AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She nodded in agreement, but closed her eyes in distress. “This could cost me my job…” Shaking her head, a determined look settled on her face. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”
It took hours after Dave and Drew pulled us out of the water before I was able to talk to her again. Dave called the Coast Guard out and the cops. The Coast Guard recovered Eric’s body while the cops spoke to us to take our statements.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Trip
“Don’t say anything about me telling you he was dangerous,” I told Dave.
He looked over at me, startled. “What? Why not?”
I gave him a sharp look. “Just fucking don’t. Tell him we paid you to take us out fishing and this was the spot you chose. The others told you Marina and Eric were missing so we joined in the search.”
He opened his mouth, then shut it again, when I stepped closer to him. “I’ll make it worth your while.”
Dave’s eyes narrowed, but he nodded. I hated bringing people in on this kind of shit, but there was no choice. I had to trust he wouldn’t go against my story. I recited it to the cops, answering their questions. Talking to the police was the last thing I wanted to do, but if it helped Marina I’d do it.
“I tried to swim down to help him, but he had a weight belt on.” I shrugged and tried to put a look of sadness on my face. The way the cop was looking at me told me I probably looked more constipated than sad. “If I hadn’t let him go, he would’ve dragged me down too.”
“Okay, Mr.…Sorenson.” The cop looked down at his notepad and scanned it. “Go ahead and stand over there. If we have any more questions, we’ll let you know.”
I stepped away from him then moved in closer to where Marina was talking with another officer.
“Why were you both out of your dive gear?”
“After his regulator malfunctioned he was panicking. I couldn’t keep him in the water long enough to flag down my boat. I figured once the rest of the divers surfaced they’d realize we were missing and would come searching, so we swam to the rocks. It was impossible to climb up on them with our BCDs and fins, so we took them off.” She avoided looking at me, not wanting to alert the cop that I was standing nearby. Her arms were crossed over her stomach, as though she were in distress and comforting herself. I wasn’t sure if she really was or she was playing up her fear for the officer.
Either way I wanted to drag her into my arms so I could assure myself that she was alright. My fingers twitched with the longing to snag her and reel her in until I could tuck her against my body. To reassure her that I’d never let her get hurt.
“I thought we’d be seen easier on the other side of the rocks,” she explained, “where there wasn’t a cove blocking us so we climbed over.” She swallowed hard, clearly upset. I didn’t know if it was because she was lying or because she was reliving the moments when Eric tried to kill her. “He slipped and I couldn’t get to him before he was in the water. I fell and hit my cheek.” She brushed her fingers over the bruise that was already forming there. The one caused by Eric’s hand.
I’d kill him all over again if I could. Just for laying a hand on my siren. I looked over and watched as the EMTs wheeled Eric’s body away on a gurney.
“Trip-”
The cop cut her off. “Trip?”
She cleared her throat and started again. “Clay came out of nowhere and dove in to try to help Eric. They were both sinking down because Eric hadn’t taken off his weight belt.”
“Clayton Sorenson?” The officer verified, jotting something down inside his notepad.
“That’s right,” she told him. She continued on, answering the numerous questions.
I glanced over as Drew walked up. “How’d it go?”
“He stuck to the story,” he told me in a low voice. We didn’t need the cops overhearing.
“Good. Do me a favor and have Rat pay him. I’ll pay Rat back as soon as we get out of here.”
“On it,” Drew said, stepping away to call Rat.
I glanced over my shoulder at him. “Let Cade know that it’s finished.
The door clicked shut behind us and I dragged Marina into my arms. We were finally back in the clubhouse. All the questions and suspicions were laid to rest. The detective had deemed it an accidental drowning.
“His family could still come after me and the dive shop in a civil lawsuit,” Marina said, her voice muffled against my chest.
“They won’t.”
