Corrupt - Douglas Penelope (книги .TXT) 📗

Rika.

I darted my eyes everywhere, looking for her hands, her white T-shirt, her hair, but…

I swam down, down, down, as fast as I could, looking side to side and not wasting a second.

But as the moments passed, and I didn’t see her, fear thundered in my chest. I was going to lose my fucking mind.

Where the hell was she?

Pressure built in my lungs, and my eyes blurred. I heaved, needing air, and bellowing into the water, I shot back up for the surface and sucked in a hard breath as I came through.

“Rika!” I raged, spinning in a circle to see if she came up. “Rika!”

Nothing.

I shot my head up, seeing Kai hanging over the edge, breathing hard and looking exhausted.

“Kai, get in here!” I yelled. “I can’t find her!”

He looked up, narrowing his eyes in worry. I couldn’t see Damon or Trevor, but I didn’t fucking care anymore. Will was still tied up, and Rika was…

I dived back down, hearing the distant sound of Kai entering the water seconds later, and we descended, pushing through the water and into the black.

So far.

It was so far down.

She was down there already, getting farther and farther away from me, and I would never find her.

Ever.

Please, baby. Where are you?

And then my heart stopped, seeing a flash of white.

Rika was rising faster and faster, her arms pushing her up and her legs kicking, as she came into view, getting closer every second.

Kai and I grabbed hold of her arms and pulled her up. We broke through the surface of the water, and she coughed and gasped, trying to take breaths. I held her up, touching her face.

“Rika,” I breathed out, my heart aching like I had a knife lodged in it. “Are you okay? How did…?” I trailed off, feeling my stomach coil at how close I’d come to losing her.

She nodded and started to shake, her face cracking as he started to cry. “He hit me after you shot him,” she choked out. “It knocked me out long enough for him to tie me up. By the time I came to, he was forcing me over the edge.”

I pulled her along, swimming back to the yacht. We climbed up onto the deck, Kai holding her as I pulled her up.

“How did you get free?” I asked.

“The shard.” She opened her fist, shivering. “I took it after you tossed it on the bed.”

I pulled her into me, wrapping my arms around her and squeezed her so hard, my body shook.

“Where’s Damon?” I asked Kai, seeing him pull Will up and untie his hands.

But it was Will who answered. “He took off in Pithom’s speed boat while you guys were under.”

I just closed my eyes and squeezed Rika in my arms.

Kai and Will climbed the steps to the main level, and I pulled her along. She needed a hot shower, a warm bed, and me.

We walked across the deck, and I spotted Trevor laying at the edge of the pool, bleeding and struggling to get up.

He could barely lift his head.

I didn’t know how many shots he’d caught out of the three I’d fired, but the blood spilled over the deck and he was breathing heavily.

“Michael,” he said, sounding out of breath as he held his hand against the wound on his chest. “Take the boat into port. I’m bleeding.”

Kai and Will stood near, watching him, while I held Rika in my arms, anger and hatred boiling inside of me.

None of us made a move to help.

He’d nearly killed her. Tried to kill Will, Kai, and threatened to kill me.

“Michael,” he pleaded. “I’m your brother.”

I stood there, not seeing a brother. I saw blocks go over the edge. I saw Rika dumped like she was garbage and Will sent to the bottom like he was nothing.

I could’ve lost them. I could’ve lost her.

Forever.

Where was my brother then?

Something fell behind my eyes, and I didn’t blink. I may not have been able to choose between the lives of Rika and my friends, but I had no trouble choosing between them and my brother.

Raising my foot, I planted my shoe on his shoulder and shoved.

He grunted and grappled for my leg, fear rounding his eyes before he rolled and fell into the pool, his arms flailing as he sunk lower and lower. He tried to struggle. Tried to grab at the water like it was a wall he could climb.

But only his eyes broke the surface as he drifted to the bottom, peering up at us and seeing his hope only feet away, not coming for him.

“Michael.” Rika looked at me, breathing hard. “You…please. You’ll have to live with this forever.”

But I just turned my gaze back to Trevor, keeping my feet planted where they were.

I knew she didn’t want me to do it. I knew she worried I’d regret it, and I’d suffer consequences. I knew, no matter what, that Trevor was my brother, and he’d been a part of both of our lives.

I watched as he struggled and tried to take in breaths, his body too weak from the blood loss to save himself and swim back up.

And when he stopped moving, going still in the water, I closed my eyes and let my fists slowly uncurl.

“You would never have been safe,” I told her.

She buried her face in my chest, and I held her as her body shook with silent sobs.

I turned my eyes on Kai. “Get the boat into port, okay?”

He nodded, holding his side. “Just take care of her. We got this.”

I took Rika’s hand and pulled her through the salon and back down the passageway again, taking her into the cabin designated for me when I was on the yacht.

I ran my hand through my hair, slicking back the wet strands and feeling like my heart was about to jump out of my chest.

I almost lost her.

Squeezing her hand, I headed straight into the bathroom, turned on the shower, and started throwing open cabinets, not sure what I was looking for.

“Here.” I went to her, rubbing my hands up and down her arms. “You’re freezing. Get out of these clothes.” And then I turned around, checking the shower temperature. “I’ll run it hotter, okay?”

“Michael,” she said gently, trying to stop me.

But I pushed forward, feeling my stomach roll. “We’ve got towels here for when you get out.” I gestured to a cupboard. “Unless you want a bath instead. I can run one. Maybe soaking would be better.”

“Michael.”

“I just…” I rubbed a hand down my face, trying to find my words. “I’ll just try to find you some clothes. My mom probably has things here that you can wear, so—”

“Michael,” she said louder, reaching up to take my face in her hands.

But I tore myself away, leaning back on the sink and bowing my head, feeling pain everywhere.

Was this what she wanted? For me to be vulnerable and feel the fear I felt tonight?

Is this what she felt for me?

“I thought you were gone,” I said, barely audible. “The water was so black, and I couldn’t find you. I thought I’d never get to you.”

She came up to me, taking my face again.

And I looked up into her blue eyes, knowing that would always haunt me. What if she had never come back up? What would I have done?

I slid a hand around the back of her neck and wrapped my other arm around her waist, taking her lips in mine and kissing her so deep the heat of her mouth filled my entire body.

I could kiss her forever.

Touching my forehead to hers, I ran my thumb across her face, caressing it. “I love you, Rika.”

I’ve always loved you.

She broke out in a smile, tears streaming down her face as she circled her arms around my neck and pulled me in close. I squeezed her tight, burying my face in her hair, never wanting to let her go.

After all the years and all the times when I should’ve known, it took her nearly getting killed for me to realize what she meant to me. For me to realize how ingrained in every moment of my life she was and how she’d always been there, right in front of me.

Her, riding her bike around my driveway when she was five. Her, learning to swim in my pool. Her, running around and doing cart wheels in my backyard.