Page 36 of Fool Me Once

If this had been anyoneelse, he would have been long gone by now, but because it was his friend, hewas giving him the benefit of the doubt. Also, he talked about Leah, and thatwoman had him in some kind of choke hold. He needed to know every single detailabout her.

Cain wondered if that wouldever change.

“Simple, so does Leah, andshe didn’t run away. She didn’t try to abandon you. She stuck by your side. Shehas not run away screaming like other women would. You love her, and she lovesyou, so get your head out of your ass and do something about it before it istoo late.”

Chapter Eleven

Leah was bored waiting forCain to arrive back home. She’d already gone to the library looking for a bookto read, only to find none. She didn’t want to read a horror story, nor did shewant to find a romance.

Wandering through thehouse, Cain had given several of the maids the day off, and she didn’t haveanyone to talk to. The soldiers, although polite to her, didn’t like to becaught chatting with her because Cain wasn’t very nice to them.

She refused to get anyonein trouble just because she felt bored. Frank had already told her what hewanted to talk to Cain about. Frank had asked Cameron to marry him, and he wasgoing to talk to Cain about being his best man.

Frank already asked Leah ifshe would be a bridesmaid. Cameron was nervous to ask, and Leah was excited forher friend. She knew Cameron didn’t have many friends, but she’d be the bestbridesmaid she could possibly be.

Staring out Cain’s bedroomwindow, she looked over toward the pool. With her boredom growing with everypassing second, she knew there was only one thing she wanted to do, and thatwas to go for a swim.

She changed into a costumeand then made her way downstairs, nodding at the guard that patrolled justoutside. It was getting cold, and it wouldn’t be long before taking a swimwould be a bit of a pain.

Stepping into the poolroom, she moved to the control panel on the wall and turned on the heat. Withinseconds she felt a change. Removing her towel, she made her way toward the pooland stepped inside.

She felt the water aroundher, and then when she was comfortable, she began to swim from one end of thepool to the other. Back and forth she went and tried to alleviate her troubledthoughts. Frank advised her to stop wasting time and finally tell Cain how shefelt.

His advice sounded greaton paper, but it wasn’t going to work. Cain was not like Frank. He wasn’tlooking for love, and he certainly didn’t love her, although Frank was underthe impression he did.

At the sound of a bang,Leah stopped swimming, pushed her hair off her face, and glanced around thepool. There was nothing. No sound. Just stillness. She was sure she heard abang.

“Cain?” she asked.

Leah didn’t frighteneasily. She spun around, hoping to see something, only there was nothing. Therewas no way she was hearing things. She frowned, and then shook her head andstarted to swim.

There was the sound again,and she stood up, glancing around.

“Who’s there?” she asked.Every sense she possessed went on alert.

She knew something wasn’tright, and she had to get out of the pool. Leah began to walk, and just as shereached for the edge of the pool, something grabbed her ankle. There was notime to scream for help, as she was suddenly dragged under the water.

In the frenzy of trying toget free, she didn’t see who it was. Then, as she felt that panic start toerupt within her, she knew whoever it waswastryingto drown her.

Kicking out was no good.The water made it impossible for her to lash out. She needed to get to air, andthat panic set in once again. Reaching out, she gripped the person’s short hairand tugged hard, knowing she had to gain the upper hand.

This is what Ben hadalways taught her. When or if she was ever attacked, she shouldn’t be afraid tohurt. They had started it, and it was all in self-defense.

Her grip must have been awarning to them, because in the next second, they let her go. She broke fromthe surface and took a breath. Without waiting for the person to attack again,she rushed to the side and lifted herself up. She spun around, and her anklewas caught again, and she yanked, hard.

Leah cried out as shefell, scraping her back on the edge, and at the same time she knocked her elbowup as she fell back into the water.

This time, she was able toget away, and then she saw him: Danny Knox. He was in the pool and attemptingto drown her.

“You!” she yelled.

They had both broken thesurface at this point.

“Me.”

He went to hit her, butshe moved out of his way and he didn’t see the punch headed his way. She didn’tstop, and hit him until she heard something crunch, and she knew she’d takenout his nose.

With him now in pain andbleeding, she got out of the pool, scrambling away from the edge. That littlebastard had been trying to drown her. She rushed toward the door, ignoring hertowel as she tried to get the attention of the guard.

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