Page 251 of Remorseless
Smiling, she leaned in and hugged him, then kissed his cheek. “Maybe, we needed to pummel each other to get back on track,” she giggled.
“Maybe,” Rule agreed politely.
The moment she turned her back to him, he punched the back of her head and knocked her out. Taking her unconscious body into his arms, he calmly walked down the pool steps, sat on the third one and held her under the water, counting the minutes until she drowned and one less demon walked the earth.
Sitting at her desk, Meggie re-read her spreadsheet for the clients with outstanding balances. Some were due to improper insurance codes. Others were because she hadn’t been well enough to send reminders to patients and then make follow-up calls. But she needed the open invoices resolved.They had five caregivers besides Zoann on the company’s roster. At their next meeting, Meggie had promised to either recommend bumping their nurses up to six or eight, or shaving their clients, especially the patients with the means to pay for their services but who chose to ignore the bill.
Unfortunately, Meggie couldn’t concentrate. Gunner wanted to spend time with Blade. Since Kendall didn’t mind, Meggie saw no problem. Now, a restless energy invaded her. A feeling of doom she couldn’t place.
With ten days until the Mardi Gras ball, last minute details remained. Monday, Meggie would visit Edie’s shop for her final fitting. Then, Tuesday, she, Roxy and Kendall were going to the venue for a final meeting with the manager.
It was a lot to do in a very little time, but Meggie couldn’t wait. She loved dressing up in the pretty gowns required for the balls. Once a year was more than enough to depart from reality.
Well, twice a year if she included Valentine’s Day. Somehow, even when it seemed as if the day would go completely off the rails, Christopher always made it special for her.
March would be quite busy with the ball, Rory’s and Devon’s fifteenth birthdays, Harley’s play. and her and Christopher’s church wedding anniversary. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do, but Tabitha’s idea of a cabin getaway seemed perfect.
Smiling, she pushed her chair back. She’d go upstairs and shower.
She glanced at her clock.
9:58PM.
At 10:30, she’d text Christopher and ask how much longer he planned to stay at Nyx’s party. Normally, she’d be at his side, but she refusedto show that witch any support or stifle CJ’s fun, so she opted to stay behind.
Halfway to the staircase, she remembered Rebel mentioning the natatorium at dinner.
When she reached the breezeway and the scene of Ryder, Ransom, and Axel’s poop crime, Meggie wrinkled her nose. The scent of Hogzilla’s poop lived in her memory. She swore she’d never completely rid the house of that godawful stench.
She passed the back staircase and entered a narrow hallway with a door that led to her private rose garden. Stepping through an archway into another hallway, Meggie smiled at the two doors. One led to their home gym…she blushed at some of the intimate memories she and Christopher had shared inside the room. The other door led to the natatorium where Rebel was hopefully relaxing.
Meggie considered walking away, but she couldn’t. Although Rebel was no longer a small girl, Meggie checked on her daughter every so often when she was alone in the natatorium just to put her mind at ease.
A cuckoo clock the kids fell in love with announced 10PM.
Meggie paused to send a text to Rebel, and waited a minute to see if she’d answer. She received no response.
Yanking the door open, she walked into the room. Immediately, her gaze fell on the back of Rule, sitting on the second or third pool step. Although there were five, he wasn’t tall enough to keep his head above water if he were on the fourth or fifth.
She walked closer. “Rule?”
His shoulders stiffened. “Go away, Mom. I don’t have clothes on.”
“Where’s Rebel?” She would’ve texted Meggie to let her know she was back in her room. “She was supposed to be in here,” she said.
Squinting, she glanced around. She spotted Rebel’sBetty Boopbeach towel flung across the back of a chaise lounge. Next to it, her phone lay on the little table.
An abnormal silence, punctuated by the ticking of a clock panicked Meggie.
10:02PM.
She walked closer to the pool and stopped at the edge.
It took her a moment to register Rule standing and a glimmer of blonde hair under the water.
Meggie screamed and dove into the pool, gripping her daughter’s shoulders and pulling her to the surface. Rebel was taller than her and weighed more, but Meggie found the strength to get her out of the pool.
“Rebel, no, no, no!” she cried, pumping her chest, barely remembering if she did it right. “Breathe, baby, breathe. Please!”
