Sink into nothingness.
I spit out salt water and kicked my legs, flailing my arms in an attempt to stay afloat. My shoulder burned and ached and throbbed with a kind of pain I'd never known before, even after being tortured.
They say when you die your life flashes before your eyes. If I was dying, then that's not how it worked, but I did think about my life as I floated there, suspended between worlds.
I thought back to my family, to the last moments I remembered with my parents. The joy and love I felt for them. The happiness we shared.
I wanted that with Ash. We deserved that, he and I. I'd lost my family and he'd had a family that never wanted him. We'd both lost so much, but now we had each other.
And I was about to lose him.
No. I couldn't. He was still in danger. Bridgette was still in danger. I had to survive. Had to get back to the party.
My mind wandered again. To memories with Ash. Memories of times spent together these last few months. Of us swimming in the lake naked together. Making love in the water. Floating together as one.
I felt his hand on me, his arms wrapping around me.
Pulling me to safety.
"Ash."
My eyes flew open as pain ripped through my shoulder. I was in a boat. Ash was here. He'd saved me.
I looked up into his face and—
It wasn't Ash.
"Jon."
Chapter Thirty
The Plan
ONE MONTH AGO
WE DIDN'T MEET in secret. Ash knew I was doing another “brother-in-law bonding” with Jon. He hated it, but he knew.
But we did meet in private as Jon reviewed what he'd done.
"The body is handled. I bribed a guy at the morgue and got a homeless dude that no one will miss."
He said this with such glee, but all I could think about was how sad it was that there were people in the world whom no one missed when they died. How do you live your life in such a way that literally no one even cares when you leave the earth? What was that man's story, I wondered?
But Jon kept talking, oblivious to my inner reflection.
"There will be a bomb in the car that's weight activated, and I will cover the seats with thermite, a pyrotechnic composition of metal powder fuel and metal oxide that should burn the body beyond recognition. I'll drive in on the day of the wedding, get out, say hi, say I forgot the rings in the car and go back to get them. I'll slip out the other side, set the bomb and the body and bam! No more car, no more Jon."
I nodded. "That all sounds good. At which point, you stay hidden. No credit cards, no paper trail."
He rolled his eyes. "I'm a Harvard grad. I’m not an idiot."
"Even Harvard grads can make mistakes," I reminded him. "My mother's book was clear that one of the Davenports would be responsible for her death, and the only person she could rule out entirely was you. By faking your death, the real killer, one of your family members, will start to panic. They'll think someone is coming after them for their sins. They'll panic, make mistakes, look over their shoulder more, try to find out who knows about their crimes. They might go after me."
"And then we'll catch them."
I nodded. "And then we'll end them."
Chapter Thirty One
Blood Stains
PRESENT DAY
"CAT, YOU HAVE to wake up. Cat!"
I screamed as someone put pressure on my wound.
"Shh… Shh... It's okay. I'm here."
"Jon. How did you…? What's happening?" I tried to sit up, confused, and he helped me.
"The bullet didn't hit anything critical. It's going to hurt, but you'll be fine." He handed me some clothes. "Put these on, you're freezing."
I didn't know where he'd gotten clothes, or why we were sitting in a small speedboat, but I did as he said, with some help as I tried to use my left arm. He'd bandaged it up, but a red stain of blood soaked through the bandages as I moved.
The clothes were too big, but I made them work and he handed me a towel to dry my hair.
"The killer is still on the yacht. My guess is he'll shoot everyone. Maybe even sink the boat. No witnesses."
"Did you see who it was?"
"No. I just saw you fall. I got to you as soon as I could. You have no idea how terrified I was, Cat."