There with You (Adair Family 2)

Any sympathy or compassion I’d felt died. “You know”—I pushed up onto my knees, the world spinning a little—“I’m getting a little sick of people saying that to me.” I wobbled as I stood up straight, but I forced myself to focus past the dizziness. “I know my mind. My heart. And while I’m very sorry that your life has been difficult, other people have gone through similar shit, and they don’t resort to rape and kidnapping.”

“I never raped you!” he shouted.

“You tried!”

“That wasn’t rape.” Austin tore his hands through his hair. “God, how could you think that, this whole time?”

“Because it’s true! You held me down and you tried to have sex with me against my will. That’s attempted rape, Austin. Never mind the fact you continued to threaten to rape me in your emails.”

“No, no, no.” He started pacing frantically. “No, you’re mixed up. You’re remembering things wrong.”

As he continued to rant, I glanced over my shoulder, and my head spun dangerously as I saw how high up we were.

Turning back to him as he paced and disagreed about what occurred between us last January, I knew there was no arguing with him. He saw things his way, and there was no showing him differently.

Austin stopped rambling and looked over at me, his expression feral in the moonlight. “I’ll just have to show you. Remind you that for us, sex is about making love. Yeah.” He strode toward me. “We should have that from each other before we go.”

“No.” I stumbled sideways and then tried to dart past him. We grappled, me pushing at his face, clawing at his neck, trying to escape. Yet he was so much stronger than I was, and I was so dizzy from the blow to my head.

Robyn’s voice roared in my mind, instructing me, demanding I not let him get me on the ground, but my limbs wouldn’t obey.

My foot slipped, hitting nothing but air, and I cried out in fright.

“Careful!” Austin gripped me to him. “We don’t want you going over the edge just yet.”

Suddenly, I knew why he’d brought me here.

He intended to send me over the edge with him tonight.

And I was not dying in the North Sea.

Tears of fury and desperation streaked my cheeks as he hauled me into his arms so tightly, I could barely breathe.

“God, I’ve missed you.” Austin buried his face in my neck.

Every inch of me was repulsed by his hold.

“Please,” I whispered, “don’t do this to me.”

He lifted his head to stare down into my eyes, and I saw nothing but belief in his.

I had no idea someone’s faith could be so terrifying.

“This is how it’s meant to be. You’ll see that soon.” He curled his foot around mine and I fell.

My back slammed into the ground, my head wound screaming with the impact.

And then Robyn’s commanding voice was in my head again, reciting instructions as Austin fell to his knees and tried to grab at my hands.

Focusing on Robyn’s voice, I forced my left knee into his gut to stop him from coming down on top of me as I wrapped my hand around his right wrist. Then I pulled back my right leg and planted my foot hard on his hip … and I ripped at his hold on my arm and shoved him away from me with all my might, using the strength in my legs. He toppled backward as I rolled out from under him and scrambled to my feet. Eyes darting to him, I froze in shock as his arms windmilled at his sides.

And then he was falling out of sight.

His scream wrenched through the night air, chilling me to the bone.

Finally, I heard him crash into the waves below, just as they pounded against the rocks.

Nausea crawled up my belly as I tentatively walked over to the cliff’s edge.

There was nothing but white froth in darkness under the moonlight.

No sign of Austin.

Shaking so hard my teeth rattled in my head, I stumbled back from the edge and sobbed. A sense of unreality descended over me.

Focus, Ree, I heard Robyn whisper. Come back home.

“Eilidh, Lewis,” I murmured into the night. No one knew where they were. They must be scared out of their minds.

Rushing forward, pushing through what I was sure was a concussion, I ran from the edge and into fields sparse with winter grass. I had no idea where I was, how far from Ardnoch he’d taken us.

But as I followed the coast, I saw lights in the distance. Hurrying toward them, it took about ten minutes before a sense of overwhelming familiarity rushed over me.

I was near Gordon’s trailer park at Ardnoch Beach.

Loud music thrummed from the park, and I could see shadowy figures outside the trailers, partying together.

Of course. It was still Hogmanay.

“Help!” I yelled hoarsely, running harder now. “Help!” The fields eventually gave way to a path carved by people trekking up onto the cliffs. The path sloped down toward the trailer park, and I stumbled on a large pebble, going over on my ankle. The jarring thud of hitting the ground on my hands and knees made black dots cover my eyes.