I came screaming to a stop at the aquarium’s little-used exit door near the two rusted dumpsters, leapt out of the car, and found the door locked. I might have been able to pick it but I didn’t want to waste the time. I shot out the lock, then slipped into the building.
Melice’s face appeared beside the video camera. “You’re starting to feel it, aren’t you, Lien-hua? What we talked about in the interrogation room? The door to hope beginning to close. You’ll yank at that grate until your ankle is chafed and raw, you’ll try to unhinge the clasp, maybe try to pick the lock somehow. But all the while the water will be rising and then, finally-reality check-you’re not gonna get away. You’re going to die right there, tonight, while I watch.”
Water to her knees. The pool was filling faster than she’d thought it would.
Melice continued, “Don’t be upset. Just remind yourself that over the next few months you’ll be providing entertainment to hundreds of thousands of eager viewers.” Then he added, “Who knows, you might even make it to a million downloads by summer.”
Tessa sized up the room. Wooden floor. Plaster walls. A queen-sized bed pushed into the corner, strewn with a tangle of filthy, rumpled sheets. There on the far wall, faded blue curtains in front of a narrow, airless window. The place smelled like the back room of a bar, and the only stirring of air came from a small oscillating fan beside the bathroom door.
No overhead light. Just a small lamp beside the bed. Riker walked over and snapped it off, so that now the only light in the room came from the murky yellow haze climbing through the window and resting expectantly on the bedsheets.
Then Riker came to her, took her hand, and, speaking soft and comforting words, led Tessa toward the bed.
I hurried through the dizzying maze of filtration tanks. I didn’t know if Lien-hua was dead already; I could only pray she was still alive. When we arrested him, Melice had said that she would be his next girlfriend, and I knew all too well what he did to them.
That’s why I was heading for the shark acclimation pool. It seemed like the logical place for him to bring her. And I was close.
Just a few more turns and I’d be there.
Tessa’s heart trembled with exhilaration and fear. The fan’s twitching air brushed across the curtains, they rippled faintly, and Tessa thought that in the dim light, the bluish curtains appeared purple.
And with that thought, Poe whispered to her, his words riding through the centuries, rising from the grave, “And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain thrilled me-filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before.”
Fantastic terrors.
Never felt before.
Tessa had never hooked up with a guy. Not like this. It was something her mom had been really intense about, and ever since she died, despite two close calls, Tessa had honored that wish. No.
It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.
Terrors never felt before.
“So, I was thinking…” Riker said. “No.” She pulled away from him but stumbled a little. Off balance. Everything was off balance. “No. I need to go.”
“We just got here.”
She backed away. “I need to go. I have to leave.”
Riker came toward her and grabbed her forearm. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, Raven. Not so fast.” His grip was tighter than it needed to be.
“I said no. Now, let go of my arm.”
No, this can’t be happening.
He held her.
“Let go!”
He let go slowly but stood with arms flexed ready to grab her again. “I’ve been thinking it’s time we made a little trade.”
Terrors never felt before.
“What kind of trade?” She reached for a rubber band on her wrist. Found none.
He let a smile wander across his face, but it wasn’t really a smile.
“You don’t really believe I’d let you have a tattoo like that, five hours of work, for $180. Lachlan’s the best around. You’re wearing over $700 worth of ink and time.”
Though faint, the music was pounding behind his words. A dark heartbeat. “You told him to give it to me.” Tessa was edging toward the door. “To give me whatever I wanted.”
“That’s right. I did. I gave you what you wanted, and now it’s time for you to give me what I want. And the way I figure it, I’ve got at least a couple hours coming to me.”
Her stomach filled with ice. She rushed for the door but was too slow. Riker beat her to it and nailed it shut with one strong arm.
She began to back away from him, toward the window.
It was the only thing she could think to do.
To jump.
Jump.