Secrets (The Secret Series Book 1) (8 page)

The sound of the waterfalls was deafening and it felt like forever before we actually reached the top of it. I looked towards Jason and he looked at me and we both knew that we were going to go over. This was just one day of one bad thing after the other, but maybe with this final plunge, I could find some peace and quiet in the great beyond. I certainly didn’t want to die, but it was stupid to think that we could survive. I would hold onto the little hope that I had, but inside I knew that this was the end

Chapter Nine

The water was everywhere and I could feel it dragging me down and there was absolutely nothing that I could do about it. I resigned myself to my fate, thinking that this was finally over, when the realization that I had given in began to sink into my subconscious. I couldn’t allow these people to dictate the terms of my death without putting up a damn good fight. There was no way that I was going to let one moment of weakness determine what was going to happen to me.

It didn’t matter that Drake or Jason had betrayed me and it didn’t matter if Devlin was out there right now searching for us to put the final nail in the coffin.

I suddenly opened my eyes and began to take in everything around me, looking for any signs of where I should go in order to surface above the water. I’ve always been a strong swimmer, but this was taking things to a whole different level. It was getting hard for me to hold my breath and I could feel my lungs burning with the effort, not to mention that my clothing was weighing me down like an anchor around my neck.

I tried various angles and moved into that direction for a few seconds before changing to yet another. I was losing hope quickly, but I was holding onto that small sliver that something would happen to show me the way out of this.
 

Just as I thought all hope was lost, I somehow manage to surface long enough to supply myself with enough air before being pulled down yet again. I was still in the waterfall and in danger unless I could get out of it soon. Having no idea where Jason was, I had to concentrate on what was going to keep me alive. After I had accomplished that, I could concentrate on looking for Jason, but for now we were going to have to rely on ourselves to get out of this mess.

I found the semblance of mind to push through the rushing water, continuing to move further away until I was sure that I was in the clear. It was only then that I went towards the surface with this sense of calm and not panicking like most people would do in this situation. I’ve heard of too many people drowning and it was mostly because they couldn’t separate their fear from reality. I’ve even read about people who drowned in ½ foot of water, because they had no idea that they could actually stand up and save themselves.

I knew I couldn’t do that, but that didn’t stop me from coming back up, seeing the shore and making a straight line towards it. It took everything I had to drag my sodden clothes and myself onto the out stretch of shore. Falling down on to my knees, I took great mouthfuls of air, sputtering up a little bit of water in the process, but nothing that I couldn’t handle.

After I got my bearings, I used the light of the moon to try to verify where Jason was, but so far there seemed to be no sign of him whatsoever. I searched up and down the shoreline all the way down to the waterfall and then I saw something bobbing in the water just out of my reach. I used a long branch to pull it in and found that it was a ripped piece of shirt with blood on it. This could only mean that Jason didn’t have the swimming stamina to find his way out of that makeshift watery prison.

I felt a momentary sense of loss, bringing about the memory of our two nights of passion. I would never see his smiling face again or that strong, beautiful body that made me ache inside for just another taste. Maybe I didn’t have to worry about those feelings any longer. I had bigger problems. I still had to worry about what all of this was all about. Without him and his friend to give me a hand, I was basically blind.

There was the sound of cars in the distance, which meant that I was close to a road of some sort. That would at least get me away from this place and maybe I could find some much needed help. At the very least they might be able to take me to a police station, but still Jason’s words rang true inside my head. It was a risk that I was going to have to take, because without Jason, I was wearing a target on my back and had no idea why.

Staying there a little bit longer just to make sure that I didn’t see a ripple in the water, I soon sighed with resignation, picking myself up and slogging away from the water and into the trees. I’m not sure how much distance it took to get me here, but I could only assume that Devlin and his people would be following the currents.

I continued to follow the sound of the traffic, until I was coming out on to a highway in the middle of the night. The sounds that I was hearing were mostly because of semi trailers trying to get from one place to another.

Doing my best to flag one of them down became an effort in futility because they just couldn’t see me unless I walked right in front of them to get their attention. That wasn’t really something that I wanted to do, because I these trucks were going so fast they probably wouldn’t be able to stop in time.

Walking alongside the road, I began to kick at rocks, taking out my frustration at everything that had happened to me so far. I’m not one to get angry, but this was not a normal situation and the red hot rage that had been building inside me began to formulate into a scream that came from the pit of my stomach. I was wet, angry, scared and just about every freaking emotion that was on the spectrum.

It felt like it had been weeks since I’ve been home, when in reality it had only been less than a day. All this started with a woman that was dying on the side of the street and I decided to be the good one and try to help out in her time of need. This led to Jason taking over Drake’s persona, although I had just recently learned that Drake wasn’t exactly the person that I thought he was. He had been playing me like a puppet, while all along living in secret with his wife and two kids. This was his way of getting some excitement back into his life and I had no reason not to believe that he wouldn’t have met me at some point. That would most likely lead to a flirtatious temptation that neither one of us would’ve been able to contain.

Jason had shown me a photo of the real Drake and he wasn’t much to look at, but it wasn’t all about looks when it came to attraction. He had already done a remarkable job of stimulating my mind and I don’t think it would have mattered what he looked like.

I saw headlights in front of me and turned to see a large truck bearing down, until finally it was skidding to the side of the road with rocks shooting in all directions. Perhaps it was a farmer getting an early start on the day and I was just fortunate enough to be standing there looking like a wet rat. There was no telling who was going to stop just when I was starting to think that nobody was willing to stick their necks out anymore. I could see why, especially considering what had happened to me, because it just didn’t pay to get involved in other people’s business.

Both doors opened up and two figures emerged from the inside, while I shielded my eyes from the headlights to see exactly who had come to my aid “Thank god you stopped. I need a drive into town and maybe you’d be so kind to give me a ride to the police station.”

“I really don’t think that we’ll be doing that.” The voice was eerily familiar and then my eyes went from gratitude to all out fear. Devlin was now standing with one of his men and I could see down the road that two more vehicles were approaching, most likely with more of his contingent following suit. “Imagine my surprise when I saw you standing on the road. It was almost like a gift from god. We thought for sure that you were dead. You really do seem like you have nine lives, but unfortunately you’re not going to live out those last seven.” He produced a gun and leveled it at my forehead while I closed my eyes waiting for the inevitable.

Chapter
 
Ten

I heard the bullet and I’ve often wondered what people would feel when they were shot, if they would feel the pain or just the sound of the bullet as it exited the chamber. For me, it was the sound that was the most terrifying and I felt no pain at all. I thought for sure that all of this was happening in slow motion and that the bullet was now careening towards me.

I heard something like a fight going on so I dared to open up my eyes. I saw a sight that was beyond my comprehension. Devlin was lying on the ground with the other man. Standing victorious was Jason, who had now moved into a kneeling shooting stance. He fired indiscriminately at the other two vehicles approaching; using whatever ammunition he had at his disposal to level the playing field.

Once he was finished with that gun, he grabbed onto the gun that belonged to Devlin, taking it from a few feet away from his hand and once again using it to send a barrage of bullets down the street. I must’ve stood there in shock for some time, watching this all play out, until I finally had the presence of mind to duck down behind Devlin’s black SUV.

“Get in the truck and stay the fuck down until I tell you to come back up.” I didn’t like being told what to do. Instead, I picked up the last remaining weapon and joined him in the fray. “I told you to…” His words were cut off as I fired point blank into one of the front tires, making the driver struggle with the steering wheel, until he was veering to the side and flipping the truck two times over. I hadn’t shot a gun in a very long time, but apparently it was like riding a bicycle.

Jason looked at me with a little bit of admiration, before smiling disarmingly. We stayed where we were behind the vehicle, shooting at anything that moved. The other truck had been taken out of action by a well placed bullet in the radiator, sending up a plume of steam that blinded the driver and sent him into a nearby tree.

As they tried to get out, we took careful aim and brought them down one at a time. They didn’t have a chance and we weren’t about to stick around to find out if any of them had survived the melee. “Let’s go.” I felt like dirty Harry, holding this gun in my hand and knowing that I had the skills to protect myself. I may not be able to fight hand to hand, but I could shoot the eyes off of a mosquito from 100 yards away. That might’ve been an exaggeration, but that certainly didn’t detract from my skill with a weapon. Why I didn’t do this before now is a mystery. Then again, the last time I picked up a weapon was when I was 16 and ended up seriously injuring my best friend Jenny.
 

That was the last time that I had shot a gun and I swore that I would never pick one up again. Even as we raced from the scene, I looked down at the smoking barrel and couldn’t believe that I’d actually given into temptation. That day I promised my parents that I would never shoot again, but that incident had ruined the friendship that I had with Jenny. It was one of those friendships that should’ve been able to stand up to the test of time, but then again I couldn’t blame her for walking away from me, especially after receiving a bullet into her shoulder.

“Okay, you did pretty good back there, Larissa. I didn’t know that I was in the presence of Annie Oakley.” He was trying to get a rise out of me, but at that moment I was still thinking about my friend Jenny. “I know that was scary for you, but you did amazingly well. You have to tell me some time where you learned to shoot like that, because you give some of the people that I work for a run for their money. I don’t know too many people that can shoot out a tire from that distance with only the light of the moon as your only way to see anything.”

“I…just did…what felt…right.” I was still trying to come to terms with picking up a weapon and using it, but then again, if I didn’t, I’m not sure exactly where we would be at this moment. He may not have been able to handle this himself. From my point of view he could use all the help he could get. “I just…need some time…to absorb all of this.” I could barely see the sun trying to come over the horizon. I couldn’t remember the last time I woke up at the crack of dawn. Usually I was too busy to notice these things, but this time was different somehow. This time I was able to see the beauty of nature and all that it encompassed and I had to admit that I had been living with my head in the sand for way too long.

“Just take as much time as you need, but we’ll be arriving at the university in about 2 hours. My friend will be their teaching a class and she’ll be very interested in what you have to say.” I couldn’t believe that I had actually gotten involved with some kind of spy stuff and things like this don’t happen to me. I’m usually the one on the sidelines working behind the scenes, while others take credit for my work and give me a pat on my back. If anything, this experience had given me a backbone that I didn’t even know I had. It was showing me that I was more capable than I gave myself credit for, which was something that I would hopefully take away from this in the end.

“I’ll try to remember every word and hopefully I will be able to give this language the justice it deserves.” I was looking out the window, watching the colors of the sun dance off of the leaves of the trees and I couldn’t believe that I’d never seen the wonders of what god had made with my own eyes. “This is happening way too fast. I thought for sure that I lost you back there. How did you survive? Why didn’t you wait around for me?” I couldn’t look at him, but it wasn’t for the reason that you think. I may have been mad at him, but I was so attracted to this dangerous man. Adrenaline was rushing through my body and causing me to get excited beyond words. One look at his direction and I would’ve been tempted to use this limited amount of time to see what I could do to get a rise out of him.

“I surfaced behind the waterfall and instead of going through it I went around it to the other side. When I came out, I was surrounded by these rock formations and I couldn’t see anything in front of my eyes. I did however hear the traffic in the distance and I figured if you survived that that where you would go. I saw you on the side of the road and was just about to say something, when Devlin came onto the scene. Getting into position, I waited for the right moment to strike. I waited until it appeared that he was going to kill you. I’m sorry that I took so long, but I had to be in a position that I could take both of them out without re-injuring myself.”