AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I d-didn’t have anything to do with your brother.”
His expression grew ugly, the dim moonlight casting sharp shadows on his contorted face. He moved the blade, raising it so it skimmed the underside of my jaw, pressing slightly until I felt the slight tickle of blood running down my throat. I stopped breathing.
“My brother was killed by Naomi Moretti,” he snarled, and my blood froze in my veins. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.
That couldn’t be true.
“Your aunt, if I’m not mistaken? And while I would be more than happy to get my revenge on her personally, she is holed up in a house safer than Fort fucking Knox, while her precious niece, the only living member of the last generation of her family, is standing here in front of me, seconds away from pissing herself. So believe me when I tell you that I don’t give a fuck if you were there when he died or not.”
My vision blurred, and I struggled to stay upright. My aunt had killed Drew’s brother? How was that possible? The guys had made it seem like the organization was huge, like I was only tangentially related to whatever might have happened, not that my aunt was a fucking murderer.
“My brother died from two gunshot wounds to his temple.” Drew’s voice was ice cold. “He also had three stab wounds. It’s really too bad that I don’t have a gun with me, or we could recreate his death. Wouldn’t that be fun? I suppose I do have a knife though. Not that I even need it,” he sneered at me. “You’re so weak, so scared. It’s pathetic. If this is what your family has come to, I’m really just doing them a favor.”
He jerked his hand down in a harsh slash and plunged the knife into my side.
“One.”
The second jab caught my forearm as I weakly raised it to defend myself.
“Two.”
I didn’t even feel the last stab go in.
“Three.”
Then he shoved me backward until I hit the water with a splash. I didn’t even have time to gasp before the water closed over my head.
44
The water was so cold, I didn’t even feel the knife wounds. It forced the air from my lungs in a great, bursting rush, stabbing at my skin like a thousand tiny pinpricks, immediately disorienting me. I sank like a stone.
The impact with the bottom jolted me to my senses. My heartbeat thundered in my ears and I fought back a surge of panic, twisting as I pushed off the bottom with all my strength. I surfaced with a shuddering gasp, barely able to scrape my sodden hair out of my eyes before the silence was shattered by the sound of a gunshot at close range.
But he said he didn’t have a gun. Who is—What is happening?
My thoughts were slow and muddled, moving through my brain like molasses, and I thrashed to stay afloat. My lungs were tight, and I pulled the icy air in with great gulping breaths that still weren’t enough as I twisted in the water.
Where is the shore?
Everything around me looked the same, vague and dark and disorienting. I needed to calm down. I needed to think.
But all thoughts fled my head as another body hit the surface and the resulting splash washed a wave of water over my head. I jolted, rocked by the impact, and the body bobbed in the turbulent water, twisting until it faced me and the moonlight caught on Drew’s features. His face was surprised, eyes wide and unseeing.
I managed to draw enough breath to scream, and I didn’t stop until I felt hands come around my arms, pulling me tight against a rock-hard chest, and then we were moving up and out of the water.
“Devan, you deal with this,” a voice growled close to my ear, “and Micah, come with me. She’s hurt.” The hands pulled me closer, swinging me up to cradle me against a torso as soaked as I was, and that was when my stab wounds started to hurt.
I groaned, every tremor of cold and shock that wracked my body sending lightning down my side, and I squeezed my eyes shut against the pain. I wasn’t sure if I was about to pass out or scream or vomit or cry, but before I could do anything at all a soft voice whispered in my ear.
“Camilla, hang on. You’re okay, I’ve got you.”
I latched onto Garrett’s voice, the low drone nearly a whisper, calm and soothing and utterly in control, and let it wash over me.
“Everything’s going to be fine. I know it hurts love, but you’re strong, you’re stronger than you know, and I’m so proud of you, he’s gone now and you’re safe, just listen to my voice and…”
I stopped listening and let my head fall onto his shoulder, breathing in the warm leather-and-spice scent of him and letting myself drift.
* * *
