At least he’d tried to call her. She remembered his worried messages on her voicemail. Maybe those messages were the last she would ever hear from him.
Her mind was clouding over. A whisper in her head urged her to give up, to end the fear and sink into nothing. She closed her eyes, then forced them to open again. No—she wasn’t going to die like this. She had to keep fighting.
Now she began rocking from side to side, using her whole body to splash water over the side of the tub. At first shethought it might be making a difference. But then she realized that most of the water was falling back into the tub. And the motion was exhausting. As her strength ebbed, the water rose higher. She struggled to hold her head up, but she was losing the battle. And the water was cold, so cold …
Mama … where are you, Mama …?
From the other room came the shrill ringing of the house phone. That was the last thing she would remember.
As Sam yanked the key card out of the lock and shoved open the door, he could hear the TV and the sound of running water. The room was in shambles, the bed tipped onto its side and fresh bloodstains trailing across the carpet. Jasmine’s open suitcase, its contents spilling over, sat on the luggage rack. But there was no sign of her.
The bathroom door was closed. From the other side, he could hear the water running. Heart in his throat, Sam turned the knob and opened the door.
The tub was overflowing onto the floor. Clad in shorts and a tank top, Jasmine lay in the tub. Her eyes were closed, her face covered by a sheen of water.
With an anguished moan, Sam snatched her into his arms and lifted her out of the tub. Her skin was clammy, her hands and feet bound with zip ties. Feeling her throat, he detected a thready pulse. She was alive, thank heaven, but he didn’t know how long she’d been in the water. He could still lose her.
He turned off the water and carried her into the next room. Before he could perform CPR, he needed to cut her hands loose. Moving to the couch, he laid her on her side. He had just slashed through the zip tie with his pocket knife when she stirred, coughed, and opened her eyes.
“Sam …” Her voice was a feeble whisper. Overcome,he clasped her close. Her teeth were chattering. “S-Sam, you came.”
“Don’t try to talk.” He found a blanket from the wreckage of the bed and bundled it around her, then took a moment to slash the zip tie around her ankles. Her bare feet were like blocks of ice. He cradled them in his hands.
“We’ve got to get you warm, and we can’t do it here. I’m calling for an ambulance.” He punched in the police code. There were no new calls on his phone.
“I don’t n-need an … ambulance.” Her teeth were still chattering. “I’ll be fine.”
“Don’t argue with me. You almost drowned. You could have water in your lungs.”
“All right … but please, until they come, just hold me.”
Sam adjusted the blanket around her and settled her onto his lap. He still had a job to do, but he would have to work around that. Right now, nothing was more important than this precious woman.
She snuggled against him, her hair wet and stringy against his chin. “It was Hayden,” she said, still speaking with effort. “He drugged me and brought me up here. He was going to kill me. He planned to make it look like suicide so he could claim my share of the estate. But I took care of that idea. That’s his blood on the carpet. At least you’ll have plenty of evidence.”
“I’m not surprised that you fought him and drew blood. That would be like your mother’s daughter.” Sam bent and kissed her. Her lips were cold. His arms tightened around her.
“He put me in the tub and left me like that,” she said. “He’s mentally ill, Sam. No sane person would do what he did. He meant to kill Darrin, too, before the accident with the horse. And he said he’d killed other people, too.”
“Did he say that he’d killed your father?”
“I asked him. He swore that he hadn’t. I believe him. Why would he lie if he meant to kill me?”
Too bad, Sam thought. Finding Hayden guilty of Frank’s murder would have simplified everything. Now he was left with just one suspect.
“Once I’m in that ambulance, I want you to go back to work, Sam. The hospital will take care of me. I’ve taken up enough of your time.”
“Don’t even think about it,” Sam said. “I’ve got my phone if I need it. And the Run for a Million is just starting. There’s plenty of time for me to get back to the arena. I’ll ride in the ambulance with you, and I won’t be leaving the hospital until I know you’re all right.”
“Oh, Sam.” Her teeth were still chattering. “You don’t have to prove anything to me. I know you love me. And I know you have responsibilities. I should never have asked you to choose.”
“That’s enough talk.” He found another blanket and wrapped her in it, tucking it around her feet. “Let’s make you some coffee and get you into some dry clothes.”
He turned away to hide a surge of emotion. A few more minutes, or even seconds, in that tub, and he would have lost her. Hayden would pay for his crimes, and Sam still had a killer to arrest. But right now nothing mattered except taking care of the woman he loved.
CHAPTERSIXTEEN
“This is it, old boy. It’s our time to shine.”