Page 50 of Deadly Ruck
"Thank fuck." He breathed out a heavy sigh of relief. "I didn't think I got to you in time."
I blinked and looked up to where he crouched beside me. "You did.” He was a beautiful sight to see right now. Always, but especially right now. “I never had any doubt."
I decided not to dwell the last few thoughts I had before he pulled me out of the water. Of course they never would have let me die. Not if they could help it.
I slid my gaze over to the pool. Skinner lay face down, blood trickling from his head, mingling with the pool water.
It was then I realised Dallas was standing beside the pool, a football boot in his hands. I could make out the spikes on the sole.
"Did he…" I asked softly.
"Hit Skinner on the head with a footy boot? Yes, he did," Ramsey said proudly. "He didn't even hesitate."
Dallas turned his face slowly to look at us. "I wasn't going to let him kill you," he whispered. The boot dropped from his hands and he knelt down beside me to gather me up, not caring that I was drenched.
"We heard what he did," Ramsey said. "He deserved it."
"Yeah, he did," I agreed. "We need to get to King before he finds out about this."
Ramsey made a sound of agreement in the back of his throat. "The camera is off, but we need to deal with this before someone walks in."
He stood and gestured to Dallas to help him. They each took hold of an ankle and a wrist and hauled a dripping Skinner up out of the water, over to the side of the pool. "We'll put him in the change room. With any luck, he won't be found in there for a while."
They hefted him and carried him away, easing open the change room door before taking him through and out of sight.
I took a few moments to regain my composure before placing my palms on the tiles and pushing myself to my feet. Both of my shoes were floating on the water, probably ruined.
My jeans, T-shirt and Smashers hoodie were drenched through. I was cold, but rather than being angry, scared or even traumatised, I had an idea. Was it too out there? Possibly, but I needed to try. Jones hadn't broken me. Skinner hadn't killed me. I could do this. For all of those women, I'd do this.
I grabbed a towel from the basket near the door and wrapped it around my shoulders. I was just pulling it closed over my chest when the guys hurried out of the change room.
"We need to find you some dry clothes," Ramsey said, looking worried.
"Not yet." I told him what I had in mind.
Neither of them seemed to like the idea, but they both sighed and conceded it might just work.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ramsey
I stayed closebeside Chelsea the whole way to the elevators and during the ride. I didn't have to pretend to play the part of dutiful boyfriend all the way to the executive offices. It wasn't an act. Neither Dallas nor I would let her far enough away from us that we couldn't touch her by just raising a hand slightly.
"Are you sure about this?" Dallas asked as we approached King's office.
More and more people stopped to look at us as we walked past. Some curious, most looking at Chelsea with concern. Damp hair framed her pale face, making her look vulnerable. Innocent even. If I didn't know her better, I might be fooled too.
"I'm sure," she said. "We can do this."
We took her hands and walked straight past King's personal assistant who sat at her desk. She rose, put out a hand to stop us, but we ignored her.
I didn't even spare her a glance, but I remained on alert in case she tried anything.
We walked into King's office and closed the door behind us.
He sat behind his desk, eyes on his computer until he finally looked up at us. A range of emotions crossed his features.Irritation. Surprise. Confusion. Then concern. Not entirely sincere, but concern nonetheless.
He rose to his feet and placed his palms on the desk, to either side of his laptop. "What happened?" he asked, directing the question to Chelsea. "I assume there's a reason you're dripping on my carpet?"
