“Tick-tock, Your Grace,” the woman taunted.
Simon cursed violently and lowered the gun. His instinct screamed at him to put a bullet in Grace and be done with it, but he could not put Rachel at risk.
Without saying another word, he turned and ran towards the exit.
“Simon!” Rowan called out after him.
But Simon didn’t care. He burst through the estate doors; his focus had narrowed.
His horse was waiting, and he mounted it quickly. It had come down to a choice for him, and in this moment, getting revenge was less important than making sure that Rachel was not in any danger.
He would never be able to forgive himself if she were.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“Let go of me.”
Rachel could not see anything in the dark of the room, only the sensation of a pair of strong hands gripping her flesh so tightly that she was certain they would leave a bruise. She struggled against the force, but her delicate form was no match for the person who had grabbed hold of her.
“Stop making so much noise,” the man yelled at her. “You are going to get yourself in even more trouble.”
He cupped her mouth with one of his hands, but Rachel bit him.
“You stupid girl,” he said, pulling her hair back and jolting her. Rachel tried to claw her way out of his grasp, but he seemed to push back on her even harder. “Stop—moving?—”
His warning was followed by a sharp kick against her stomach, and she fell to the ground.
The pain was enough to knock her out, but she struggled to keep herself awake.
“Rachel?”
The sound made the attacker hesitate for half a second. It was Marina.
Rachel gasped as the weight lifted, just enough for her to twist free from his grasp.
Marina was already moving, holding a small candle in front of him.
“Get away from her!” she shouted.
The man barely flinched. Instead, he turned, looming over Marina now.
“Get behind me, Rachel,” Marina instructed. Rachel made a move towards her, but the man was faster. In a swift movement, he struck Marina across the head. She fell to the floor immediately.
“Marina!”
But her sister didn’t move. Rachel tried to check if she was still breathing, but the man wasted no time in grabbing Rachel again.
This time, his grip landed on her neck. A choking sound escaped her lips as she struggled to breathe against the hold that his thick fingers had around her neck.
“Let—let,” she could not even say the words. Her head began to feel light.
Her hands grew weak, and she began to lose consciousness.
This was it, then.This was how she would go from this world. Darkness began to creep up around her vision, and just as she was about to slip into it completely,the door burst open. Immediately, the pressure on her throat disappeared, and Rachel collapsed to the ground, coughing.
Someone had come to save them.
Through the haze of her tears, she barely registered the blur of movement and began to crawl towards her sister. “Marina—Marina, please be awake.”
