Except I had another surprise in store for him. Rather than lunging for the gun, I grabbed my piece of driftwood. Gravoiswas still struggling to release the gun from his buddy's convulsing grip when I ran over to him, wielding the driftwood like a baseball bat. I was mere inches away when he finally freed the gun. He looked up, and his eyes widened. He started to lift the weapon as I let out a guttural scream and swung. The driftwood slammed into his skull with a satisfying crack. His neck twisted at an unnatural angle and he slumped over the now still body of his partner. I stood over them, my chest heaving with each and every breath, as I started to comprehend what I had just done.
At least one of them was dead. Maybe both. I had just saved my own ass. Who needed Upton Freaking Giles?
I turned and ran for the boat, tripping through the water. All I had to do was shove the thing off the sand, climb in, and get the hell out of here. We couldn't be that far from St. Barths if they'd taken this tiny vessel from there. I could find it. I'd have to find it. I clutched the sleek white side of the boat and was about to start pushing it away
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from the shore, when I glanced inside and my heart stopped.
The keys were not in the ignition.
"Mapetite! Where do you think you are going? "
The voice sent a sickening shiver down my spine. I turned around and swallowed hard. Gravois pushed himself to his knees and rose shakily to his feet. He held his head with one hand and lifted the gun with the other.
Dammit, Reed. What was the one lesson learned from watching all those horror movies with Scott and his friends?
The villains are never as dead as you think they are.
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HERE
Suddenly, there was a huge roar, like another boat bearing down on me from behind. Gravois's jaw dropped. All my hair blew in front of my face, whipping into my eyes. Disoriented, I felt my pulse start to race. Gravois still had a gun, and now I couldn't even see.
As the roaring grew louder, I was knocked off my feet b
y a stiff wind. A gunshot split the air and I gasped in a breath before dropping down under the water. The cool waves enveloped my hot skin as I scrambled backward into deeper water. Once I was there I stayed down. I had no idea what was going on, but I knew Gravois was shooting. If I stayed beneath the surface, maybe he wouldn't be able to get a good shot.
Shoving my hair out of my face under the water, I blinked my eyes open and looked around. I could make out the fuzzy outline of the underside of the boat, and I started to swim around it. If I could just
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put the vessel between myself and Gravois, I'd at least have something to take the bullets for me.
Another shot. The bullet whizzed by me underwater, sending up a cloud of sand. My heart caught. I swam with all my might, my lungs bursting from the strain, and grappled my way to the other side of the boat. When I got there, I burst through the surface. I had to. My needy lungs were begging for air. The sky was completely dark now and I was crouched in shallow water between my jetty and the boat. From the shore, I heard shouts, but the roaring was gone. What the hell was going on? Who was shouting? Had Marshall woken up? And what the hell was that roaring sound?
Another shot sounded and I sucked in a breath. Down I went. I huddled next to the boat underwater. Gravois was obviously wasn't going to quit until he finished the job. What was I going to do? I couldn't stay down here forever. Couldn't even stay for another ten seconds. I needed to breathe. I needed to live. I needed a miracle.
And then, strong arms closed around me from behind and yanked me toward the surface. I let out a scream of terror, thrashing my legs and arms, trying to get free. But it was no use. Gravois had me. His grip was so tight I couldn't even begin to move. It was over. I had tried. I had tried so hard to stay alive these last few days, but it was over. At least I would go down fighting.
"Reed. Reed! Stop! It's me! Calm down!"
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Suddenly, all my limbs went limp. I hung there, like a rag doll, his strong arms around my chest.
"Upton?" I whimpered.
His breath was ragged in my ear, but I could smell him. The clean, island scent of him. I leaned back against him, tears coursing down my face.
"You're not really here," I sniffled. "I'm hallucinating again."
"Canyou stand?" he asked.
I couldn't answer. He placed me down in the water and my rubbery knees managed to keep me up. He kept one hand on my back as he walked around to face me, tilting my chin up so I was looking into his too-blue eyes. He had reddish-brown stubble all over his chin and cheeks and looked exhausted. Gray circles under his eyes. A pallor about his once tan skin.
"You're not hallucinating," he said. "I'm here."