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The painful tightness around her throat at first made her cough. She tried to swallow, but her throat wouldn’t work properly. Her feet tried to gain purchase as she was unbalanced, but she was propelled backwards with a force that left her stunned and unable to fight for freedom. The restriction around her neck made it so very difficult to breathe. Desperate fingers clawed at the ligature, but she couldn’t get it released enough so she could swallow the bile that rose in her throat. Within seconds, stars began to dance behind her eyes. Her mouth opened as she tried to scream but all that came out was a watery gurgle.
The world around her began to fade. Bending as far back as she could without falling over, she looked up but could see nothing but leaves and branches of the trees high above, behind which brilliant blue sky promised warmth of a day that would never be hers. With a sigh, all of her thoughts turn to Jeb, and the love she felt for him that would never be spoken.
Unable to do anything else, she gave into the suffocating blackness that sucked her under.
Jeb cursed when nobody answered the front door. He threw a dark look at his colleague, and made his way around the back of Delilah’s house with a scowl on his face.
“Do you think she is not in or not answering?” Barnaby asked as he followed.
Jeb shook his head and threw him a warning look when he saw the half-open kitchen door. They silently withdrew their guns.
Something wasn’t right. The place was too quiet; too still.
“Hello?” Barnaby called.
“Sophia?” Jeb pushed the kitchen door open and stepped cautiously into the kitchen.
Leaving Jeb to search downstairs, Barnaby hurried through the house and rushed up the stairs.
“Nothing,” he reported as he made his way back down.
“There is nobody down here either,” Jeb said. “They must be in the garden.”
“I took a look earlier and didn’t see anyone,” Barnaby replied, but suspected Jeb hadn’t heard him because he was already stalking down the garden.
The various shrubs, trees, and plants did little to provide any hiding places, though, and it quickly became evident that the garden was as empty as the house.
“Hello? Sophia? Delilah?” he called as he came to a stop at the end of the grass.
It was then that a flurry of movement in the trees caught his attention. His eye widened. His world ground to a halt as he eyed a bundle of clothing on the floor, and a thick mop of glossy dark hair that was so achingly familiar.
He knew, even without looking, that it was Sophia.
He started to walk before he even realised he was moving. Barnaby flew past him and dropped to his knees beside her. Jeb watched in a haze of terror as his friend removed the cruel ligature from around Sophia’s neck. The sight of her body slumping lifelessly over as Barnaby turned her onto her back was something that would remain with him for the rest of his life. It was the most horrific thing he had ever witnessed in his life. His gaze lifted to the woman standing not but three feet away and, in that moment, felt a feral rage unlike no other.
“Stay away, Jeb,” Barnaby warned when Jeb rushed at Delilah.
Delilah stared at the gun Barnaby held as though she had never seen one before in her life but made no attempt to run.
“Stand still. Don’t move and don’t speak,” Barnaby ordered.
“Get away from me,” Delilah snapped, taking several steps backwards.
“Joe!” Barnaby yelled, hoping his colleague would still be nearby. He had been on his way to help Marcus with the corpse.
Joe appeared within minutes.
“Make sure she doesn’t run,” Barnaby ordered and turned his attention to the woman on the floor.
“Sophia?” Jeb’s voice cracked at the sight of the brutal ligature marks around her neck and bent down until his ear almost touched her mouth. He closed his eyes on a silent prayer when he felt the fail warmth of her breath sweep across his cheek. It was a timid breath, but at least she was still alive.
He threw a dark look at Barnaby. “Get a doctor. Quickly.”
He glared at Delilah. “If you run, I swear to God I will shoot you down before you take a step.”
“Leave her to me,” Joe urged. “You deal with Sophia. Get her into the house. We can’t leave her here.”
Jeb didn’t need to be told again. He tucked his gun back into the pocket of his cloak and lifted her into his arms. If only she would open her eyes, his heart could stop breaking, and all would be right with his world. He hated to see her so still and lifeless. The blueness around her lips was unnerving. The mottled red and blue bruising around her neck warned him that it was a miracle she was still alive.
