Page 70 of The Secret Librarian
Camille turned to James, but he was already gone, running through the hotel lobby, past the door to the elevator and heading up the stairs. Any doubts she might have had about him completely disappeared, and she thanked the concierge, took off her heels, and ran after him. Her whole body was trembling, her mind racing, imagining the very worst of scenarios.
If anything happened to Avery, she’d never forgive herself.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Avery
Avery edged backwards until her shoulders touched the wall. William had known the moment he’d walked into the room, his eyes flashing with recognition, like a wolf cornering its prey.
He reached behind him and pushed the door shut, and Avery tried to count how many steps it would be if she ran to the bathroom. But William was tall, and she imagined he was fast, and even if he didn’t manage to intercept her, he’d surely grab hold of the door and stop her from slamming it shut.
Her heart was pounding, her fingers reaching behind her for something,anything, that she might use to protect herself, but all she had was the coat-hanger, and she doubted that was going to do her any good against a man considerably bigger than her.
‘Avery, Avery,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘I never thought you were the kind of girl to snoop, otherwise I wouldn’t have left you in here alone. But you couldn’t help yourself, could you?’
‘I went to hang your jacket up,’ she said, hating the shake in her voice. ‘That’s all.’
‘But you had to take a look in the pocket, is that it?’
‘Why do you have Camille’s name on your list?’ she asked, deciding there was no point in pretending she didn’t know what he was talking about.
He edged closer, moving slowly, his eyes never leaving hers, and for the first time in her life, Avery understood fear. She understood what it was to see her life flash before her eyes, to wonder if she was ever going to see her parents again; her sister, Jack. All the things she wished she could say to them echoed through her mind.
You need to talk him down. Focus on calming him. Make him think you’re on his side. Don’t ask him anything.
‘William, you can trust me,’ she said. ‘The way I feel about you hasn’t changed, I just want to understand what I’m getting myself into, what you’re involved in. That’s all.’
His smile scared her, and she knew then that he wasn’t going to let her out of this room. The only way she was leaving was if she could find a way past him, to fight her way to the door, and if she’d been a betting woman, she wouldn’t have liked the odds.
‘William, please. Can we not sit down and talk about this like adults? Can we not just have a conversation?’
‘It didn’t have to be like this, Avery,’ he said, taking another step forward and placing the champagne bottle on the bedside table. ‘We could have been happy, you and I, but now I have to figure out what to do with the American girl who ruined everything.’
Anger flared inside of her, and she realised that if she had no chance of making it out there alive, then she wasn’t going to waste her last breaths trying to placate him. ‘I could never be happy with someone like you, William. The kind of weak, despicable man who would turn his back on his own country, who could have blood on his hands, and for what? Money? You make me sick.’
He laughed and started to clap, and she moved when he did, edging her way along the wall.
‘What a courageous speech. Bravo, Avery. Who would have thought you had that in you?’ His grin chilled her to the bone. ‘A weak man wouldn’t make a deal with the devil though,’ he said, his voice getting louder and louder until he was almost shouting. ‘A weak man wouldn’t be rolling in seized jewellery or have priceless French paintings being shipped to his house in London. Do you hear me? Only a man with a backbone could do what I’ve done. Couldget awaywith what I’ve done.’
Avery took her chance when he lunged forward, darting to the right, taking her further away from the bathroom but closer to the door of the room. She moved as quickly as she could, a scream lodged in her throat as William reached out to catch her.
He missed, tripping as he did so, but just when the door handle was almost within reach, he caught her around the ankle, his fingers closing tightly around the bone as she fell and hit the ground, landing hard on her hip.
William dragged her towards him as she clawed frantically at the ground, kicking as hard as she could and hearing a grunt from him that suggested at least one of her feet had connected. But he was too strong for her, and his knee was on her thigh, digging into her flesh, his hands reaching for her throat.
‘No!’ she screamed, finding her voice, crying for help. ‘Get off me!’
But his hands found their target then as he straddled her, as she kicked and flailed and tried with everything she had to get away from him while he pressed so hard on her windpipe that she thought it would snap.
Do something! Fight harder! Make him stop!
The voice in Avery’s head became louder, and as he choked her she reached up and clawed at his eyes, stretching so far and so hard that it felt like her shoulders were going to pop from their sockets. But she was not giving in this easily. He was not going to strangleher on the floor of his hotel room and get away with her murder and everything else he’d done.
Her nails connected with his eyes and his howl of pain gave her the strength she needed, and as his fingers loosened she kept on clawing, a wild cat fighting for her life.
Avery scratched and kicked, sinking her teeth into his arm when it came close enough. And it was all she needed to get away, kicking hard at him when he lunged at her, scrambling on her hands and knees towards the door. He caught her but she kept on kicking with all her might, knowing that if she didn’t get away this time, she might not have another chance.
She reached for the door, her fingers closing around the knob, and she turned and yanked it open, pulling herself up and falling into the hallway, landing hard and slamming her head against the opposite wall as he grabbed her. She felt her body being pulled back into the room as she frantically tried to dig her nails into the wallpaper so he couldn’t get her in there again.
