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said this is a birthday surprise for you." Now, that surprise had become a death se
s. The paper felt like broken glass against her palm. Not a Bowen. The words o
heels against the wooden deck cut th
half-empty champagne flute in her hand. She bl
ok. The cold was seeping into her
against the roar of the ocean. "Of course I did,
he smell of expensive perfume
red, her voice dropping to a venomous hiss.
twisted into a tight knot. She raised her hand, a pur
hia's hand shot out. Her grip on Ha
fying shift in her expression ha
ent shove, Cynthia
, rusted railing. A sickening crack eceached out, her fingers desperately c
lee plunged into t
like a thousand needles piercing her skin. She opened her mouth to
the yacht sped away, shri
ts and her cheating fiancé flashed behind her eyelids.
h wood. A broken life preserver board. She clung to it, her knuckles
nto a numb,
irst into coarse, wet sand. The friction scraped
he surf. She was on an unfamiliar beach. A massiv
ed her bare feet through the sand, pushi
ck with the smell of strong liquor and a st
d. Her foot clipped a
s the floor wit
he darkness. Long fingers wrapped ar
ushed back into her throat as she was
man smelled of sweat and that dizzying her
e gasped, thr
led intensity, mistaking her for someone else. His han
the neckline of her wet dress. The fabric gave way with a sickening rip. A heavy, sharp metal cufflink on his sleeve caught the delicate skin just above her collarbone. Theng. The metallic scent of her own blood mixed
hed over her, drowning h
ylee woke up to the sound of steady breathing
the room. She couldn't see
as she grabbed the torn pieces of her dres
bject rolled off thee squeezed it in her fist, the sharp
ors, her legs shaking so badly s
he dark water. An old fishing boa
voice a raw, broken rasp. S
, shouted something and threw a
n agony. She collapsed onto the deck, t
y wool blanket over h
he opened her fist and stared at the he
rned away from the island. The black silhouette of t
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