Page 157 of Risky Obsession

Did Lacey escape? Or did that fucker get her?

Anger stung my brain like salt on an open wound.

I’d seen Lacey fight. She may be petite, but she was agile and a fierce fighter. Maybe that bastard didn’t have a gun, and that was why he couldn’t shoot us.

Clinging onto that thought, I had to believe she was okay. The alternative shredded my mind to pieces.

Trying to remain calm, I focused on my breathing. Inhale, exhale. One, two. I counted each breath, trying to find a rhythm despite the chaos crashing through my thoughts.

I inhaled a lungful of stale air through the pipe, then slowly let the bubbles release from my nose. It was equal parts a delicate dance, and a deadly game.

My heart pounded in my ears, drowning out the sound of my ragged breathing. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could do this.

Where are you, Lacey?

The darkness seemed to swallow my thoughts, making them barely audible even to myself. I couldn’t shake the gnawing dread that coiled around my stomach that something had happened to her.

I could still hear her voice, telling me she loved me.

I should have told her that I loved her, too, and that I forgave her.

Why didn’t I? Did she die thinking that I didn’t love her?

I choked back a sob, and the weight of my anger threatened to crush me. Each stale breath I dragged through the pipe was harder than the last.

I screamed my anger, releasing a burst of bubbles that went up my nose. Gasping, I sucked in a mouthful of foul water. It hit my lungs like a brick, and bucking against the pain, I hit my head on the roof.

Fuck!

My mind shattered as I fought the panic racing through me. Drawing on the last of my air, I blew into the tube, hoping the pressure was enough to clear the airway. When my lungs couldn’t wait a second more, I sucked in a huge breath.

Stars danced across my eyes, and I welcomed the distraction. Forcing myself to get my shit together, I returned to counting my breaths.

It would be so easy to let go of the pipe. Sure, the pain would be excruciating, but it would be over quickly enough.

Lacey’s beautiful eyes drifted into focus, but they didn’t shimmer with the element of mischief that I loved about her. Instead, they were bloodshot and flooded with tears.

If I died, she would blame herself.

I banged my fist against the ceiling

Get your shit together. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

With each passing second, the darkness closed even tighter, smothering me.

Pops drifted into my mind, calm as ever.

You’d be proud of me, Pops. I got the treasure, and I got the girl.

The last words Pops said to me before he slipped into oblivion was that wealth was worthless if you didn’t have someone to enjoy it with.

It was a cruel irony that I was going to die alone with a fortune at myfingertips.

Oh God. I’m going to die alone!

Despair consumed me, and I shivered in the cold darkness.

Fuck that!