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Elin presses again.

There. A pulse. Thank God. Relief surges through her.

“Farrah,” she says quickly. “Can you hear me?”

She’s unconscious. Breathing but unresponsive.

Elin kneels down on the ground beside her, carefully moving her into the recovery position. Easing the blindfold off, she gently tilts Farrah’s head back, lifts her chin, checking that nothing is blocking her airway.

Whether it’s the movement that’s stirred her or she’s simply coming to, Elin hears a faint moan. Farrah’s eyes briefly flicker open before closing again.

Agonizingly slow seconds pass before Farrah’s eyelids flutter again and she opens her eyes properly, trying to focus.

“It’s me, Elin. You’re safe.”

Farrah tries to sit up as Elin watches, panicked. With possible neck and spinal injuries, the last thing she should be doing is moving before she’s been assessed. “Don’t try to move,” she urges. “You’ve got a nasty head injury.”

But Farrah’s already trying to sit up. “I’m cold.” She’s violently shivering. She wraps her arms around herself. “So cold. I can’t stay here.”

Elin hesitates. Farrah’s right. She’s soaked through, and the storm isn’t showing any sign of dying down. If they stay put, she’s at risk of hypothermia. “Okay, but before we get you standing, let me do some basic checks. Can you move your fingers and toes?”

But a few minutes later, she’s forced to admit defeat on her once-over as Farrah starts getting to her feet. Elin helps, instructing Farrah to lean on her. Inching them toward the villa, she’s unable to take her eyes off Farrah’s face, the pain etched across her features as they navigate the slippery ground. Every tree root, puddle, an obstacle.

It’s a relief when they reach the villa. “Let’s get you inside. Warmed up.” But when Elin opens the door, the air-conditioning’s blasting, the chill biting through her wet clothing.

She quickly finds the AC control and turns it off. As she leads Farrah across the room to the bed, under the glare of the lights, nothing about her face is familiar—purplish bruises and broken skin. A milky pallor.

Once Farrah’s lying down, Elin reaches for the duvet, tugs it up to her shoulders. She’s still shivering, her teeth chattering as she lies back, flinching as her head touches the pillow.

Retrieving a glass from the bedside table, Elin fills it with water, hands it to her. Farrah pulls herself up a little and slowly sips.

“So what happened?” Elin says softly and then checks herself. “Don’t worry, I understand if you don’t feel like talking.”

“No, it’s okay.” Putting the glass down, Farrah leans back again, wincing with the movement. “It was Caleb... he”—she’s still struggling to get the words out—“he hit me with something... left me for dead.” She briefly closes her eyes.

Feeling a lump in her throat, Elin has to swallow hard. “When did he attack you?”

“A few hours ago maybe.” As Farrah looks at Elin, she notices new details: dirt and tiny scratches on Farrah’s cheeks and forehead. A gash below her eye is thick with blood. “I’ve been hiding over here since yesterday.”

“Caleb came to your office, didn’t he?”

Farrah nods. A flicker in her eyes as if she’s reliving the memory. “I got a message from reception saying a detective wanted to meet in my office. I assumed it was you, but when I got there...” She swallows.

“It’s okay, take your time.”

Farrah composes herself, starts again: “When I got there, it was him, waiting for me. I tried to defuse the situation at first, grabbed my bag, said I had to go, but the look on his face...” She makes a small, strangled sound. “I knew there was no chance he was going to let me go. I ran out of the back doors, managed to get some distance between us, got down the steps leading to the rocks near the islet. I knew there’s a maintenance room belowground, just behind this villa. It was the only place I could think of. I thought he might not know about it.” She hesitates. “I was right, he didn’t. I lost him in the trees.” Her eyes drift, as if she’s starting to lose focus.

“You didn’t have your phone on you to call anyone?”

“It was in my bag, I dropped it when I was running.” Farrah’s eyes slip away again as she toys with the duvet, pinching it between her fingers before releasing it.

“We found your bag when we were looking for you. No phone.” Elin stops. A loud thud.

Startling, Farrah’s head jerks up, her gaze darting toward the door.

Elin’s pulse quickens. There’s every possibility that Caleb’s still lurking out there. Could be watching them right now...

She springs to her feet, but before she can make a move, the sound comes again, together with a sudden, lurching movement she glimpses from the corner of her eye.