Declan followed.
Now she had no choice.
The dirt road split and she picked the left fork. It was the road less traveled of the two, but the only difference that made was more potholes. Her teeth might rattle out of her face before she got there.
Jamie headed for the cabin, praying it still existed. She passed several similar hovels dotting the road along the way—the cheaper rentals—the ones not lakeside. She saw the driveway approaching but didn’t want to turn there. She wanted access to the backyard, not the obvious entrance that ended at the garage.
She pulled the wheel to the right to head across a grass field flanking the property. The Taurus groaned as it lurched toward the backyard pier. A hubcap shot off to the right, spinning off on an adventure of its own, like a rat bailing a sinking ship.
It had no idea how clever it was.
Something clanked. She’d probably left her muffler behind.
The lake appeared, glistening in the sun.
Here goes nothing.
A hump between the field and the backyard of the cabin launched the car into the air. Just a foot, but it made Jamie suck in a breath as she lost all ability to steer or brake. She hit the pier fast. Too fast. She’d forgotten to think about the rental car’s limitations. Did it have an airbag? Would it work?
Window!
She’d almost forgotten to open the window.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
She hit the button and nothing happened.
What?
Oh, back seat. Wrong button. Her fingers skittered forward to find the button for the front driver-side window.
It began to fall.
Too late.
She heard the drumming pattern of the pier planks as she drove across them, aiming for the water. The Jeep hit the field behind her as she launched, once again airborne.
This is so stupid.
The car hit the water nose first. The airbag exploded. She’d twisted to the side to avoid the brunt of the inflation from breaking her nose. Instead, her shoulder exploded with pain as it slammed the edge of the wheel. A second later the bag deflated and she felt water beneath her feet.
I’m not dead. Good start.
On television, cars sank much slower. The Ford dove like a weighted submarine, which was both good for her plan and terrifying. The car listed heavily to the driver’s side. She tried not to take it personally.
Liquid surrounded her, closing in. She turned her head to look into the murky depths. She couldn’t see far.
During her time in the cabin, the dopey neighbor next door had bragged about how deep the lake was, as if he’d dug the thing himself.
Turns out the moron was right.
Jamie took a few deep breaths.
Here goes nothing.
She pulled her legs out from under the wheel and took one more deep breath before scrambling through the open window. The window hadn’t fully opened before her finger bounced off the button. She felt her butt drag against the top of the opening.
I shouldn’t have had that waffle this morning.
She struggled to get her hips through. For one panicked moment she felt stuck, her head underwater, upside down, trapped.
Is this how I die?
Throwing her hands behind her she felt the edge of the roof and pushed to break free. Her hips slid through and she felt the car clip the back of her heels as it sank behind her.
She swam in what she hoped was the direction of the opposite bank for as long as she could and then turned for the surface. It took every ounce of restraint to keep from breaking the water like a breaching whale. Instead, she rolled and let only her lips break the surface water. Just enough to get a sip of air.
Then she dove again and swam as hard as she could toward the opposite bank, stopping to breathe once more before she felt the water shallow.
Reeds and mangroves riddled the lake’s opposite bank. She grabbed them to pull herself deep into their tangle, fighting to push images of alligators and snakes from her mind.
She plunged into the green, trying not to struggle, but rather to slip like a snake into cover.
Stop thinking about snakes.
The back of her head breaking the surface, she turned to gasp for breath. Hefting herself farther up the bank, she peered through the branches across the water.
The lake in front of the pier appeared peaceful, as if nothing had happened. Her car had disappeared. Declan’s Jeep sat on the grass.
Where was the boy? Was he already swimming towards her, lurking beneath the surface like the Loch Ness Idiot?
A commotion burst on the surface of the lake in front of the pier as Declan surfaced. He was diving, no doubt looking for her in the car.
He’s trying to save me? That’s so cute.
A few people appeared on the bank, jogging toward the water, eager to see if the crazy lady who drove off the pier had drowned.
Jamie clawed her way up the mud and into the forest beyond.
Ugh.
She smelled like a sewer. Her clothes were ruined. Her shoes gone. She retched once, muddy water bubbling from her aching lungs.
Somewhere nearby, she heard the whoosh of a speeding car.
I have to find a way back to my hotel.
Tearing her expensive blouse into some semblance of a knotted, wet, half-shirt, she turned one last time to look across the lake at Declan, who was now climbing out of the water, the crowd moving in on him.
I am so going to kill you.
She fluffed her bedraggled hair and jogged toward the road to throw out a thumb. A car passed without stopping.
Asshole.
She adjusted her blouse to reveal most of her left breast and tried again. A pickup passed, then slowed.
Hello, sailor.
She jogged
