Scottie’s head flew to the side as pain erupted within her skull. The unexpected blow left her on the precipice of unconsciousness, giving her attacker all the advantage he needed.
Through her blurred and fuzzy vision, she saw the man push himself up to his feet. He reached down, using the plastic ties still forcing her wrists together to aid in his effort to drag her away.
She did her best to fight him off, but he’d hit her damn hard. Still struggling to regain her full vision and strength, Scottie was unable to do anything but wait as the bastard forced her entire upper half into the cold and rolling creek.
Lying on her back, her lungs barely had time to capture any air before her head, shoulders, and chest were forced below the water’s shallow surface.
Rocks from the creek’s bed dug into her head and back, but the frigid temperature shocked her into a more alert state of mind.
Taking advantage of her renewed strength, she pushed against him enough to come up for a much deeper breath. Scottie pulled in as much life-saving oxygen as she could, her lips clamping shut half-a-second before she was shoved back under the water.
It became a sadistic dance between a killer and his victim. The push of pure evil versus the push for good to prevail.
In the end, she knew it was a fight she couldn’t win. But she refused to give up. For herself and her baby. And for Chase and the future they’d been so very close to achieving.
I’m so sorry, Chase. God, I love you. So very, very much!
Her lungs burned with the need for oxygen she couldn’t find, and she could feel herself growing weaker because of it. Scottie’s legs refused to kick as hard as before, and her bound hands no longer pushed against the man intent on ending her life.
She felt them fall limply into the water. The efforts put forth by her legs and feet no longer effective in their efforts to help her break free.
This was it. This was how she was going to die. And as Scottie began to let herself become lost in the cloud of darkness surrounding her, she found herself thankful for the chance to at least live out her greatest and most precious dream.
Even if it were only for a fraction of time, she’d known what it was like to love. Truly love. And she’d been loved.
By her mother. Her grandparents. And though it hadn’t been for nearly long enough…by Chase.
I…love…you…
The unspoken thought was the last thing to whisper through her fading mind when suddenly, the man holding her under the water was gone. At first, Scottie thought she’d crossed over to whatever was waiting for her on the other side, but then?—
A large hand fisted the front of her shirt and forcefully yanked her weakened form upward. Her head and shoulders broke the water’s surface, and not a moment too soon.
Scottie gasped and coughed, her mouth gaping like a fish out of water as she sucked in as much air as her starving lungs would allow. This went on for a handful of seconds before she managed to open her eyes to see what the hell had just happened.
It didn’t take long to figure it out.
Van, Chase’s teammate, was holding her steady with his hands on her shoulders. Concern filled the man’s dark, almost black stare as he asked her if she was all right.
She opened her mouth again, to thank him for saving her life. But the sound of a large scuffle pulled her attention to her right, and Scottie’s heart nearly stopped when she realized it was Chase.
He’d just rolled on top of the man who had damn near killed her. A murderous rage painted his handsome face red, while his fists pummeled her attacker over and over again.
He’s going to kill him if he doesn’t stop.
Lucky rushed over to her as Van used a knife to carefully cut her wrists free. “Oh, thank God! Are you okay?”
A million little pins and needles began poking her hands and fingers as the circulation in her extremities began restoring itself back to normal. Rather than answer the man’s worried question, Scottie pushed herself to a stumbling stand.
Her legs trembled beneath her, and she swayed more than once, but she didn’t stop until she was kneeling on the ground next to the man she loved.
“Chase,” she spoke softly, putting a hand on the back of his strained shoulder. “Stop. You’re going to kill him.”
He hit her kidnapper one more time.
“Chase!” Scottie said his name louder that time, needing to keep him from killing in her honor.
She didn’t want that for Chase, despite the crazed lunatic’s violent actions toward her. Mostly because she assumed he already had plenty of other ghosts from his SEAL days to contend with.