Seven Days Grace (A Grace Rose Novel Book 1) (39 page)

‘
I will shoot you in the head if you do not let her go.
’

‘
Go ahead
,
she
’
ll be sure to go down with me
,’
The Voice said.

Grace squirmed
,
fighting to be free of his grasp.
‘
You vile
,
revolting excuse for a human being
,
let me go.
’
She managed to balance her sprained foot on the ground momentarily and swiftly kicked him in his shin with her good leg. He dropped her and she hit the ground with a cry. She struggled to stand on her good foot as the other one was now so busted up she couldn
’
t put any pressure on it at all.
What a stupid thing to do.

‘
Grace?
’
Jake
,
Christian and Kate yelled out all at once.

Black Suit arrived on the scene with Jock right behind him who held a gun pointed straight at the back of his head.

Everyone turned to look at Jock
.
‘
What was the point of staying down there?
’
he said.

The Voice was quick to pick Grace up again as his hostage.

‘
Don
’
t move or I
’
ll drop her down the dam wall
,’
The Voice said.

They all watched him
,
frozen in fear at the disaster they were witnessing.

‘
I mean it
,’
The Voice said. He had hold of Grace around the waist with one arm. He used her like a shield as he dragged her and himself backwards to the dam
’
s edge.

‘
What are you doing? Let me go
,
you psycho!
’
Grace said.

‘
Easy
,’
Christian said as he edged closer to the pair.
‘
You
’
re a smart man. See how long it
’
s taken us to figure everything out?
’

‘
Your flattery means nothing to me.
’

‘
I
’
m not trying to flatter you but I am impressed.
’

Grace watched as Christian persisted in narrowing the gap between himself and the criminal. The Voice turned her to face him and pulled her up to his level
,
lifting her feet off the ground. His face was inches away from hers and she fought the urge to throw up.

‘
Put me down
,’
he said.

He ignored her pleas to be freed.

‘
Take it easy
,
mate. We can work this out. Let her go
,’
Christian said.

‘
Come closer. Please. It will give me the excuse I need to throw her over the railing and drop her to the rocks below
,’
The Voice said.

‘
Christian
,
please help?
’

‘
Grace
,
I know it
’
s easy for me to say but please stay calm. We
’
ll get you out of thi
s.
’

‘
Throw me your gun
,
’
The Voice said. 

‘
W
hat do you need a gun for
,
mate? Looks like you have your hands full already.
’
Slowly
,
Christian put his sunglasses on top of his head.

‘
Stop stalling. Throw it to me or I
’
ll do it now. I don
’
t care whether she lives or dies
,’
he said.

‘
That
’
s a lie. We know you like her
,’
Christian said.

‘
Throw it to me!
’

Christian threw his gun to The Voice who caught it by its barrel.

Jake looked at his partner.
‘
Have you lost all your senses? We
’
re done for now.
’

‘
He
’
ll do it. I
’
m sure you don
’
t want that. The guy
’
s gone mad.
’

‘
Okay
,
okay. I
’
m going to take another shot at him as soon as Grace is safe.
’

‘
I heard that. I won
’
t hesitate
,
’
the Voice said as he pulled Grace tighter to this chest. He continued to hold her off the ground
,
in front of him
,
as protection against the two men who wanted to rescue her. Then he kissed her long and hard. She pushed and punched at his chest with both her hands though it didn
’
t stop him from devouring half her face.

When he stopped
,
she said
,
‘
You
’
re a savage. You
’
re going to roast in hell for your crimes.
’

‘
And I thought you were the girl for me.
’
Without warning
,
the man flung her over the railing with one arm while holding the gun in his other hand. He bent over a little to dangle her feet in the rushing water. She began to slip from his grasp. As Grace
’
s arm ran through his hand
,
he secured her from falling by clutching her wrist.

‘
Grace
,
are you okay?
’
Jake asked.

‘
Get me out of here.
’

Jake took a step forward
,
placed his feet shoulder width apart
,
stiffened his stance and aimed his gun at The Voice.

‘
K
eep your head here
,
buddy. You shoot him
,
it
’
s all over for her.
’
Christian said to Jake.

‘
Help. Oh
,
God. Don
’
t let him drop me.
’
She wondered whether Jake would really fight for her life now
,
especially after their recent disagreement.
Perhaps he doesn
’
t care anymor
e
.

Grace was swinging herself around in the hope she could hang onto his arm with her free hand but he was dangling her too low and she couldn
’
t reach him. Meanwhile
,
The Voice fumbled to get a hold of the gun
’
s handle but he fumbled and dropped it.

‘
Shoot him
,
he
’
s going to drop me anyway
,’
Grace told Jake. She noticed he was bathed in sweat
,
and his temples and jaw were pulsing. He remained quiet as he breathed hard.

‘
Try to lock your elbow around the rail
,
Grace
,’
Jake finally hollered.

‘
Okay
,’
she hollered back.
Should
’
ve trained as a gymnast.

‘
Everybody
,
stop talking or I
’
ll do it now
,’
The Voice said. He placed one foot on the gun.

Grace continued to flail around to release herself from The Voice.

‘
Stop struggling
,’
he snapped at her.

Kate was creeping closer to Grace
,
unnoticed by The Voice.

‘
If you don
’
t stop moving
,
I will send you on the ride of your life
,’
The Voice threatened again.

‘
I
’
m not scared of yo
u.
’
She looked down the dam spillway and watching the gushing water crash at the bottom. The sudden halt of the water caused by the large rocks emitted vast amounts of spray into the area. Grace
’
s mind and body went limp with terror. It was difficult to see where the dam wall ended and the river carrying the water away started. She hoped there was enough water to break her fall if it should come to that.
‘
Shoot him
,
I
’
ll swing myself over to the railing
,
’
Grace lied.

‘
Hang in there
,’
Kate said to her friend.

‘
Grace
,
I love you
,
I
’
m here for you
,’
Jake said.

So
,
he does still care.

‘
Grace?
’
he said louder.

‘
I heard you. Got a lot of thinking to do out here over the dam wall.
’

‘
Please
,
don
’
t give up.
’

‘
You people can
’
t shut up
,
’
The Voice sai
d.

In one swift movement he let go of Grace
,
bent down and picked up the gun and fired it at Jake. Jake was quicker. The bullet tore a hole in the right side of The Voice
’
s neck and he slumped onto the dam bridge. Blood seeped out all over the gravel
,
soaking the ground with the viscous liquid that came from the wound.

Oh crap!

Jake
,
Christian and Kate rushed to the railing and watched Grace covering her head with her arms. Then she disappeared into the crashing water at the bottom.

Kate
’
s shriek was so deafening it echoed off the dam wall and surrounding hills.

‘
Nooooooooooooooooooooo!
’
Jake yelled.

Christian picked up his gun.

‘
Go get her
,
I
’
ll watch things here
,’
Jock said to the two cops and Kate as he pointed the gun at Black Suit.

‘
I
’
ll stay here with you. Didn
’
t you call the cops for assistance?
’
Christian asked Jock.

‘
I sure did.
’

‘
I
’
ll call them again.
’

Jake and Kate were already headed down the spillway wall stairs which ended half way down the dam wall. They jumped over the final railing and scaled down the side of the hill. It was covered in weeds
,
grass and rocks. Jake was about ten feet in front of Kate and widening the gap.

‘
You
’
re a man possessed
,’
Kate said to him.

‘
Hurry
,
no time to waste
,’
he said back to her.

Jake arrived at the water
’
s edge and with madman
’
s eyes scanned the entire area for signs of Grace. His gaze landed on a body downstream at the river
’
s edge. It looked to Kate as if he made it to her in four giant steps.

He jumped in the water and turned Grace over. Her face was blue. He felt for a pulse.
‘
Grace. Can you hear me?
’