She moved out of the way, letting me peek through the trees at the rushing waters of a river below us. Maybe the killer wanted to get both of us here. If that was the case, we were in real danger. She needed to hear about the note I’d found, too.
I stepped between Samantha and the tree, no longer worried about the view. “Samantha, I have to be honest. I lied.”
“I know,” she said with an evil tilt to her smile, like it didn’t fit quite right on her face.
Her hands shot out, and she hit me in the chest. My feet slipped on the pebbled dirt, my knees hitting the ground first, and as the rocks gave way, I tumbled over the bluff’s edge. A quick scream flew from my lips, and my hands scrambled to find anything to grab.
I latched on to a deep root from one of the nearby trees to stop my fall. My body jerked against the side of the cliff, the rocks and other growth sticking me in the stomach. Small rocks fell down around me as I struggled to find another handhold.
My arm ached from the scratches of the nearby brush, but I found a small tree and held on. Wrapping my arm around the tree root, I tried to hoist myself up but only had enough strength to get my elbow over the side.
“Help me,” I called, my voice getting lost in the water’s rush below me.
“No.” Samantha laughed, the sound scratchy and cruel. “I wrote the note to get you here.”
“You killed Lisa and Casey?” I yelled.
“No! I didn’t kill Casey.” She slammed her foot on the ground near the drop, sending more rocks and dirt at me. “Lisa’s death was an accident. I had to keep her quiet before she ruined everything for Selene.”
My hand ached from holding on to the scruffy brush and the bark from the tree cut into the underside of my arm. “Because she knew?”
“Yes!” Samantha obviously wasn’t worried about being heard. That didn’t bode well for my rescue chances. “She found out about our father. I saw Lisa in the bathroom that night and she gloated to me about how she planned to tell Casey everything. She didn’t know my sister’s story. Who was she to judge?”
“She didn’t deserve to die over it,” I yelled, my feet slipping on the overhang as the weight from my body threatened to give me the final push over the rocks.
Samantha slammed her foot again, coming dangerously close to my arm against the tree roots. “Selene loved him. They deserved to be together, and I wasn’t letting Lisa ruin that. My big sister always took care of me, and it was my chance to repay the favor.”
“But then you killed Casey.” That was a weird way to repay your sister.
Samantha released a shrill yell and hit the ground by my hand three times with the heel of her tennis shoe. “I did not kill Casey!”
Her shoe connected with her fourth kick, striking my knuckles. I jerked my hand away from the tree, and swung it free. My feet skidded against the rock face, looking for any way to keep me up as I grabbed for something near me.
Rocks scattered around my head, the dirt sticking in my hair, but I heard his voice through it all. Like a miracle come to save me. “Put your hands up!”
“Fuck you!” Samantha screamed, turning her attention to her right. She twisted her body at the same time two shots rang out, echoing off the ridge.
Her eyes flashed with anger and in another second, her body came flying over mine as she jumped off the rocky edge and plunged into the dark waters below. The loud rush of water drowned out the sound of her splash.
“Reed!” I yelled, as I caught hold of the tree root again. “Help me!”
His stern face—he definitely didn’t look happy about this situation—peeked out over the edge and he fumbled a few inches over, reaching out for me. “Help me, Torin.”
The rocks scratched against my legs as he latched on to my upper arms and pulled me back onto solid ground. I was breathing hard as I hit the pathway, tangled up in his arms, but the tears didn’t come until he hugged me tightly to his chest.
“It was Samantha,” I said between the heavy pants.
“Yeah, we figured out that much when she tried to kill you.” He nodded and brushed a few strands of hair from my face. He helped me stand, but kept me close to him. “I can’t believe you ran off to a cemetery in the middle of the night. What were you thinking?”
My tears started fresh again as he began a much-deserved yelling session, but with one glance at my expression, he stopped mid-sentence. His stern look turned to one of concern and he all but had a smile when he leaned down and crushed his lips to mine.
“I’m not going in the drink after her,” Torin said, removing the phone from his ear as he stood next to the cliff looking over at where Samantha jumped. And completely interrupted our mind-blowing kiss.
I stepped away from Reed, but he grabbed my hand, lacing our fingers together to keep me close. “We’ll leave it to the locals.”
Two quick beeps sounded from the pocket of my spring jacket.
“Is that your phone?” Torin asked. His blond hair blew freely in the now chilly evening breeze, emphasizing his surfer appeal.
