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She screamed, blood filling her vision before she was sucked back under. Barely managing to close her mouth before she took in water. Her lungs were aching. Her energy failing. Each movement felt heavier, more lethargic than the one before. Part of her just wanted to give up. To sink into peace. To make it stop.
But the rest of her was desperate to live.
For the man she’d found who made her love him.
For Harvard.
Summoning every last bit of her strength, she wrenched herself from Samantha’s hold. Only this time, she didn’t immediately rush to get out. Instead, she aimed a kick at her cousin’s stomach and almost cheered when she felt the impact. Samantha doubled over, and Rachel surged to the surface, where she grasped the side and pulled herself up.
The water wrapped around her, clinging to her like greedy hands. Determined to keep her submerged. With a cry of desperation, she hauled the top half of her body onto the tiles outside the pool. Gasping for air, she struggled to get her legs to follow. They felt as though they were filled with lead. And her fog-filled mind struggled to communicate with them.
“No,” Samantha yelled, grabbing Rachel’s ankle. “This time, we end it.”
Rachel saved her breath, not bothering to reply; instead, she kicked back with what strength she could muster. It took three attempts but, eventually, her foot connected with Sam’s face, sending her back into the water.
With a cry of rage, Rachel hauled the rest of her body out of the pool, then dragged herself across the tiles to the small table where her handbag sat.
“You selfish bitch,” Samantha screeched. “Can’t you do something for someone else, just once? Stop fighting me. Make this easy on both of us.”
Rachel glanced back to see Samantha climb out of the pool. Right beside that smiling gnome Sebastian had given her. The strange sight of her would-be killer and that freakish sculpture almost made Rachel question reality. Maybe she was already drowning, and this whole thing was just a hallucination. The walls moved in and out around her, her limbs barely moved, and her brain was a shattered mirror—reflecting pieces of thoughts rather than letting her think any one thing clearly.
“I should have given you a higher dose,” Samantha snapped as she stalked toward her.
Rachel swung back around to the small table and tugged at the handle of her bag. It toppled to the floor, spilling its contents everywhere.
“Trying to call your fiancé for help,” Samantha scoffed, her talons encircling Rachel’s ankle again. “It won’t make any difference. He won’t get here in time.”
Rachel ignored her cousin’s taunts, focusing what strength she had left on getting what she needed. Th
ere. Under the lounger. She just had to reach it.
Her arm stretched, and her fingers skimmed the butt of the gun Callum had given her.
And then she was moving again.
Being dragged on her stomach, back to the water.
“No,” Rachel shouted.
Her legs too weak to kick anymore, she was shivering from the cold and the drugs. All she could do was scrabble for anything that might slow her cousin down.
Her hand hit something solid. Cold. Her phone. She grabbed it, twisted, and threw. The phone smacked Samantha on the cheek, and she yelped. It was enough to make her loosen her hold.
Rachel lurched forward, sliding on her belly and reaching for the gun as Samantha screamed with frustration. The gun slipped into her hand, and with one last burst of adrenaline, she fired.
And missed.
For a second, Samantha looked stunned, and then she laughed. “At last, I’ve found something you can’t do.” She reached for Rachel’s leg.
“No,” Rachel shouted before squeezing the trigger over and over. But between her shaking hands and her blurred vision, her aim was completely off.
“I don’t know how I’m going to explain the bullet holes,” Sam said calmly, as though they were having a polite conversation. “But I’ll think of something.”
With nothing but hope and desperation, Rachel aimed and took her last shot.
And it hit.
Almost…
