I twisted the taps, watching the tub begin to fill.
Now if only I could stop myself from drowning the infuriating bitch.
Her eyes were half-open when I returned to the bedroom.
Slowly, she lifted one hand from the bed. Her fingers bent, one by one.
The middle finger rose—unsteady, incomplete—before her breath hitched and the hand fell back to the mattress.
Her eyes closed.
Her final fuck you—to me.
“Oh no. You fucking don’t.”
I ran to my room and grabbed the walkie-talkie, snapping at whatever-the-fuck-his-name-was on the other end.
“Get a doctor flown to this island within half an hour. Any longer, and I will personally gut you and feed you to the fishes.”
I didn’t wait for a reply.
I was already moving back to the spare bedroom.
She hadn’t moved.
I tore open her blouse, hauling her limp arms up as I yanked the fabric free, then did the same to her skirt. I didn’t bother with the ruined tights or underwear.
I scooped her up and carried her into the bathroom.
“Stupid woman,” I snarled, lowering her into the steaming water.
???
I was furious at everyone. Her for giving up, barely three days in. Fenrir for vanishing on me and this mother fucker who kept on giving me snide looks.
Hypothermia.
Dehydration.
Each one was a dig at me.
All she had to do was beg.
When he gave his final instructions and left her medicine beside the bed, I waved to the guard who escorted the old bastard out.
I stood at the other side of the room staring at the water crashing against the jagged rocks before me. This was a good bedroom to lock her up in. It would give her time to recover in the sun-facing room. But I didn't want her too comfortable.
I turned to look at the lump in the middle of the bed. She lay there, a small, unmoving shape beneath the covers.
She hated me enough to try and tell me to fuck off in her last breath. I wasn't offended that she hated me. Everybody hated me and for good reason, but no one had ever dared to flaunt it in my face.
An idea came to me and I walked across the room to stand over the bed.
Sometimes the simplest solution was the most effective one.
???
Her eyes fluttered several times before they finally opened. Confusion flickered across her face—confusion that she was still alive. Then her gaze locked onto me, and for a moment she looked like she might hurl.
