Dangerous Obsession
Page 21
“There’s no other option,” he snapped. “Get in the water. Now!”
Seconds later he heard her hit the water.
Time was running out.
He spun and flung the bistro chair at shotgun guy who’d just recovered his weapon.
Then Zane turned and ran.
He reached the edge of the boardwalk and leapt off, the boom of a shotgun blast ringing in his ears as he hit the surface of the lake.
The frigid water was shocking as he plunged downward. He opened his eyes underwater, where everything looked dark blue and blurry. Then he kicked his feet and started upward, back toward the light.
He broke through the surface and saw the boardwalk a few feet away. He quickly looked for the two gunmen, expecting shotgun guy to open fire on him. They were nowhere in sight. Lord, please help the cops catch them.
He turned and saw the woman bobbing on the surface, treading water several yards away from the boardwalk. With the water this cold, he wasn’t surprised that she hadn’t been able to swim any farther. He swam over to her. His muscles were already knotting up from the cold water, so the going was slow.
“Hey, are you all right?” he called out when he reached her.
The only response he heard was the sound of her teeth chattering.
Dark blonde hair was plastered over her face. She reached up to move it aside, and he found himself looking into the dark brown eyes of Caroline Marsh.
A voice called out to them from the boardwalk, but Zane didn’t understand a word the man was saying. He just stared at his former fiancée while she stared back.
For the span of a couple of heartbeats it felt like no time had passed since he’d last seen her.
How long had it been?
Eight years. More than enough time for Zane to think of all the things he might say to her if they ever crossed paths again. All of them were some form of a heartfelt apology. Now here she was and he could barely put together a sentence. Could barely even breathe.
“Are you hurt?” he managed to ask again.
“I-I’m all right, Zane,” she stammered, her teeth still chattering.
She lifted her hands out of the water to tuck her hair behind her ears. “Th-thank you for rescuing me. But you don’t need to stay beside me. Go ahead and swim back to the boardwalk. I can take care of myself.”
Despite the horrifying events she’d just been through, she lifted her chin out of the water and managed a weak version of her signature spirited smile.
It would have hurt less if she’d shot him.
Tender memories and old regrets ripped through Zane’s heart. But he didn’t have time to dwell on them now. The grim reality was that two determined gunmen had just tried to kill her.
What had Caroline gotten herself into?
Copyright © 2018 by Virginia Niten
ISBN-13: 9781488088025
Dangerous Obsession
Copyright © 2018 by Jessica R. Patch
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