Page 48 of The Blonde Identity

How can you not look? They’re right there.

Nope. Not gonna look.

I mean if someone tore your pants off—

Pants don’t work that way.

But then the Russian was reaching for her again, clawing and desperate. And Sawyer gave her one last look.

Give me a minute.

She’d never seen anyone move like that. He was a blur in the night, lunging between them, arms clamping around the big man’s neck. While Zoe struggled to keep swimming, to keep breathing, Sawyer wrapped that piece of satin around the assassin’s throat and pulled. And pulled.

And pulled.

Until the man wasn’t kicking anymore.

“Zoe?” Sawyer’s hands were reaching for her as they surfaced, pulling her close. “Are you okay? Tell me you’re—”

“I’m... okay. I’m okay. I’m...” She remembered. “Cold... I’m so cold.”

“I know.”

They turned in unison to watch theShimmering Seagrowing smaller in the distance.

“I don’t suppose... they’ll... stop...”

His laugh was short and sharp. “No.”

And Zoe forced more air into her lungs. As long as she kept breathing... As long as she kept moving... As long as Sawyer was with her, she’d be okay.

“So the good news is I can swim and he’s dead.” She wondered how worried she should be that her breath was no longer white in the cold air.

They both turned to watch the body float away on the current. Then something seemed to occur to Sawyer. “What’s the bad news?”

“I’m real naked.”

He choked out a laugh and looked toward the shore, eyes scanning the terrain as if someone else might rise from the bottom of the river and try to kill them.

“Come on.”

Chapter Thirty-One

Him

Zoe had glass in her feet and water in her lungs, but the scariest thing was the look in her eyes when she said, “Put me down.”

“No.”

“I can walk.”

“You can’t walk.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine.”

“I’m...” she started again but couldn’t finish because her lips were blue and her whole body was shaking. Her hands gripped his neck so tightly that she could have strangled the life out of him and he wouldn’t have minded at all because that infuriating woman was still alive and Sawyer would never forgive himself if he didn’t keep her that way.

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