Chapter 222
The helicopter hadn’t made it far from the shore before both Blanche and Eddy plunged into the sea, immediately spotted by the plainclothes officers nearby.
“What happened?” Rebekah hurried over.
“Miss Griffiths somehow ended up on Mr. Simmons’s helicopter, and then both of them went overboard,” Wendy reported, her voice tight with concern.
Ablett had left Wendy behind to look after the McCarthy family.
“Then what are you waiting for? Go get them out of there!” Rebekah snapped.
The plainclothes officers were already swimming toward where Blanche and Eddy had fallen.
Blanche fought her way to the surface, gasping for air. She barely managed a breath before someone’s arms wrapped around her from behind.
She twisted to see Eddy, and shoved at him with all the strength she could muster. “Get off me!”
The scent of cedar clung to him, filling her nose, and in an instant, images of him and Jeannette tangled together flashed through her mind. Her stomach lurched, nausea washing over her.
“Blanche, this isn’t a swimming pool. One wrong move and the current could pull you under,” Eddy said, holding her tighter, his bare chest pressed against her back. He softened his tone, trying to coax her. “Let me get you to shore, then I’ll let go.”
She struggled furiously, pounding his arms with her fists and kicking at him, but he caught her hands and pinned them to her chest. His other hand gripped her foot; -pain shot through her heel.
Blanche winced, her body still weak and now chilled to the bone by the icy seawater. Her face had gone/paper–white, her strength draining with every second. No matter how hard she fought, she couldn’t break free.
Eddy, oblivious to the pain he was causing, assumed the cold water was to ame for her distress. He leaned close, his voice low in her ear, “Blanche, please, just relax. If you exhaust yourself, you won’t have the strength to fight me off anyway.”
Her eyes were dark and hollow, her body shaking uncontrollably as she suddenly retched.
Overhead, the helicopter circled lower, and a rescue ladder dropped down, its rungs
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smacking the surface of the waves.
Eddy, thinking she was freezing, was desperate to get her out of the water. He released her foot and hand, one strong arm locking around her waist, the other grabbing hold of the ladder.
The helicopter began to lift, pulling them out of the surf. In that moment, Blanche twisted around in his arms.
For a split second, Eddy’s heart leapt. He thought–maybe, just maybe–she’d changed her mind.
Blanche bit down hard on his shoulder.
Eddy cried out in shock, “Blanche!”
He looked at her; her dark eyes were empty, devoid of warmth or light–just a cold, biting disgust.
That look stabbed straight through him.
He refused to let her go, his voice raw and aching. “If it’ll make you feel better, you
can bite me all you want.”
But her gaze was merciless. She loosened her jaw only to bite down again, harder this time. The pain shot through him, his grip slackening. Blanche tore free and plunged back into the waves.
He lunged to catch her, but his fingers only brushed the edge of her sleeve.
Blanche hit the water like a siren, vanishing beneath the surface, the waves carrying her swiftly toward shore–leaving Eddy no chance to follow.
She’d always been afraid of water.
He’d coaxed her into learning the basics of swimming, just in case she ever needed
to save herself.
Watching her now, cutting through the surf with determined strokes, she was clearly no longer the woman who’d once clung to him in fear,
Eddy thought to dive after her, but spotted a group of people converging
he
beach and hesitated, frowning.
“Sir, what should we do?” one of his men called.
“We’re going back.”
Blanche was hauled ashore, shivering and pale, as the housemaids rushed to wrap
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Chapter 222
her in a towel.
“Get Mrs. Simmons inside–she needs a hot shower and dry clothes,” Wilhelmina Lopez ordered, bustling over. Seeing Blanche trembling, lips white with cold, she pressed a comforting hand to her arm. “She already had a fever last night; if she catches another chill, it’ll be serious.”
The maids hurried her away.
Caleb had just arrived and, seeing Blanche in such a state, his worry was plain as he followed close behind.
Meanwhile, the helicopter touched down gently on the sand. Eddy and the chief bodyguard climbed out.
Caleb, curiosity piqued, glanced from the helicopter to Eddy–and stopped short.
Rebekah rushed over, her eyes widening at the sight of Eddy drenched to the skin. His white shirt clung to him, revealing every line of his muscular frame; blood was seeping from his shoulder and arm, staining the fabric a deep, shocking red.
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