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“You’ll drive yourself mad with those thoughts.” Her voice threaded into a whisper. “Believe me, I know.”
Our eyes caught and held.
I drowned in all her pain.
I choked on all the things that’d gone wrong.
And I made a promise. Right there. Painted in blood and cursed by fate, that no matter what happened in the future. No matter who tried to keep us apart or what circumstances got in our way, I would always, always find her. Always go to her. Protect her. Love her.
“Ruhun benimkine sesleniyor,” I breathed. “It always has. That’s why you were there. That day on the water after we’d capsized. You felt it too.” Cupping her beautiful cheek, I repeated, “Ruhun benimkine sesleniyor. It means your soul calls to mine, Neri. Whatever you ask of me, I’ll do. Whatever you need of me, I’ll provide. Always.”
Tears rained down her cheeks. She swallowed hard as she nodded and accepted my vow. “I want this to be over. I don’t want to fear you being deported. I don’t want to layer you with more death. I don’t want to be responsible for bringing a shadow between us when all I want to do is forget.”
She wiped her cheeks, her eyelashes sparkling with crystal tears in the moonlight. “I should never have asked you to do this. It was wrong. Wrong to fall to his level just because of what he did. Wrong to jeopardise our future...knowing how fragile it is.”
“But, canim—”
“Please, Aslan.” Standing on stronger legs than before, she collected the knife I’d dropped and stepped into Ethan. With two vicious slices, she cut off the plastic ties around his wrists and ankles.
Ethan mumbled something as Neri moved his shot leg, nudging his ankle so the thin harpoon was easily reachable. Wrapping her fingers around it, she sucked in a breath, then yanked it clean out of him. The small barbs tore through his muscle, shredding it.
He roared and woke up.
His eyes flared wide, pain making him hyperaware and lucid.
Spying Neri holding the blood-drenched spear, he rushed, “Please, no more. I’m sorry, okay? So fucking sorry.” His face scrunched into tears. “Please don’t hurt me anymore. I’ll never do it again. I promise. Please...just...please don’t hurt me.”
His lips had turned blue from blood loss. Adrenaline kept him awake, all while his body slowly perished from the wounds I’d given.
I couldn’t move as Neri tossed the bloody spear beside the gun and moved toward the chiller by the scuba cage. Opening the lid, she yanked out a can of Coke. Carrying it back to Ethan, she tossed it at him.
The guy sobbed and sniffled, his reflexes too broken and his hands missing too many fingers to catch it.
It landed heavily on his lap as Neri bared her teeth. “If you ever drug another girl or believe she’s asking for you to fuck her, even when she clearly screams no, I will find you. I’ll let Aslan chop off your cock, and I’ll feed it to the sharks. Do you hear me?”
Ethan nodded furiously. “I promise. I promise on my life. Never. Never again. I promise.”
Spinning on her heel, Neri headed into the captain’s cabin.
A second later, the whir of the engine vibrated through the boat and the aimless drifting turned into an arrow of direction, shooting us forward back to shore.
Standing slowly, I braced myself against the rock and slap of waves, unable to take my eyes off Ethan.
How had this happened?
Why had Neri changed her mind?
He deserved to die.
I was prepared to do it—regardless of the consequences.
I tried to catch her attention through the window, but she stared resolutely ahead, pushing The Fluke toward the lights glittering on the shore in the distance.
My heart pounded with unfinished business.
How was I supposed to be okay with this?
This bastard had raped her.
He’d irrevocably broken a piece of her.
To let him live?
No.
Just...no.
She could hate me all she wanted.
She could curse me and call me names and never talk to me again, but this wasn’t how this ended. This wasn’t how I kept her safe or slayed her nightmares. This was me doing what needed to be done.
Tripping a little as a wave sent us higher than expected, I lurched toward Ethan.
His face shocked white. The can of Coke Neri had given him—that I supposed was symbolic if the bastard had drugged her that way—rolled away as Neri brought The Fluke into a graceful curve.
Every moment, Port Douglas came closer.
Every moment, my window of opportunity closed.
“No. Don’t touch me. Don’t—” Ethan threw up his bloody, misshapen hands as if to ward me off.
I merely fisted his ugly shirt and hauled him to his feet. He cried out as I pressed against his wounds. He trembled in my hold.
“Look, man...I get it.” He snivelled. “I did a bad thing. You taught me that. I’ve learned my lesson, okay? I know I fucked up. I promise I’ll never—”
