Amnesty: Amnesia Duet Book 2

by Cambria Hebert

  Dark dress pants covered his lower half, at least at the hips where he wasn’t under the water. He was wearing a belt, his shirt tucked in, as if he were on his way to a business meeting and not literally birthing out of a dark, cruel lake in the middle of the night.

  All the muscles in my body coiled, preparing for a fight it instantly knew was coming. Water swelled around me, giving me a buoyant feeling as though it were trying to build me up.

  Yes, the lake was definitely friend tonight, for it summoned me down here not to take something away, but to help me keep it.

  “So you’re the one.” The man’s voice overpowered the wind.

  “The one what?” I spat. I wasn’t sure what the fuck was going on, but I knew whatever it was didn’t call for pleasantries and happy greetings.

  “The one who thinks he can claim what’s mine.”

  Realization hit me so hard I would have fallen backward, but as I mentioned before, the lake tonight was like heavy shackles keeping me in place.

  “You,” I growled, my eyes going over his shoulder to the looming presence of Rumor Island.

  He glared, measured me in a single sweep, then disregarded what he saw. “You might have been strong enough to thwart past attempts to gain back what is and always will be mine,” he intoned, cutting through the water toward me. “But you aren’t any match for me.”

  I laughed. The sound actually caused my own hair to stand up on my neck. “You’re him,” I spat. “The man who chains up women and keeps them in a hole. The man who robbed two girls of their lives and made one so desperate to get away she tried to die.”

  There were no words, not even thoughts that could come close to how much I hated this man.

  “I’ve come for her.” He didn’t deny what I said. He didn’t have to. I might never have seen his face before, but I knew him. Daniel. He reeked of havoc and mental illness.

  The final step he took brought us face to face. Wind whipped around us; water churned beneath us. Inside me, so much anger burned I felt like a flint ready to ignite into a flame that could never burn out, even in a body of water.

  I leaned in so close I knew he could feel my hot breath on his face. His eyes were dark, empty, and cold. There was no man here. No feeling. He was a shell, the mere house for the devil.

  “The only thing you’re getting here is a one-way trip back to hell.”

  The second the words left my lips, I reared back and launched my fist at him. All the force I had went into that blow. The momentum spurred me forward. The sound of cracking bone crunched around us the second my fist collided with his face.

  His head snapped back, his body jerking as though it took a bullet. Then, just like rubber, he snapped back. I reared back to hit him again, but he caught my fist midair and squeezed. The bones in my fingers screamed in pain, but I didn’t show it. Instead, I felt the water let go of me, and I kicked upward, driving my toes into his kidney. The grip on my hand slackened, and I lunged forward like a linebacker, catching him around the waist, and shoved. We both fell, him going backward and me on top. The water sliced into my arms and waist as I scrambled up, straddling him. He pushed up, but I buried my fist in his face again, knocking him back.

  I stomped down, right in his midsection, making him curl in on himself a little. I watched his body disappear beneath the water, only to jackknife back up. Teeth bared, water dripped from his features, making him look rabid. He lunged at me. This time I fell backward and he was the one on top. He punched me, then wrapped his hands around my neck and squeezed.

  I brought my leg up between his, going straight for his balls. His thighs slammed shut, trapping my ankle and protecting his junk. Frustrated, I tried to pull back, but he lifted me with one hand, by the neck, out of the water. Beneath me, I heard the waves scramble about, but my eyes never left his face.

  “She’s mine,” he intoned. “I’m not leaving without her. Without both of them.”

  He body-slammed me back into the water, shoving me down until my bare back scraped against the rocky floor. Dark water washed over my face, clouding my vision, as his hands tightened around my neck until it felt as though my windpipe might collapse.

  I squirmed and kicked, prying at his hand with mine.

  I could have sworn, as I struggled beneath the surface and my lungs started to plead for oxygen, that above me, I heard him laugh.

  Discerning dream from reality was becoming a problem for me.

  And maybe so was trusting myself to know the difference.

  My arm stretched out, seeking the comfort I had come to rely on. When my palm met sheets, which had gone cold, alertness saturated the rest I’d been getting.

  Opening my eyes, I glanced at the space Eddie always occupied. He was gone. I was beneath the covers alone.

  The room was still very dark. Day had yet to break. It was too early for him to be up making coffee, and I didn’t hear him in the bathroom. Anxiety pierced me; my chest squeezed uncomfortably as I rolled onto my back.

  Something was wrong.

  Without hesitation, I pushed up, nearly falling back when I realized I wasn’t alone. The gasp was so unexpected, my surprise so great, I started to cough.

  With watering eyes, I forced the reflex back and stared at the foot of the bed.

  At Sadie.

  I blinked. Blinked again. Was she really there? Or was this just a dream?

  “I’m real,” Sadie spoke. The sound of her voice sent goose bumps over my naked body.

  I gasped again, folding my arms over my exposed chest.

  “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” Sadie remarked. “Both of us. We’re very familiar with the sight of each other naked.”

  A sudden, terrible flash of memory cut through me.

  Both of us on our backs. Both of us shoulder to shoulder. Him switching off between us… The sound of his heavy breathing.

  “No,” I exclaimed, slapping my hands over my ears as if it would somehow stop the images.

  Remarkably, it did.

  Thank God.

  Chest heaving, my stare cut over to the empty spot beside me. Where was Eddie?

  “He’s busy,” Sadie informed me.

  Forgetting I was naked, I burst up, angry. “What did you do to him?”

  “Nothing. I would never do anything to Eddie. I love him.” She said it so calmly, without passion, as though she were speaking about shutting off the water or taking out the trash.

  “If you loved him, you wouldn’t have tried to murder his best friend!” I yelled. Adrenaline pumped through me, and I clutched onto it.

  I moved around the side of the bed, grabbing the pair of panties I’d abandoned to the floor when we got home. Sliding them up over my legs, I had a brief memory of how they felt being dragged by Eddie’s fingertips, down over my hips, over my knees, until they were gone.

  Last night had been the first night we’d made love since the memory I had at the hospital. After I remembered being raped and used as a replacement to Sadie.

  I thought it might be hard to be intimate like that after the memory rooted into my brain. After just recalling I was basically a human chew toy and reliving the soreness of my body after that man did unconscionable things to it.

  It wasn’t difficult at all.

  That man didn’t even factor into the moments I shared with Eddie. When I was naked beneath him (or over him) with his hands all over my skin, all I felt was love.

  He’d been nervous. I knew he thought about what I’d been through. Eddie was cautious with me, but then pure passion came over us both, and nothing else mattered.

  “I don’t know why you’re even bothering with clothes.” Sadie interrupted my thoughts. “You know he won’t let you keep them.”

  “It doesn’t matter what he wants,” I said, tugging on a pair of sweats, reaching for a T-shirt.

  “Are you sure about that?”

  Whatever I heard in her voice scared me. I stopped cold, looking up. “Where is Eddie?”

  “
Outside.”

  Rushing to the window, I shoved at the curtain to peer into the backyard. He was easy to spot among the darkness.

  He wasn’t alone.

  I gasped.

  Not even considering Sadie, I ran forward to help him. Sadie shoved me back. I stumbled, gaping at her. “Eddie is going to get hurt!” I raged. “We have to help him!”

  “He’s fine.”

  “You said you loved him.” I flung the words at her. “If you truly did, you wouldn’t just stand here like this.”

  She stared at me. Something flickered in her eyes, as if what I said struck a chord. Whatever. I wasn’t waiting, and I wasn’t about to reason with someone who was clearly unbalanced.

  Instead of going past her, I went over the bed, taking my shirt with me. Pulling it over my head, I ran out the bedroom door, yelling Eddie’s name.

  The sound of pounding feet behind me wasn’t a surprise, but I ignored them.

  Down the hallway, I pivoted into the kitchen, racing to the back door. I grabbed the handle and yanked. Sadie slammed into me from behind, forcing the door closed. Sandwiched between her and the wood, I jerked back, trying to throw her off and pull it open again.

  Reaching around me, she banged it shut.

  “Sadie!” I gasped. “You have no idea what you’re doing!”

  The distinctive sound of a sharp blade scraping over a nearby surface made me pause. “Wha—”

  Pain, sharp and shocking, burst along my body.

  A gurgling sound sputtered out of my throat. I fell into the door, making it bang again. Instinctively, my hand moved to the source of my pain, knocking into the handle of a knife.

  Wheezing, I glanced down. There was definitely a knife sticking out of my side.

  I turned, leaned back against the door, and stared at Sadie. Her eyes were glittering, her chest heaving.

  “Oh, I know,” she said. “I know exactly what I’m doing.”

  True fear cracked through me like the brightest bolt of lightning in a thunderstorm. She was acting as though we were enemies. As though she hated me.

  Maybe she does.

  “You stabbed me,” I said, even though it was perfectly clear. My legs were beginning to wobble, and blood gushed out around the blade, saturating my shirt. I glanced down, wrapping my palm around the handle. Should I pull it out? Leave it in?

  Both seemed equally painful.

  The knife didn’t seem overly large. It was only halfway driven into my side.

  “Did you really think I would let you get away with this?”

  I began sliding down the door. I thought of Eddie and prayed to God he was okay. I knew who was out there with him.

  I knew it was him.

  He’d come for me just like everyone said he would. He wanted me back.

  I’d die before I went back to that island.

  But first, I had to make sure Eddie was safe.

  I fought my folding legs, my drooping body. I drew in breaths and blew them out quickly, anything to delay the pain.

  “Get away with what?” I asked, losing the battle as my ass hit the floor. The movement caused the knife in my side to jar, and pain made me cry out.

  “She told me, Amnesia,” Sadie yelled, emotion I hadn’t seen from her before erupting from her pores. “She told me all about your plan.”

  “My plan?” I panted, my hand hovering over the knife.

  “It wasn’t enough to get away, was it?” She stood over me and raged. I glanced around for anything I could use to defend myself. “You had to take my identity. My life!”

  “What?” I forgot about the weapon and looked up. My side was throbbing. I wanted to pull out the knife. Having it sticking out of me was torture.

  She made an angry sound and stomped forward, bent, and ripped the knife from me in one savage move. I screamed and fell over, sprawling out on the floor.

  “She watched you all those months, Lily! She stalked you, and you didn’t even know. Or maybe you just didn’t care. Everyone thought you were me, and you saw a chance to have the life I know you always wanted.”

  I pressed my hand against my bleeding side, trying to apply pressure, as slick, warm blood coated my hand.

  “You told everyone you were Sadie. You cuddled up to Eddie and used the fact that he loves me to get close to him. You fooled everyone, the townspeople, the hospital. Even my Eddie.”

  “No,” I insisted, sitting up. “I didn’t know who I was. I had no idea who you were!”

  “Lies!” She raged. “The widow told me. She would come back from watching you and tell me everything. How you planned to take my life and leave me on that island to die. You never planned to come back for me. You didn’t even care!”

  Oh my God. We always suspected she was brainwashed… but this? I never in a million years expected them to poison Sadie against me.

  “That’s not true,” I implored, struggling to stand. I felt slightly dizzy, but I shoved it away. “We weren’t sure who I was. I couldn’t remember anything. Nothing at all. When we realized I probably wasn’t Sadie, I was the one who pushed it. I’m the one who wanted to find out for sure.”

  She stared at me as I cried. I couldn’t tell if she believed me or not.

  “Eddie does love you. He—”

  “Don’t you talk about Eddie! It makes me sick to see you sleeping in his bed, in his arms! He’s mine! He always was. You took him away from me!”

  “No.” I made it to my feet, straightening, still keeping my hand on the wound.

  The knife was still in her hand, gripped so tight her fingers were white. I was scared she would try and stab me again, but this time I would be alert, prepared.

  “They lied to you, Sadie. Widow West and him. They lied.”

  “It’s all his fault, you know.”

  “Daniel’s?” I asked, trying to follow the conversation as I inched toward the door handle.

  “Robbie’s! If he hadn’t made that stupid dare, I never would have gotten kidnapped. You never would have been brought to that island, and I would be with Eddie.”

  “You tried to kill Robbie,” I said.

  “I wanted to live here with Eddie. Did you know that? I didn’t want to go with Maggie. Eddie was afraid to let me. He was afraid to hurt you. I know he wants to be with me. I see it in his eyes. He missed me. He said so himself.”

  “Of course he missed you.”

  “I came into your room that night. I saw him in your bed. It’s disgusting. It’s everything she said. You’re nothing but a liar. You hate that he found me, don’t you? You wanted me to stay gone.”

  I could barely keep up with her crazy ranting. My God, she was completely twisted and confused. They’d been feeding her lies since I escaped that island, slowly turning her against me…

  Had this been the plan all along?

  All Widow West’s attempts to get me back to the island failed, so instead, they decided to try something else.

  “You’re helping him.” I gasped, reaching toward the door handle, wrapping my slick hand around it. “You’re helping him drag me back.”

  She smiled. “I’m taking my life back, Lily. Your time as Sadie is over.”

  “I’m not Sadie!” I yelled. “I’m Amnesia.”

  “No,” she intoned, taking a step forward. “You’re his.”

  If I flung open the door and ran outside, what would be waiting for me? Was I running right into a trap?

  What about Eddie? I couldn’t just leave him out there.

  Tears flooded my face; blood ran down my hip, saturating my pants. “You can’t really think he’ll only take just me,” I said, trying to get through to her. “He won’t just force me back with him, but you, too.”

  She shook her head adamantly, taking a step back. “No. They said… They said if I helped them get you back, then I could stay here. I could have Eddie.”

  “They lied,” I cried, a sob bursting from me.

  Sadie hesitated, and I launched open the door. “Eddie, help me!�
� I screamed.

  It slipped out of my slick grasp, and Sadie banged it shut again, shoving me sideways into the end of the counter.

  With a strangled cry, she lifted the knife again and brought it barreling down. I screamed hysterically and dodged the blade, falling back onto the ground.

  Scrambling up, I deflected Sadie as she tried to stab me again.

  Outside, I heard Eddie shout my name.

  I screamed back.

  Suddenly, Sadie stopped attacking me, backed off completely, threw the knife at my feet, and then she bolted out the door.

  How long did it take to drown?

  How long until all the oxygen was burned up inside your cells? How long until your lungs shriveled and screamed, deflated and died?

  It wasn’t quiet down here beneath the surface. Death by Lake Loch was not peaceful. It wasn’t at all how Amnesia explained the way she felt that night, how she floated peacefully, almost blissfully through a dark, quiet universe of tranquility.

  Amnesia.

  Reality rushed back like a ten-inch needle driven into my spine. Clarity returned, and my lungs hurt so bad I thought even if I got some air, they would still never be the same.

  It didn’t matter.

  Half dead wasn’t dead. There was still life in me.

  There was still fight.

  I was the only thing standing between Amnesia and this monster.

  He might be strong, but I was stronger.

  Using every last bit of energy I had, I twisted my entire body and bucked. His grip loosened just a fraction, and my hand shot up out of the water and claimed a handful of his balls.

  I wasn’t above fighting dirty. There was nothing clean about this psycho.

  His hold completely dislodged, and I surged up, gasping for breath as I twisted his balls so forcefully my knuckles ached. He screamed and punched at me. I took the blows and held on. His knees buckled, but I twisted harder.

  The splash he made was huge. I let him fall, releasing his nads. I took advantage of his pain to deliver a few swift punches to the side of his head, then delivered another against his cheek, the same spot I’d cracked the bone earlier.