Page 86 of Cold Silence
He signaled his readiness and dropped into the night sky. Black with stars glittering overhead. Gravity pulled him downward. Down. Down. Down. The wind rushed up to meet him, catching his chute and jerking him upright. He directed the fabric toward his landing target.
His heart thumped in his chest, the pounding like a conga drum in his head.
Keep it together, man. You’ll get to her in time. Eric needs her alive.
Or does he? She might’ve already provided Eric with the specs.
Now his goal was to silence her.
Forever.
And Travis was powerless to stop him.
19
Claire pounded over the spongy ground, her every sense attuned to the night hanging thick and heavy overhead. To the slight breeze carrying fetid smells from the swamp. The insects buzzing. The darkness suffocating and paralyzing as she raced through it. No matter her fear, she had to keep going.
Her life depended on it.
Eric was gaining on her now, his footfalls pounding closer.
Fear raised its ugly head.Faster. Go faster.
She tried to pick up speed. Swampy gunk sucked at her feet and threatened to take her down. Slowing her more. Her only hope was to hide. But where?
Think, Claire, think.
She slowed and searched the area. A pool of stagnant water lay ahead. As a native Floridian, Eric had to know water meant gators. If she took to the water, he would never follow. She didn’t have the same choice. She would rather chance making it safely to the other side before Eric spotted her than stay on shore and risk a certain bullet to the back.
Holding her hands high to keep the slimy water from the raw circles the rope left on her wrists, she plunged in. Cool water swallowed her ankles. Thankfully, her ankles hadn’t suffered the same injury or the pain might slow her down even more.
She moved at a snail’s pace. The bottom, slimy sludge, slowing her down.
Five feet.
Ten. Twenty. Thirty. Movement rippled the water at her side.
A gator? Probably.
Terrified, she dug deeper. Picked up speed, churning the foul water. A dark form emerged about ten feet away.
No, oh, no. It really is a gator.
A big one. Silent. Deadly. Gliding toward her. Water sluicing off his rough hide. His beady eyes skimming over the surface and fixed on her. His jaw poised and ready to snap.
Oh, God, please don’t let me die this way or even be injured. Please!
She dug her shoes in and pushed with all her might. The quicksand of a bottom captured her feet. The water shifted more.
Now only three feet away.
Please, not this!
A crack split the night, and the gator stilled. She spun. Saw a man wearing goggles on the bank with a rifle to his shoulder.
Eric?Or maybe his associate?
She was safe from the gator now, but she hadn’t made it safely to the other side where she could hide. If itwasEric, he must see her. So why would he kill the gator when he could’ve put the same bullet in her back?
