a good life. You could have been my wife. We could have had children. You didn’t have to die like she did. But you need to be punished now.”
“You disgust me,” I spit out. “The very idea that I ever cared for you makes me want to vomit!”
His hand cracks across my cheek. “You will pay for every dismissal. And then, I’m going back for your SEAL. By now, they’ll know it was me. So they can’t live. None of them can.”
“They will kill you before you can even set foot back on dry land.”
He stands. “I’m a patient man, Anastasia. I waited eighteen years for you. I can wait just long enough that they’ll no longer see me coming. But first, you and I have some business to tend to.” He withdraws a knife, and I fight the bindings holding me.
He brings it down and slices the bindings at my ankles, then the ones at my wrists. I waste no time. Ignoring the pain in my side, I slam my face into his. Stars explode behind my eyes, white-hot pain spreading through me.
But he stumbles backward. I jump up and reach for the door. I yank it open and rush out onto the deck.
Salty sea air sprays me, and I slip on the wet deck, going down with a hard thud.
“Anastasia!” Jack bellows. He steps out onto the deck with me, the knife in his hand. “You keep making all the wrong choices. You have nowhere to run!”
“I think I made the right ones!” Rain cascades down on us as the thrashing waves pound into the boat. “Especially if they kept me from marrying a monster!”
I’m knocked to the side when a wave hammers the boat, and it’s a fight to get back on my feet.
Lord, please. Please, God.
The waters are black. The sky overhead is black.
But do I have a better option? I used to be a strong swimmer. Maybe I stand a chance at survival. And if not? Drowning is a lot better than what he’s going to do to me.
Jack walks toward me, so I lunge toward the left and grab the boat hook secured just below the railing. I turn and swing with all of my strength.
Lightning flashes right as his hand catches it.
He rips it from my grasp and throws it to the side.
“You are going to suffer—greatly.”
Lightning flashes again, illuminating the boat. Right as a man, dressed in a black wetsuit, pulls himself up over the ledge.
My heart leaps.
Sawyer! Even in the dim light above the cabin door, I recognize him. Lightning flashes again, and the ferocity in his murderous gaze is something I will never forget. Jack hasn’t noticed him yet, so I force myself to focus only on the man who killed my friend.
“Please don’t do this, Jack.”
“Go ahead and beg all you want, Anastasia. It won’t mean a thing.” He reaches behind him and pulls out his gun, then aims it at me. “Now, get up, or I’ll add another bullet hole. I don’t need you to survive long. Just long enough.”
Sawyer slams into Jack, knocking him forward. The gun flings to the side—right down into the dark waters. He pins him to the deck, but a wave slams into the side of the boat, and Sawyer is tossed to the side.
Jack is on him in an instant while I scan for another weapon. Something—anything that can help.
Lightning flashes, and the little cabin light dies, plunging us into complete darkness.
