Sin or Swim, it boasted.
He hated puns.
Rolling his eyes, he shook his head.However, he continued to focus on this boat.
Plink.Plink.Plink.
What was that sound?
Plink.
Furrowing his brows, he noted a large dark puddle on the hull.Drops of something came from above.His gaze traveled up the mast.
The bare feet bound to the pole didn’t register as weird.The long red lines of blood trailing down her legs were perfectly normal.Even the large gash in her abdomen didn’t faze him.
“Callum.”Her weak voice pierced his heart, freezing it within his chest.
Sydney never used his legal name.The sound of it coming from her blue lips nearly knocked him backward.Either that or the haunted look on her sunken face.Her dead eyes stared through his soul.
“Where are you?”she asked.
With a start, Fink flung himself forward, upright into a seated position, waking himself from the nightmare.The bedding fell away as the darkness of the room filled his vision.What an awful dream.
He wasn’t at the pier.There were no boats, and Sydney was…
His hand skimmed over the mattress to his left.
Cold.
Turning, with his heart still thundering in his ears, he found her spot empty.
Immediately his gaze darted toward the bathroom.
The door was open, but the light was off.
No Sydney.
Calm down.She could have gotten the munchies.Maybe a midnight snack was in order?
Purposefully controlling his breathing, Fink climbed out of the bed.He forced slower steps than he wanted to take.There was no shaking the foreboding prickling his skin.
Deep in his bones, he knew she wasn’t there, but he had to check.
He had a bad dream.It wasn’t reality.
To be sure, he peeked into the bathroom.Empty.
The living room?Nope.
Clinging to the hope he’d find her, he trotted to the kitchen.
However, when he passed the table, a slip of lined paper caught his eye.Pausing, he reached for it as he flicked on the overhead light.
In her bubbly handwriting, Sydney had scribbled:
Had to take care of something real quick.
I won’t be long.
