Joe, already exhausted, was struggling to battle the currents to get her ashore.
“Take it off,” he snapped. “It’s got to come off, Marguerite. If this current tears you away from me, you can’t save yourself.”
“How? There are buttons down the back,” she cried.
She had never had even an inkling of a yearning to learn to swim before. Now she was glad of it. She hated the water, and never wanted to go anywhere near it again after this.
“Where did you get that from?” she cried when Joe clamped a knife between his teeth.
“Hold on to me, and don’t let go,” he ordered. He began to cut at the material of her dress with his knife. He didn’t care how expensive her dress was as her legs were free and she could help him get through the water and onto dry land again.
The men, with only themselves to account for, were already wading ashore. Ben, having realised Joe’s struggle, stayed knee deep in the water, ready to assist. But Joe had to get them there first. With Marguerite clinging to him it was difficult.
“Now kick,” Joe ordered.
Marguerite felt the cold rush of water steal all trace of warmth from her skin and watched her now ruined dress float away. At least her legs were free now, though, and she was able to kick as Joe had instructed.
Minutes later, they stumbled ashore, exhausted but at least alive.
Once free of the gently lapping waves, they collapsed and lay together while they fought for breath.
Marguerite stared at the stars in the sky. It looked so tranquil, so calm and peaceful that it seemed to be an entirely different world away from the one she was living in right now. She could only hope that tonight saw the end of it, and she was now able to
resume her old life.
Do you really want to? A small voice whispered tauntingly.
If she was honest, no she didn’t want to. It was dull. It was boring. It was mundane.
It lacked Joe.
Aware that he was looking at her, she turned her head to study him.
“Are you alright?” he murmured gently. One hand lifted to cup her cheek and flick several loose strands of wet hair out of her face.
She nodded. “Are you?”
“I am now,” he replied huskily. “God, when I thought I had lost you-”
“I couldn’t get free,” she replied.
Joe nodded. He sat up. He didn’t want any distance between them right now and hauled her across the small distance to settle her in his lap. Once she was there, he tightened his arms around her and simply held her close to his heart while he stared out across the water. It was so calm that it betrayed no hint of the hidden dangers that lurked beneath. It was a bit like Sayers, really. On the surface, all was perfectly normal. Beneath the shadows lurked an entirely different danger that could suck the life right out of any innocent person who ventured too close and didn’t have their wits about them. It belonged only to those who had grown up around it and knew it well enough to live with the dangers it brought them.
“Has he gone?” she whispered.
Joe knew she was asking if Sayers was dead. “I am afraid so,” he replied.
“Good,” she said with no trace of regret.
“You are not sorry that he hasn’t faced prison?” Joe looked down at her.
“No, I am not. I hope he stays in those ruins with the soot and the ash where he belongs. He doesn’t deserve a proper funeral. He is nothing more than a sewer rat, and that is speaking ill of the dead.”
“Well, we are still alive, and can now put him behind us. He won’t bother you or your father ever again,” he assured her.
“What about you?” She asked. “What does this mean for your future?”
Joe pursed his lips. Until he had the time to sit and think about what it was he wanted, he couldn’t be sure if he needed to say within the Star Elite. Reg’s betrayal had made him start to doubt and question everything, including his future and what he wanted out of life. Was it time for him to experience something else in life? A new challenge maybe?