She bites her lip but then takes the plunge, grasping my hand to hold onto as the cold water overcomes her. She slaps her hand in front of her mouth to prevent a squeal from coming out.
“Let’s go,” I say, and I immediately start wading against the current.
“But why are we going this way?” she asks.
“To confuse the dogs. If we go up far enough they won’t be able to tell which way we went.”
“Oh …” Her voice sounds jittery, but I can’t tell if it’s because of the cold or because the adrenaline is shooting through her veins.
I can feel it flow through mine; it’s the only thing that keeps me going while I’m suffocating underneath the weight of my experience. But I won’t allow a single inch of that emotional turmoil to burst through to the surface. Not now.
“How far?” she asks.
“Stop complaining,” I reply.
“Will we have clothes there?”
“Stop! Stop asking me! I don’t know!” I yell.
One second I slip up and glance over my shoulder … and a few flashy lights come into contact with my eyes.
It’s them.
“Run!” I yell at Emmy.
Terror seeps into her eyes as the realization probably hits her that this is the choice she made and that there’s no way back. Even if she did stop in her tracks, got caught, went back willingly, they’d probably put her in the Suffering Hut for ages … or kill her on the spot.
“You want to come? Then run through the water as fast as you can!” I yell, trying to get her to move.
She nods a few times and keeps going, pushing against the waves behind me. I face the full brunt of their force and it’s hard to stay upright, but sheer will keeps me from going under. I refuse to let this be where I fall. I fucking refuse to die out here in the cold, wet, dirt.
I am free and I will live my life … Goddammit.
With a power I’ve never felt before, I push through the water, one foot in front of the other, not once stopping to look behind me. Even though I can hear the hounds getting closer in the distance, it won’t stop me from trying to reach the other side.
Emmy suddenly squeals.
I glance over my shoulder. She tripped over a rock and sunk underneath the water. When I stop and reach, she’s already being swooshed back.
For a few seconds I contemplate leaving her and getting the fuck out of here. She’s only going to drag me down with her and I will not lose my life or my body to these people again.
But what kind of a person would I be if I left someone out here, all alone in the cold, wet water … to die?
That isn’t me. That never was me, and I refuse to become that person. Because that person is what I left behind in that Community. That’s where all the monsters live. And I’m not a fucking monster.
So I take a big gulp of air and go under.
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More Books by Clarissa Wild
Dark Romance
Savage Men Series: Caged & Locked & Chased & Branded & Hanged
A Debt Owed & A Debt Repaid
The Company Series
Delirious Series
Wicked Bride Games & Dirty Wife Games
Father
New Adult
Cruel Boy
Ruin
Fierce Series
Blissful Series
Erotic Romance
Hotel O
Bad Teacher & Bad Boss
The Billionaire’s Bet Series
Enflamed Series
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About Clarissa Wild
Clarissa Wild is a New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author with ASD (Asperger’s Syndrome), who was born and raised in the Netherlands. She loves to write Dark Romance and Contemporary Romance novels featuring dangerous men and feisty women. Her other loves include her hilarious husband, her cutie pie son, her two crazy but cute dogs, and her ninja cat that sometimes thinks he’s a dog too. In her free time, she enjoys watching all sorts of movies, playing video games, and cooking up some delicious meals.
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Under His Rule (Dark Romance Suspense) Page 23