And while the rocks seem like a safer bet, as I’ve hopped on them my entire childhood, I never experienced a chase on them before.
“Fuck it,” I mutter, ripping off my mom's expensive heels and throwing the red bottoms landing in a crease between the rocks.
“Sara!” Liam's voice suddenly crackles through the earbud, “I see you, stay where—”
I run on the thin wall, never looking down, trusting my body, trusting that I can do this and keep my balance.
Don’t tilt, don’t sway, just look straight ahead.
“Who the fuck is chasing you, Sara? I’m coming,” Liam asks, and I instantly look behind me, almost slipping and regaining my footing. Tyler is chasing me like a lunatic.
To my left, the Capitainerie comes into view, the harbor-round stone building, gray stone façade rising like salvation at the end of the other side of the village. They control every in and out of this port, and a lightbulb takes over my brain. I remember Clemat Maggy’s lounge telling me she works there, but I don’t have any time to waste, and I have to pray this will work.
“Liam,” I gasp into the earbud, my voice raw, surprising me at the fear resonating in his name. “The Capitainerie— Ask Artemis to call Clem. She has her number. Now!”
“Sara, just get to—”
“No! Listen to me,” I interrupt, desperation making my voice crack as I sway and catch myself. “Clem controls all the port lights. Tell her to flood the lighthouse wall with every spotlight they have. Every single fucking one of them!” I catch my breath, only for a second.
“Now! He’s chasing me!” I scream with terror and fervor.
“On it!” Damien says in my earbud, and I hear Liam in the background getting a hold of Clem.
“Please hurry! He’s right behind—”
Tyler’s hands reach for me, my hair inches from his fingertips, ready, but in a breathless, immediate course of action, the village erupts in light.
Brilliant, burning white light.
My chest heaves, and I shield my eyes with one hand, squinting through the brightness.
It’s beautiful, chaotic for me up here, but my village looks absolutely glorious as the lights don't just reveal me and Tyler, they expose us to everyone. Below, every single head turns in unison, like a theater audience catching the final dramatic act of a play.
I spin around, my lungs burning, and I stare right into the eyes of a man who was so convinced he could hurt me. So convinced women are below men’s strength, and I see the ironic shift in his miscalculation as he backtracks, realizing I wasn’t the easy prey he thought I’d be.
Rot in hell, asshole.
Thirty-Four
Liam
This is why I don’t do relationships; I don’t do the whole attachment bullshit. I don’t tie my heart, soul and blood to another human being because what can destroy someone more than loving them?
Having to survive without them.
As soon as I lost the connection to the earbud, I wanted to hurl and break everything around me. I knew this was a bad idea. I already lost my brother, probably to these pieces of shit, and now the one person I’ve let myself get close to, whom I swore I wouldn’t, is in their hands.
I hop into my jeep and head off onto the smaller streets, not remembering that some of them are blocked with boulders after dark. I have no choice but to run to the lighthouse.
She’s probably terrified, but if there’s one thing I know about Sara is that she’s a fighter. She’ll go to immeasurable lengths to not let others use and hurt her. I saw that in her eyes, the first time I looked at her. When Joe invited her over and introduced her to me, my gaze should’ve scared her. I should’ve made her flinch, and while I sensed her nervousness, she stood tall before me.
My beautiful girl.
I run like a madman through the village, my boots pounding against the cobblestone streets. My lungs burn, but I push harder, faster, because every second matters.
I finally spot them up on the wall. I can’t tell who the man is at first, but as I get closer, my eyes bulge out as I make out the snake Tyler is right before the lights came on.
She’s a little genius.
