Page 55 of Just Right

Cami felt terror like she'd never felt before. The water was shockingly cold, and she hadn't had a chance to take a breath before his attack. Already, her lungs were screaming for air. She tried to fight him off, but his hands were like iron. He was so much stronger than her.

She had to fight, to do something. This water wasn't deep, Perhaps she could push off from the bottom. Perhaps she could kick out, knock him off balance.

Cami decided, then and there, that she was not going to give up. She was not going to allow him to drown her in thigh-deep water but was going to fight with everything she had for as long as she could.

She grabbed blindly at his legs, tugging at the ripped denim, hoping she could somehow gain an advantage this way. Her lungs were threatening to explode now. She was having to fight with everything she had to stop herself from gasping in a breath of what would not be the air her body was begging for, but a cold flood of water.

Cami kicked out with all her might, wanting to land a blow that would at least make him let go long enough for her to get a breath.

But he was expecting her to do that, and he held her tightly, preventing her from getting a blow in. Still he held her under. With his hand like a steel pincer on her shoulder, he forced her down. She couldn't get a foothold on the muddy bottom. His fingers were so tight on her shoulders that she could hardly move.

She knew, with a terrible certainty, that this was the end. She was going to die. She had failed. But she was not giving up, not until she couldn't struggle anymore.

Cami kicked again and her foot landed hard against something. She had the briefest of moments to register the fact that she'd kicked his knee and then she felt him stagger. She felt his hands loosen. Her Doc Marten, with its hard sole and steel toecap, had done the job. It had hurt him enough to derail his murderous mission. With all her strength, Cami writhed away, stamping down on the uneven, slippery surface. And she did it. She broke the surface, choking and gasping for air. She was still half blinded by the muddy water. Her eyes were stinging. The lake and the landscape were half blurred. She had to get out before he grabbed her again.

Turning away, she plunged toward the shore, seeing that Jayne had managed to fight her way into the shallows and was crawling determinedly out of the lake.

But behind her, she heard an angry shout and a surge of water as he launched himself in pursuit, and she knew with a thrill of terror that the danger was not over yet. He could grab her at any moment and then, if he drowned her, Jayne was far too weak and disoriented still to escape. She'd made her way to the edge of the water, but that was about all she could do.

Now, she knew that at any moment she would feel his hands grabbing her back, and he would force her down, crushing her head into the lake's shallow, muddy bottom, finishing the kills that he was now hell bent on committing.

There was no saving her now, Cami knew. She'd been lucky once and could not be so lucky again, but still, she was not going to give up. She was going to keep running, right up until the moment where he grabbed her and didn't let go.

And then she saw another figure, ahead of her, in her blurred vision. Through streaming eyes she saw it. Racing from the edge of the woods to the lake. His posture looked familiar, his hand stretched out ahead of him. And she heard the voice she recognized, sharp and urgent.

Connor's voice.

"Cami, down! Get down!"

She knew instantly what that meant, what he was going to do, and what she had to do to save herself.

Cami dove down, hitting the water, gasping in another breath as she flattened herself in the muddy shallows.

And then a crack split the air, searing her ears.

Behind her, there was a tumbling splash. And then, silence.

Cami scrambled up out of the water. She stumbled to the shore's edge, heading straight over to Jayne, helping her out of the water.

Only then did she dare look back to where Connor was rushing into the lake, his gun still drawn.

He was staring down into the shallows, but Cami realized with a feeling of utter relief that his bullet had found its mark. His shot had been accurate. And now, in the waters of the lake, Becker himself was lifeless, just as his victims had been.

Cami gasped in a sob, holding tightly to Jayne's hand as they stared at the body in the lake, while Connor bent down and checked the man's pulse. Then, straight away, he turned to Cami and Jayne, urgency in his face.

"Are you okay?" he asked, striding toward them, already on the phone. "Get the ambulance," he barked to whomever answered. "I'll send coordinates now."

"Are you alright?" Cami asked Jayne. She was pretty, with a kind face, though mud streaked. A graze on her temple showed where Becker had hit her—though not hard enough. She was looking totally confused, but there was a little color back in her face now.

"I'm okay. I think I was attacked. I can't remember what happened exactly." She stared at the lake, frowning. "This feels like a dream, but it can't be? Did the FBI really race here and shoot him?"

"Just in time, ma'am," Connor said, his voice firm. "The ambulance is on the way now, but for the moment, just sit down and rest. You don't want to risk moving after a head injury, until you’ve been checked out." He turned to Cami. "And you, Cami? I saw you in the lake as I was running through the trees. You fought him off!" There was a tone of admiration in his voice she'd never heard before.

"I know. I didn't think I could, but I had to try. I'm just glad you got here."

"I picked up your message. Saw the coordinates," Connor said.

"My phone!" Cami grabbed at her jacket pocket. It had been underwater for some time. As quickly as she could, she turned it off. If that water got into the circuit board, it would fry the entire system. She took it apart, removing the battery, shaking out the water.

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