Читать книгу Code Of Silence - Heather Woodhaven - Страница 13

FOUR

Gabriella’s lungs burned as she did her best to stay at the bottom of the lake. As an only child she’d developed some unusual skills with all the time alone. She had, for instance, challenged herself to hold her breath for as long as possible every summer.

Her personal best was three minutes, though she’d never imagined it to be useful.

A strong current shoved the hair in front of her face. It had to be Luke. She kicked, swimming forward, until her fingertips touched fabric. While it was hard to see him through the murky water, his limbs flailed. His right arm bumped into her shoulder with a force that almost made her gasp.

Was he drowning? If he panicked, he could take her down with him. She grabbed the back of his suit jacket. It allowed her to stay far enough away he couldn’t smack her as she tugged. She needed to breathe!

She tugged again, and he stopped fighting her. Her chest seized. She wasn’t going to last much longer. The sunlight disappeared. With a final strong kick, she lifted her chin and took a hungry breath underneath the pier. Her heart pounded in her throat. Her temples throbbed.

The slightest light between the slats of decking highlighted the eight inches that separated the underside of the dock and the lapping water. Her nose almost touched the wood as she sucked in another breath. Luke’s head popped up so forcefully his forehead hit the wood.

Please don’t let Rodrigo have heard that.

He hacked, coughed and greedily gasped before hacking some more. Gabriella cringed. She straightened. Her toes dragged against the sand. “Try to stand up,” she whispered. “It’s not as deep here. I’m not tall enough, but I imagine you are. Lift your hands up to help you breathe.”

He coughed up more water. He reached up and grasped the space between the planks with the fingertips of his right hand.

Water poured in several streams from the sleeve of his suit. She needed to get that off him. Gabriella tugged on his left arm. His eyes met hers, and he twisted around, apparently understanding her motive. His breathing grew regular once she’d freed him.

She balled up the fabric in her hand. Slapping feet vibrated the planks. Her heart rate sped as Luke stilled. Gabriella glided next to him. She pressed her cheek against his cold, wet skin and whispered directly into his ear, “Stay here.”

He nodded and muffled his coughing into his elbow. Gabriella hated to go underwater again. Her lungs still hurt, and the strong fish smell wafting off the water didn’t help matters.

She expanded her rib cage as wide as it could go, then sank down low. Her toes pushed off from the sand as she used the dolphin kick to move as far away as her breath would allow. She dove down as close to the bottom as possible, dropped the suit jacket, spun around and kicked hard, back to the deck.

Two seconds later, muffled gunshots pierced the water. Even though she knew she was likely far enough to be safe, each one still gave her a jolt. She kept her hands out in front of her until she saw the lighted pattern from the slats.

Before her head was fully out of the water she inhaled deeply. The pounding overhead retreated. Her trick had worked. Rodrigo thought Luke had shed his jacket and was swimming away. Or dead after the shots. But since he wouldn’t see a body floating, he’d likely think they were still alive and trying to escape the property.

She could hear him running away. Thank You, Lord.

Ten feet away, Luke had his arms wrapped around a pole that led to the lake floor. She used the breaststroke to join him.

“That was good thinking.” He kept his voice low and moved his lips close to her hair. “I don’t think he believed you that I was that valuable. Notice he didn’t shoot at you.”

“I wasn’t the one who hit him with a shovel.” She pressed the wet hair away from her face. “Doesn’t mean he wouldn’t shoot me now. Surely he gets the point. We don’t know where the evidence is. Let’s just pray he moves on.”

Luke shivered, his teeth chattering. “Were you hoping to wait him out under here?”

“Not for long. The reeds are all along the water’s edge. We can use it as camouflage to get back to the house. Are you okay? Are you able to swim and follow me?”

“I think so. I can’t get a good look at where he shot me, but I’ll do my best to keep up.”

Her jaw dropped. “He shot you? Are you okay? Where?”

“In the leg. I can still move it, though, so maybe it’s just a graze.”

“Or adrenaline.” She closed her eyes. All she wanted was to get him away from danger, not make things worse. “I’m so sorry, Luke. I just reacted without thinking. I knew the farther we got away from him the less accurate his shot would be but—”

“You were trying to get away from the shooter. I get it. Why the change of plan, though? Why not go into the house?”

“No keys, remember? The back door was locked. Ironic, right?” The waves grew bigger and slapped against the pole. Her ears perked. She held up one finger to her mouth. Had Rodrigo hopped in?

She needed to stick to the plan and get Luke’s wound treated as soon as possible. “Can you keep your hand on your wound? I don’t know how much good it would do but we don’t know how much blood you’re losing.”

Thankfully she’d spent every single summer swimming this lake and could visualize the layout with her eyes closed. She’d even dreamed about it during the long winters.

Gabriella pressed off from the pole and glided to the next one six feet away. She beckoned Luke to follow. He tried to swim toward her while keeping his hand on his leg. His uncoordinated movements made a few waves that splashed against the other poles. Gabriella tensed and listened for signs Rodrigo had heard him. The wind produced ripples across the surface. Please let him think it’s just the wind.

The intensity of swimming underwater waned and as her heart rate slowed, the chill of the early summer waters produced goose bumps up and down her arms. She clenched her jaw and repeated the floating technique.

The reeds began at the end of the dock. It was the perfect place to catch bass—the lake was stocked with both bass and rainbow trout—and though it made a good hiding place, it would be uncomfortable. They’d have better agility if they kicked off their shoes, but they’d likely need the protection when navigating the woody, prickly plants. She hated to think of just how many fishing hooks she’d lost over the years within those reeds. They hid there, lurking, waiting to poke them.

She placed her palm on top of the water and waited for Luke to accept her hand. Together they slipped into the first bunch of reeds, careful to keep their bodies submerged.

The sensation was akin to hiding in a wet hay bale—not that she’d ever done that—and she just wanted out as soon as possible. Something slimy slipped past her arm. She released a silent squeal as she squirmed closer to Luke.

He raised his eyebrows.

“Hoping that was a fish,” she whispered. “Do you see Rodrigo?”

Luke pointed to the west. “He’s running alongside the lake, toward the willow trees.”

“Good. He probably thinks he’s going to cut us off before we get to the gate.”

“Agreed, but if we’re not careful he’ll still see us. We’ll need to take it slow.” Luke lifted his hand to wipe his hair away from his face, but he froze when he saw the blood on his palm.

His face paled, and he plunged his hand back into the water to apply pressure to his leg.

Taking it slow meant less risk of Rodrigo spotting them, but Gabriella couldn’t afford that luxury. The summer sun didn’t dip below the horizon until ten o’clock in June, but her rumbling stomach told her it was already past dinner. Her chance to save her aunt and Luke was slipping away.

They wordlessly swam together, their heads just above water, uncomfortably close to the border of the reeds lest they needed to hide at a moment’s notice. Swimming proved more difficult in her clothes. Her shirt kept catching on the woody stems.

The lake wrapped around the house, so Gabriella figured they could get as close to the front door as possible before leaving their hiding place. Luke’s teeth finally stopped chattering, either from the exercise or from going into shock. Either way, she wanted to get him inside as fast as possible. She barely registered the cacophony of nature around her. The toads croaking, the crickets in the distance...

In the sunlight, she really wanted a chance to look at Luke’s wound but knew that would make them more vulnerable to being seen.

“You keep looking at me like that, you’re going to give me a complex,” he muttered.

Gabriella smiled. “I wanted some heads up if you were going to pass out on me.”

He shrugged. “I’m made of tougher stuff than that.” His eyes widened, and he grabbed her shoulder. She froze as something glided out of the reeds. Her breath caught. With two beady eyes and an open mouth swinging side to side, the snake’s long body slithered mere inches in front of her face. A bright white line on top made it impossible to stay still. Poisonous snakes usually had stripes and colors. She kicked backward into Luke’s chest.

“It’s just a garter snake,” he whispered.

Gabriella’s heart didn’t seem to register his reassurance because it continued to speed up. “Are you sure? I thought those were supposed to be small. This one is like four feet long.”

“I’m positive. Your property must feed it well.”

A moment later they’d reached the shore nearest to the driveway. “I’ll keep a watch out while you climb out. If you go right between our cars and stay low, we should be safe from view. Theoretically.”

Luke frowned. “I think you should go first.”

“No offense, but you are injured and likely to take longer to get out.”

His blue eyes locked on hers but she couldn’t begin to imagine what he was thinking.

“Then we go together,” he said.

“Fine.” It actually made more sense since she could help him out. The muddy climb proved challenging. She fell to her knees twice, and dirt slipped underneath her fingernails. “This is the reason there’s a ladder attached to the dock in the back.” Streams of water poured off her blouse and her stringy hair as she tugged on Luke. Her left foot slipped, and she fell back into the grass, the breath knocked out of her.

Luke fell to his knees. “Maybe we should crawl.”

She took a shuddering breath, her lungs refilling. She scanned the property for Rodrigo. So far no sign, but it’d be far easier for him to see them from the trees without them spotting him. Her temples throbbed. She did as Luke suggested and turned to crawl.

The moment her fingers touched asphalt, she got to her feet but crouched down. That’s when she saw it—the rip, the gash and the blood dripping from Luke’s pants. All that time in the lake and brushing up against the reeds likely increased the chance of infection, as well.

Luke’s face paled as he followed her gaze. “Not good with blood,” he croaked and fell to his knees.