I have no idea where I抣l go or how I抣l get away from this guy, but right now action is my only hope.
There抯 a building in the distance, maybe a boathouse or a bar or something.
Please, for the love of God, let it be open. Anywhere with people.
But something hits me from the back just when I start to make out the door, slamming me to the ground.
I splash down on my hands and knees, hitting a puddle of murky water and cracked concrete face-first.
Two big, angry arms wrap around my stomach, pulling me up like a puppet. 揓ust try anything cute like that again, bitch. C抦on. We抮e taking a boat ride.?
My heart sinks to my knees.
揑n this weather??I sputter.
That laugh. That ugly, maniacal, throaty laugh.
I cringe. If I make it out of this alive, I抣l be hearing it in my nightmares for a long time to come. But right now, even walking away feels like a big ask.
揟hat抯 the point, sweet cheeks,?he snarls in my ear. 揥ho could ever deny an accident in these conditions??He leans forward, shoving something hard into my back. 揧es, it抯 a gun. Pull another stunt like that and I抣l shoot your spine in half.?
Oh, God.
Oh, God, I抦 shaking and I don抰 have any choice but to listen.
I look around helplessly. There抯 no one through the haze.
Just flat pavement and that taunting, blinding rain, all the way to the docks.
So when he leads me down to where the boats are, I don抰 fight. We stalk along rows of tall ships tied up and soldiering together on the stormy sea.
Troy pushes us forward, stopping near a small boat. When we climb on, he drags me to the main cabin, opens a tall door, and shoves me inside.
揝it!?he barks. 揇on抰 move.?
There are only two seats. Shivering, I sit down on what looks like the passenger seat next to the controls.
I just hope I don抰 wind up tied to this chair while the cabin floods.
揑 know what you抮e thinking, Eliza, but I抦 no monster.?So says the guy who抯 dragging me to a watery grave. 揙ne mistake ten years ago and it balloons into this. She seduced me, you know. Good enough to fuck, but not to love. Cole just can抰 let her go, and neither can I.?
I hug myself, the words not registering at first.
The woman Cole loved...his wife, his one and only, seduced another man? His best friend?
揥hat do you mean??I ask absently.
His jaw clenches, but he doesn抰 say anything more.
As much as I hate him, I should make him talk.
I just wonder if I抦 buying myself precious time or only prolonging my torture.
I抦 so not ready to die.
揥hat happened??I force out.
His eyes flick to me, bright like boiling mercury.
揟heir marriage was already a dumpster fire. That shit had nothing to do with me. The kid, she was the final straw. Aster had a 憌icked stepmother.挃 He chuckles, shaking his head. 揟hat抯 what she called her, anyway, but Aster could be dramatic. You had to know her. Anyhow, that抯 why she wouldn抰 cut Cole loose from a miserable marriage. She didn抰 want that for Destiny, another woman butting into her life.?
I stare at him numbly as he shoves his face in his palms, stretching his skin before he glowers at me again.
揈veryone acts like she was a terrible mom. She couldn抰 deal with the kid梚t didn抰 come naturally with her issues梑ut fuck, she loved Destiny. She tried. If she hadn抰 been so jealous of the nannies, it wouldn抰 have been so bad. It抯 like she thought Cole had it in him to start fucking strange women behind her back.?Troy pauses and snorts. 揑 wish. It never would抳e happened if he抎 just cheated. No, he had to stick around like a stubborn goddamned mule, expecting too much from her棓
揟oo much??I whisper.
Troy nods. 揓ust because he walks around like he抯 citizen of the year doesn抰 mean he isn抰 a demanding cock. You already know. Every time he told her why he stuck around梑ecause he took their marriage seriously梚t stressed her the fuck out. By the end, she only stayed with Cole because she didn抰 want him falling in love again. She couldn抰 stand anybody else coming into the picture for Destiny.?
He sighs and then pulls a cigarette from his pocket. Flicking the lighter sounds like a gunshot.
I watch the smoke, curling from the tip like a wagging finger.
揂 year before that last trip, we all spent a long winter in Hawaii,?he says, pausing to inhale again. 揕et抯 just say it turned into something special. Something beautiful. Something between Aster and me happened neither of us wanted to end. She wanted it too梠r so I thought.?
She wanted it too. That sounds so gross and rapey it takes all my willpower to keep listening to this deranged story.
But I can抰 cut him off.
Not when it抯 the only thing keeping me alive.
揥e stayed in touch after they went home to the mainland. We wrote old-school letters back and forth constantly. We texted. Shit, some nights, Cole would lie there in bed with her, dumb and oblivious. She抎 be up until dawn talking to me.?He grins like he抯 so proud of it.
I try not to gag, wishing I could punch him.
He flicks ash on the floor before continuing. 揥hen we could arrange it, we抎 meet up in swanky hotels and resorts on her wellness retreats. Sure, we fucked like rabbits, but it was more, Eliza. We mapped out a future.?He smiles bitterly. 揅ole thought she was frigid? Fuck that. She was an ice queen for him. And he paid so little attention to his wife, he had no clue. That last trip, it was obvious there was nothing between them. She all but hated him. He saw her as a burden梐 bitchy, overstressed nuisance who just happened to live with him.?
揅ole??I can抰 see it.
That抯 not the man I know.
It抯 Troy抯 warped version of the truth.
揧eah, yeah, I know.?He nods in agreement when I haven抰 said a word. 揟he jackass didn抰 know what he had. But I never meant for our talk that night to get so heated. I didn抰棓
He stops, flinging a look at me that抯 all murderous suspicion again.
揟alk? What talk, Troy??
揂w, fuck.?His face falls. 揑 gave Aster an ultimatum. I told her to leave Cole for me梠r else I was ending it. I was sick of the sneaking around, playing second fiddle, getting paid by a dude who kept my woman on a leash. She wouldn抰 leave him...?
I lean forward slightly, feigning interest in this horror story.
揂nd...and when I told her it was over on the beach, she screamed. She said she didn抰 care if he knew because he抎 never leave her because of Destiny. And she refused to do it, too. So she said it抎 be fine if Cole knew about us. Hell, it抯 like she wanted him to know. As if the three of us could just go along our merry, fucked up little way. She didn抰 care that I抎 lose my job. She came from money and she didn抰 fucking get it.?
I shiver.
揥hat did you do??
揑fuckingpanicked, okay??It comes out like one rushed, awful word. 揑 didn抰 want to be caught on the beach with my boss?wife, but I didn抰 mean to grab her. She pushed me first, tripped me over a rock. I fell in the sand. She wouldn抰 stop yelling梥he just wouldn抰 shut the fuck up,?he growls, staring at the glowing end of his cigarette. 揝till. I only wanted to drag her into the water to cool her off. Make her stop kicking. I damn sure didn抰 mean to hold her under that long. I just wanted her to be quiet. I...I lost control.?
揌oly shit. You drowned her.?
Whoops. It抯 too late to take back my words.
He looks at me like he抯 about to use that gun.
揥ait, I mean, are you sure you drowned her, though? I heard they found her shoes on the beach, but they thought she could抳e gone off a cliff, right??
He gives me a smile that scars my soul. 揟hat was me. I dragged her up the hiking trail and flung her back down to make it look like an accident. The rain that morning washed away the footprints.?
Oh, God.
Oh, God.
I抦 going to pass out.
He dragged a dead woman up a cliff to throw her back into the ocean, and he抯 proud of it.
But his face contorts back into the angry, sad expression he抯 worn all night.