I should’ve called.
I should’ve waited.
I should’ve just fucking waited.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
NICK
The stingof Belinda’s slap startled me back to consciousness. The second one brought my horrifying reality into sharp focus. I blinked to clear my vision and take stock of my surroundings.
I couldn’t have been out long. Austin was still on the ground, swearing and complaining. He rocked to and fro, cradling his knee, while Belinda stood over me, smirking.
“I can keep this up as long as you can.” She shook her hand. “God, you’ve got a thick skull.”
I almost laughed, thinking Mads would surely agree. Oh God.Mads.My heart clenched. What had I done to him? To us?
“Get on with it,” Belinda ordered. “I’ll watch him.”
Austin muttered something under his breath but did as he was told, scrambling awkwardly to his feet. After a lot of grunting and swearing, Chloe landed beside me, half-dropped, half-carried from the trunk to the ground.
Austin stepped out of kicking range before grunting, “Bitch is heavier than she looks.”
Belinda toed Chloe’s hip and her eyelids fluttered open, but she didn’t move. For a second, I thought her gaze landed onme, but I couldn’t be sure. Just in case, I put everything I felt into that one last look. All my love, my regrets, my hope in an increasingly hopeless scenario. All too soon, her eyes closed again, and I wondered if it was for the last time.
Belinda leaned over Chloe and toed her again, checking her response. Meanwhile, I worked my cheek against the tarp in a last attempt to slide the gag free once again. Maybe if I shouted, someone would hear. There had to be someone in earshot of this godforsaken place, right? Even as I thought it, I knew I was dreaming. In this weather? Out here? Not a chance. Jesus, had it all come down to this?
I’m sorry, Mads. I’m so fucking sorry.
“Put these back on her.”Belinda kicked Chloe’s shoes Austin’s way, then pulled a syringe from her pocket.
Shit.The gag slid a little and my heart surged. There was still a chance. Keeping my eyes locked on Belinda, I tried to work my mouth over the top of the material, but Austin had done a better job on the second knot, and it was so fucking tight.
When Austin was done with Chloe’s shoes, Belinda handed him her gun. “Watch him.” She knelt beside Chloe’s head, opening her mouth to slide the needle into the underside of her tongue. Then she pushed to her feet and looked my way.
I froze, keeping my right cheek to the tarp to hide the skewed gag.
She eyed me with a smile. “Poor dear won’t even notice the first gulp of water that hits her lungs.”
My gaze slid down to my mother and my heart almost broke. Her lips fell slack and her body slumped like a dead weight on the tarp. The sound of her breathing grew sickeningly stertorous. She looked old and fragile and way too close to death. I blinked back my tears, refusing to give these arseholes a reason to gloat.
Austin looked over at Belinda. “How do you want to do this?”
She took the gun from his hands and gestured to the lake. “Take her well out and flip her face down.” She glanced my way. “Let him watch. Serves you right for all the trouble you’ve caused.”
Austin didn’t argue. He didn’t debate, question, or even hesitate. That told me everything I needed to know. He was committed to this madness and to Belinda, and he wasn’t going to be swayed by anything I said. There would be no Hail Mary. I had to find another way.
A stone hitting water stopped Austin in his tracks and he spun, scanning the lake. “What the fuck was that?”
Belinda shushed him, her head whipping around as she searched their surroundings, listening. Nothing moved in the mist and the lake was silent, bar the rattle of Chloe’s breathing, wet and shallow. “Get going,” she ordered Austin. “I don’t like this.”
Austin gripped the edge of the tarp and dragged Chloe like a bag of potatoes across the rough stones. Belinda tracked their progress, a small smile lifting the corners of her mouth.
This was it. My last chance. I knew it in my fucking bones. But Belinda wasn’t letting herself be distracted this time. She kept a close watch on me, her attention constantly flitting between Austin and myself. I couldn’t finish freeing my gag or move without Belinda noticing way too soon for it to be of any use.
At the water’s edge, Austin pulled Chloe off the tarp and into the water. He began wading out, towing her with him. “She’s sinking already,” he grumbled, making his way deeper.
“That’ll do,” Belinda called.
