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A little giggle leaked out. What did the other guests staying at this hotel think? She’d assumed they were apprised that Snow and her dates were here. Then again, maybe they hadn’t been.
Hector was ever at the ready while she bent to retrieve the note. Her misgivings momentarily flared into place. She thought of the threats and feared this might be another one. But this said,
“Petals leave a trail to me. Follow them to find me.”
Not exactly the most poetic, but she wouldn’t hold it against whichever of the guys this was. She secured her door and traipsed toward the stairs. So far, though he’d told her not to go anywhere without him, Hunter didn’t hover over her like she’d thought he would—and she wanted to keep it that way. He was too distracting, if she were being honest. Besides, this wouldn’t take long.
She turned her attention to the camera, which fixated right on her.
“Someone took the time to leave a trail of petals down the stairs? I don’t envy the custodial staff,” she said with a laugh to the camera and then began to follow the trail down, watching as the petals reacted to her steps and floated upward before resettling again.
The petals led on from the lobby level and out the side door. Snow wandered, wondering if this was from Clayton. Their sole interaction had been in the gym. Was he heading there now?
But the petals didn’t lead to the gym. They led… “To the pool?”
Warning knotted within her. She’d never announced her fear on live TV, but Snow had put in her application and had put in the qualifying application her phobia of water.
She’d requested that no dates take place near any kind of depths. The restaurant over the ocean with Preston had been fine—but a swimming pool?
Did Clayton want to swim with her? The contestants probably hadn’t been informed about her water phobia. That was unfortunate. Now she had to ruin what would have been a thoughtful surprise.
She exchanged a glance with Hector. “You going to follow it?” he asked.
“Might as well. Find out which of them it is.” She ignored the doubts in her stomach and scanned her card to open the door.
The tiled floor around the pool was wet as if a guest had recently gotten out. It made the petals stick and she had to admit, the surprise was losing its appeal.
“Hello?” Snow called, hearing her voice echo through the large room that smelled of mugginess and chlorine. One of the hotel staff was there situating towels in the rack by the door. He gave her a little wave and then made for the door.
“Another note,” Hector said. A small, circular table was situated near the pool’s edge. Sure enough, an envelope sat on its surface. The water was still and clear enough to see the pool’s bottom. No one else seemed to be around. It wouldn’t hurt to reach for the envelope.
Still, she hesitated. “Why would this person lead me to the pool?”
Hector shook his head and lifted his camera. She supposed that was her cue. Throat clogged, she approached the table, retrieved the envelope, and opened it. Within, the words were pieced together with letters cut from magazine articles. Snow’s heart seized.
Bold move, baring your soul on TV. Be careful when push comes to shove.
She barely peered up when two dark, masked figures appeared. One of them rammed hard into the cameraman. “Hector!” Snow shrieked, but she didn’t finish the word. The other man barreled toward her, pushing her hard in the direction of the water.
Snow didn’t have time to think. The ground beneath her vanished. She plunged into the lukewarm water, panic gripping her lungs. Memories of failed swimming lessons and an episode of nearly drowning as a child created a cacophony in her brain. She flailed and kicked. She pushed against the water engulfing her. She pressed and grasped, her vision turning white with panic. With fear. With defeat.
She couldn’t die like this. But no matter how she tried, there was nothing to hold onto. She was sinking—fast.
This was it. She was going to die.
12
Hector texted Hunter that he and Snow were heading down to the lobby. Hunter glanced away from his computer and saw some analytics that the research team sent over. He perused Hector’s message only moments before snatching his key off the counter and heading out into the hall.
He’d slipped out the first time Hector had messaged and found her walking with Carter. Not wanting to alarm her or upset anything, Hunter had hung back and watched Snow from a distance until she’d returned to her room.
This time, he’d trailed behind Snow as she’d followed the flower petals—and thank goodness he had.
He bolted to the pool as two men garbed in black shoved Hector in one direction and Snow in the other. He’d gone through her audition materials along with Eloise when they’d been deliberating—and a detail from Snow’s papers thundered into him.She couldn’t swim.According to the numbers in the tiles, this pool’s deep end was eleven feet deep.
Panic abounded. Hunter had a choice: chase the culprits or save Snow. He was torn for only a moment.
She struggled beneath the water. He kicked off his shoes and went for her. She flailed and fought against him, but he hooked his arm around her waist and guided her to the surface.
