I lunge.
I do it without thought. I raise the knife and drive it into Bryce’s back, knocking him flat over Noah, who starts struggling immediately.
“Wha—” Bryce gasps.
I lean down as I twist the knife in his back. “Never, ever turn your back on your victim unless you’re sure she’s dead. I thought you were smart enough to at least check.”
I pull the knife out and drive it back in. He slumps farther down, croaking in agony.
“You never, ever fucking underestimate someone.”
I pull it out and drive it in again, ignoring the crushing of bones and squelching of blood.
“And you never, fucking ever, touch what’s mine.”
I pull the knife back out and let Bryce roll off Noah. I stand, using my foot to kick him to his back. Noah rolls to his hands and knees, staring at me, shock registering on his face. I have to end this for him. For us. No longer will I hurt another person in my life because I don’t know who I am. Right here, right now, I know exactly who I am. I’m Lara, strong and a little soft—a perfect mixture of both.
I straddle Bryce, who is spluttering, blood pouring from his mouth. He looks up at me with shock, but mostly awe. Clearly he didn’t think I had it in me. Neither did Noah. Neither did I. But I did. I’ve had it in me all along.
“You didn’t think I had it in me, did you?” I say, staring into his pathetic eyes. “You thought I’d let him down. You thought I’d fail. You were so sure.”
I raise the knife and his eyes flare.
“But the thing about me, Bryce, is some way, somehow, I always fucking bounce back. You helped me realize that. Your game was meant to weaken me, but you know what it did? It made me strong.”
I slam the knife down into his heart and watch as his body jerks beneath me and his last breath wheezes from his lungs.
“I win,” I whisper.
Then my world goes black.
TWENTY-EIGHT
When I wake, I’m in Noah’s arms and he’s carrying me. It takes my mind a few minutes to realize where I am. When I remember what I did, I gasp and begin to squirm. “Hush,” Noah says, his voice exhausted. “It’s over.”
“Noah,” I croak.
“Over, baby.”
“I k-k-killed him.”
He stops and sets me down. I don’t know where we are. I don’t know anything except that Bryce is dead, and I killed him.
Noah cups my face. We’re both covered in blood, most of it our own, some of it his. Noah’s face is messed up, dried blood all over his skin. “You saved me. You fucking saved me. Us. I don’t have a single word that can express how fucking incredible you were back there.”
“I killed…” My voice shakes as reality sets in.
Noah slams his lips against mine. “We’re breathing because of you, you beautiful, brave, perfect woman.”
We are.
We’re breathing because of me.
Tears run down my cheeks. “We’re free.”
He clutches my hand. “We’re free. Now we need to find a way out of here or we’re going to bleed to death. You didn’t save our lives for us to die out here.”
Save our lives.
I saved our lives.
“I’m sorry I let you believe I was dead.”
Noah stops and turns to me. “You’re a genius, Lara. You found a strength even I couldn’t have mustered. To do what you did, so perfectly—I have no fucking words except thank you.” His voice breaks. “Because I don’t think we would have gotten out of there without you.”
I swallow and nod, shock slowly starting to creep into my body.
“We need to get out of here,” he says, tugging my hand.
I put one foot in front of the other, and I walk. I walk until we find a quiet road. By the time we stumble out onto it, I’m numb. From head to toe, I can’t feel anything. I feel as though I’m existing without actually being aware. Shock. Reality. Horror. All of it has finally set in. I guess that’s what happens when you’ve spent so long living in fear. When it’s gone, you just have nothing left.
Noah is clutching my hand like he has been for the past two hours, but neither of us has spoken a single word. The horror of the last week is replaying in our minds, over and over, tormenting us, torturing us, reminding us that while we escaped the monster … will we ever escape the nightmare? Will killing him torture me? Right now I feel nothing, but will it always be that way?
Car lights flash in our direction, snapping us out of our daze, and we turn to face them. For a moment, I don’t think whoever is driving is willing to stop for us. I can only imagine how we look. Half naked, injured, bloodied, and feral. The vehicle slows, though, and eventually pulls off to the side of the road. My knees start wobbling and for a second I’m not sure I can even take the few steps toward the car.
An older man gets out, his wife shuffling out the other side. I worry they’ll get a closer look at us and run, but they don’t. The older man squints, and then his mouth drops open. “It’s … Maggie, it’s them.”
Them.
We have a title?
“Oh my good Lord,” Maggie gasps, rushing over and putting her hands on my shoulders without hesitation. She doesn’t care that I’m bloodied or half naked. “It’s them. They’re alive. Peter, get the blanket from the trunk. Hurry. They’re freezing.”
“Y-y-y-you know who we are?” I croak.
Is that my voice? It doesn’t sound like my voice.
“Of course, dear. Your face has been all over the news for a week.”
It has?
Then why didn’t anyone find us?
I chastise myself for such an awful thought. I don’t even know where we are. I don’t know how far away from Orlando we are. How was anyone supposed to know where we were? I squeeze Noah’s hand, but he doesn’t squeeze back. Is he too far gone? Am I too far gone? Will we ever recover from this?
“Lara, right?” Maggie asks as Peter gets the blanket from the trunk.
“Yes,” I croak.
She looks to Noah. “And Noah.”
He nods. No words.
“I’m not going to ask what happened to you both, because it’s none of my business, I’m just going to get you to a hospital. Come, climb into the car and I’ll pass the blanket in. You must be freezing.”
I wouldn’t know if I’m cold anymore; truthfully, it’s hard to tell what I feel. My body has gone beyond pain, beyond feeling. It’s just dead. Numb. Broken.
Noah jerks me toward the car and we slide in. The warmth from the heater tickles my face, and I close my eyes. I didn’t realize just how cold I was until this very second. Noah climbs in beside me and Maggie leans in, handing us a blanket. I take it, running my fingers over the soft edges. I would have never noticed how it felt against my skin before; now it’s all I can think about.
I bring it up to my chin, and I start shivering, even though I’m warm.
Noah does the same.
Maggie and Peter get into the car, and she orders him to drive to the nearest hospital.
“H-h-h-how far away from Orlando are we?” I ask, my voice hoarse.
“Just over an hour, dear.”