Secrets and Scars: A Gripping Psychological Thriller (Fatal Hearts Series Book 3) (11 page)

The thoughts that swirled around my mind came to a halt again when Alvin stopped walking and dropped me to the ground.

I closed my eyes quickly, feeling his eyes on me. Then I heard him turn away, followed by the sound of flowing water. Curiosity forced me to open my eyes a fraction. Alvin was turned away from me as he urinated in the bushes.

I turned my head to the other side of the dirt trail. I considered getting to my feet and running for my life, but at that moment, I detected a movement in the brush. A scream froze inside my throat when I saw them—three snakes, a few inches apart from each other.

One of them looked exactly like the snake Owen and I had seen, while the other two were smaller and reddish in color. I had even more reason to stay still now. If I moved or made a sound, the snakes might strike.

My whole body tightened except for my hands, which were trembling, the burlap sack falling from my grip to the ground. My pulse shot up when one of the reddish snakes uncoiled itself and slithered in my direction. The other two disappeared into the darkness of the bushes. As fear and panic raged through me, I grappled for air.

In a moment, maybe Alvin would get what he wanted, though not in the way he had planned. Would it be better to die from a snake bite than to be tortured and killed by Alvin?

Through the rushing in my ears, I heard Alvin zip up his pants and buckle his belt.

Then the snake suddenly disappeared from my sight, as though it had slid underneath me. It took me a moment to realize it had disappeared inside the sack.

Ingrid’s words came to me. She had told me that something good could come out of a bad situation. Shoving my way past my fear of reptiles, I saw my something good. This was an opportunity. Before I could think, before fear could paralyze me again, I gripped the bag and drew the strings closed.

As Alvin grabbed my hair again and resumed hauling me along, I held tight to the bag, holding it as far away from my body as I possibly could. I focused on the moment when I would unleash the snake on Alvin.

I would be killing Miles as well, but there was no way to separate the two. In order to save myself, I would have no choice but to kill them both.

Chapter Twenty-Four

My head slammed against the ground again. He’d let me go.

He didn’t need to say a word for me to know we had reached our final destination. The chill that vibrated from deep within my body signaled danger.

He didn’t turn around immediately, but stood there, gazing into the distance, in the direction of the sea.

A flicker of hope touched my spine. What if Miles was back and he was afraid to turn around, to see the damage his other persona had done? What if he was afraid to look me in the eyes and see the pain?

No—I could not rely on hope. It also didn’t matter whether it was Miles or Alvin standing before me now.

I had to stick to my plan, to use the only weapon available to me.

The bag writhed as the snake tried to set itself free. I wanted to let it go, but something caused me to hesitate.

If I opened the bag, I had to be ready to die as well. The snake could end up biting me instead of my target.

Giving myself a little time to think, I placed the bag underneath the shade of one of the bushes, far enough that Alvin would not be able to see it at first.

I must have hesitated too long, because Alvin was turning toward me. His eyes landed on me. This time I did not pretend to be unconscious.

“That’s what I thought.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “I knew you were awake.” He rolled his neck. “I’m tired, Kelly. I’m done playing games.”

I didn’t respond, just watched his empty eyes, studied his face.

The cuts and bruises, and the dirt on his face and hair proved the chase had not been easy on him either. He looked like a caveman. A glimmer of satisfaction flowed through me.

He pulled his hands out of his pockets and pointed a dirty finger at me. “I can’t wait to finish this and get back to my yacht for a bath and a good meal.” He smacked his lips “That’s something you’ll never have again. This island is where you’re going to die.”

I sat up, my back turned to the bush that concealed my secret weapon. I lifted my chin in defiance and held his gaze. “You can try to murder me, but I won’t make it easy.” I took a shaky breath. My hands curled into fists by my sides. “And just so you know, yesterday I talked to a proxy back in Boca Raton. I told him what you did to me, and about every murder you committed. I instructed him to hand all the information I have on you to the cops and the press. If you finish me, you
will
be finished too.”

To my surprise, something shifted inside his eyes. They started to sparkle, and then his shoulders slumped forward. His hands dropped to his sides, his fingers twitching. His lips trembled as though he wanted to tell me something.

Then Miles appeared.

“Forgive me, Chloe.” He brought his palms together. “I’m sorry for everything... for letting you get hurt. I can’t go to prison. I can’t.”

My hand clawed into the soft patch of soil next to me, my nails digging in, gripping the dirt. It was the only thing I could do. The conflict inside me was tearing me apart. I still wanted to protect Miles… but there was only one way out of my situation. The best thing I could do for Miles was prepare him.

“I’ve paid for my crimes. I’ve paid for the mistakes I made in childhood, and then some. I don't owe you or anybody anything. Not anymore.” My speech was meant for Alvin. Tears trickled down my cheeks as I spoke. “If the only way for me to set myself free is to kill you, that’s what I’ll do.”

Miles’s face crumpled. Pain flared in his eyes.

I couldn’t let my walls crumble now. I couldn’t let him in. Faced with a life-and-death situation, I had to leave our shared past behind. I had to pretend the good moments, the memories, and the love had never existed.

“I understand.” Miles raked a hand through his hair. “Maybe you’re right. I probably deserve it for not protecting you from that part of myself.”

His unexpected surrender took me by surprise. I let the words hang between us for a moment while I digested them. What could I do now? It would’ve been so much easier for me to kill him if he attacked me first.

My instincts warned me against giving in, telling me to strike while I still could. But he looked so broken, so weak. Like a little boy. If I unleashed the snake on him now, if I killed him, I’d feel as though I were killing an innocent person all over again.

“If you really meant what you just said,” I began cautiously. “If you wish you had protected me, you’ll let me go right now. You won’t do anything to stop me.”

He shook his head sadly. “I want to do that. I want to set you free, but you know I can’t guarantee that I won’t stop you again. That dark part of me... I cannot control it.”

My heart shrank inside my chest. “So you do know about him. Why did you never tell me? Why didn’t you warn me? You loved me.”

He rubbed his upper arms as though he were cold. “The medication worked in the beginning. I thought I was fine. Until I stopped taking it. I thought I could handle it on my own. I’m sorry I was too weak.”

“I didn’t know.” I thought back to the home we had shared together, envisioned the medicine cabinet in our bathroom. I’d never seen any psychiatric medications there.

Forget the past. Save yourself.

I swiped the tears from my cheeks
.
“I need you to try now. Suppress him long enough for me to get as far away as possible. Please, don’t let him kill me.”

“I love you, Chloe.” He wiped his eyes. “I want you to be safe. Go, run from me as fast as you can. I’ll do my best to protect you.”

I had to act fast. I slid further away from Miles and struggled to pull myself off the ground.

Within seconds, his strong hands were clamped around my shoulders. “For fuck’s sake, you really think you can run again?”

“I…”

“Yes, you
are
stupid. You piss me the hell off.” Alvin fell over me and pushed me into the ground, his hands squeezing my throat.

As I fought for him to release me and croaked for him to let me go, I heard a voice. Someone was calling my name.

Owen?

Chapter Twenty-Five

Not one voice, but several. They were louder now. And one of them definitely belonged to Owen.

Thank God he’s alive.

My heart burned with the urge to draw him into my arms, to feel him close, listen to the sound of his heart beating.

“Fucking hell,” Alvin growled and released me. He turned his back to me, diverting his attention to the source of the distraction. His breathing came in short, heavy bursts as he shot to his feet. He dropped to his knees behind a boulder big enough to hide him.

I drew in a huge breath, forgetting about the pain in my body. I had to act now before my chance slipped away.

My gaze shifted to the bag under the bush. Clenching my teeth tight and doing my best to harness my breathing, I reached for it and closed my fingers around the opening. I drew it toward me, careful not to bring it too close.

My heart fluttered with fear at the soft hissing sound that escaped. But I held on.

It’s now or never.

My focus returned to Alvin. I watched him pull a gun from his back pocket and aim it in the direction of the voices.

When Owen and Jeordi emerged from behind the bushes at the far end of the trail, I pressed my lips together to prevent myself from crying out with relief.

A silent prayer filled my heart. Jeordi was also alive.

Dizziness tilted my world as I struggled to sit up. I considered staying put and waiting for Owen and Jeordi to reach me, but Alvin might shoot them. They couldn’t see him hiding behind the boulder.

I raised a trembling hand and pointed at Alvin’s back. Owen didn’t get the message. He picked up pace, Jeordi at his heels. I had no choice. It was time to release the snake.

My heart slammed against my chest as I crawled off the path and got to my feet.

Owen and Jeordi slowed down. They’d gotten the message.

Alvin was so focused on them, he didn’t hear me sneak up behind him.

I extended my arms as far from my body as possible. Using the tips of my fingers, I tilted the opening of the bag toward him. The moment I opened the mouth of the bag, I threw it at Alvin, and stumbled back, landing on my ass.

The snake shot out of the bag and curled itself around Alvin’s neck, raising its head with its teeth bared.

Trying to crawl away, I watched in terror and satisfaction as it struck the side of his neck. A roar of anguish poured out of Alvin’s mouth. The gun flew from his hand and skittered away. Alvin gripped the snake below the head, yanked it off him, and threw it into the bushes. He picked up his gun and spun around. His eyes met mine.

“Fuckin’ bitch!”

A yelp tore through me as he swayed in my direction, face red with rage.

Get away, get away! Why can’t I move?

Sweat trickled down the nape of my neck.

This couldn’t be happening. The snake bite had hardly affected him. What kind of person was he? Not even a poisonous snake could stop him.

Before Jeordi and Owen could come to my rescue, Alvin had his hand around my braid again and began dragging me toward the nearest cliff. Life poured back into my body. At the sound of my screams, birds picked up and flew from their hiding places in the trees.

I won’t let him take me again.

My fight to remove his fingers from my hair and slow him down failed. He only tightened his grip. He only moved faster.

Any second, he would throw me over the cliff.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Alvin hauled me with one hand and shot at Owen and Jeordi with the other. Gunfire exploded around me, shattering whatever silence had fallen over the jungle.

I pulled in a deep breath. It was too late. He would not let me go. I was about to die a painful death.

I closed my eyes and prepared for the fall.

“Let her go.” Owen’s steely voice cut through the air. “Let her go now, Alvin, or I’ll shoot you.”

I opened my wet eyes and saw him standing about thirty feet away. His hands held the gun firmly, but terror clouded his face.

“Go ahead, shoot.” Alvin scoffed. “Give it your best shot. Let’s see who’s faster.” He pressed his gun to my head. “Let’s see if you can kill me before I blow her brains out.”

More tears flooded my eyes, distorting my surroundings into a hazy blur.

“Alvin, the only person dying today is you.” In contrast to his terrified expression, Owen’s voice was stable, measured, fearless.

“You have no chance,” Jeordi cut in. “If Owen’s bullets don’t hit you, mine will.”

Alvin dropped me to the ground and placed a foot on my chest to hold me down. The gun was still pointed to my head.