Set Me Free (A Fugitive #2)(57)

His strength made my knees buckle. I tried to brace my arms against the edge of the tub, but he was too strong for me. I barely caught my breath before my head was plunged into the water. I struggled and kicked, the hot liquid scalding my senses. I bucked against his grip, but his arm was straight and strong, holding me steady until I thought my lungs would burst.

They would. In a moment, I'd have to let the water in. It would fill my lungs, suffocating me. Zach would come home and find me dead. The thought was a puncture wound to my soul.

Zach. My sweet Zach with his tender smile, his soft hands, his sweet words, his cute little stories about Discovery Channel and crocodiles.

I stopped struggling.

Crocodiles.

Letting my arms go limp, I clung to the last of the air in my lungs and relaxed into the water. Closing my eyes, I focused on counting, really slowly, waiting until Tenner thought my limp body was dead. I thought I heard a mumbled curse as his grip went slack.

Crocodiles.

I lunged out of the water, pushing him off balance before scrambling for the piece of glass I knew was somewhere near my knee. Before he had a chance to grab me again, I plunged the sharp shard into his belly. He grunted, slipping on the wet floor. The glass shard sliced my palm as I held it steady, his free hand pushing at my face.

A dull sound went off to my left. I didn't realize what it was until a searing pain tore through my torso. I buckled, but wouldn't let go of the glass. I had to end this and a shard of glass in his stomach wasn't going to stop that gun from going off again. Yanking my makeshift weapon free, I forced my body to react in spite of the pain. I held on tightly to the glass and jabbed it down with the final remnants of my waning strength.

It sliced into his neck, his eyes bulging wide as he scrambled to pull it loose. The gun slipped into the overflowing bath, clunking into the bottom of the tub. As Tenner struggled, his elbow slid along the wet surface. His head cracked against the edge of the tub. He went still.

I slumped backwards, crying out with the movement. Blood was flowing from my side, a bright red spot that told me my time was coming. My hand was stinging, sliced deeply by a shard of glass that saved my life.

At least I hoped it had.

I kept my gaze on Tenner, unwilling to look away in case he suddenly came to and finished me off once and for all.

The water was still running, spilling over the tub in gushing waves that were now cold. I didn't have the strength to turn it off. Instead I struggled back to the wall, pulling a towel off the rail.

I whimpered as I pressed it into my side, the pain making me want to dissolve. Leaning back against the wall, I stared at the man who had taken so much from me. His pale, limp body suddenly looked pathetic. All the power he'd wielded over me for so many years was gone. The longer he lay still, the more I could convince myself of that fact.

This was over now.

There was a sense of freedom to the moment that was poignant and sweet.

It was over.

Tenner wasn't going to win this round...or any round after.

I was free.

Closing my eyes with a soft sigh, I let my mind drift on that thought.

I was free.





Chapter 32





ZACH





Zach swerved onto his street, spotting a blue SUV on the corner. His racing heart did a double beat and then began pounding in his neck. He was too late.

Screeching into the driveway, he yanked up the handbrake and shot out of the car. The front door was unlocked.

"Dani!" He chose to use that name, just in case someone was in the house.

It was eerily quiet as he closed the door behind him. Glancing into the living room, he saw no signs of life. He turned left towards the kitchen.

"Dani, you home?"

Spotting the note on the counter, he raced to it and snatched it up. A smile pressed across his lips as he read her request. He darted for the stairs, still on high alert, but he could hear the bath water running.

Maybe he was over-reacting. There had to be more than one pale-eyed SUV driver in this state...surely.

"Lucy! I'm back." The spring in Zach's step suddenly faltered as he felt the squelch beneath his shoes.

The carpet was saturated. Running his fingers through the weave, realization hit him like a H-bomb. He lurched up the rest of the stairs, splashing his way into the bathroom. Freezing by the door he took in the scene, horror coursing through him. A big blond guy was slumped against the tub, a thick shard of the mirror protruding from his neck. Water gushed over his clothes and fell onto the floor. But that's not what Zach's eyes were fixated on. As soon as he spotted her, he felt his soul shatter.

"Lucy." His breath hitched. Blood was lacing the shallow water around her, a red python of warning slithering away from her body. Crouching down, he scrambled for her pulse, pushing his fingers into her neck. Closing his eyes, he dropped his head and thought he might cry.

She had one. Barely.

"Lucy? Wake up, baby."

She shifted slightly, a fresh gush of red splurging from her back, filling the water with more blood. The snaking trail was turning into a sea of red.

Her skin had a grey pallor to it that was disturbing. Wrenching the phone from his back pocket, he splashed through the water towards the tub while dialing 9-1-1. The phone rang as he spun the taps, shutting off the flow.

He couldn't even contemplate the clean up and damage right now. None of that mattered. Pulling the plug he let the water drain.