Obsession Falls - Page 151

“He did me quite the favor by leaving you alone today. I thought I might have to wait longer for this opportunity. And if you’re wondering whether you’ll survive the fall, I can assure you, you won’t. It’s nothing but rocks at the bottom.” His lip curled again. “I’ve tested it.”

I didn’t want to know what poor creature, or creatures, he’d thrown off that cliff.

Could I outrun him? I was in flip-flops and probably had a broken toe. He was taller than me and undoubtedly faster. And would he push Max over the edge if I ran?

“So you’re just going to throw me over?”

He reached behind him and pulled a knife out of his back pocket. “After I kill your dog in front of you.”

“You’re crazy.”

“No, I’m thorough. Trust me, the suicide note is very convincing, as is the journal confessing all the mental health problems you tried to hide. And no one will find Max’s body. They’ll come to the conclusion that you jumped and your dumb dog ran off and probably got eaten by a cougar.” His eyes narrowed and he held up the knife. “If you run, I’ll kill him slowly—make sure it hurts.”

“Why are you telling me all this? Why didn’t you just do it?”

“I like seeing the fear in your eyes. It’s quite a rush. You unleashed the darkness, Audrey, and I don’t know if I’ll ever put it back.”

It felt like I was watching the birth of a serial killer. They’d say later that I’d been his first victim—the one who gave him a taste for it.

Maybe I would be. But I wasn’t going down without a fight.

Out of nowhere, Max spun around and barked. Hayden jerked the leash to turn him around, his face contorting in an ugly grimace.

“Fucking dog.”

There was movement behind them. Max tried to turn around again and it took me a split second to realize what I was seeing.

An arm reached over the edge, followed quickly by a shoulder. My eyes widened as Josiah muscled himself over the cliff, right behind Hayden.

Our eyes met, and in that instant, we were one. He didn’t have to give me a signal or yell out instructions. I knew. He knew. And we both sprang into action.

I dove forward, hitting the ground so hard it almost knocked the breath from my lungs. But I grabbed the leash and bent my knees to get my feet under me.

Hayden’s snarl of hatred as he tried to keep his grip on the leash was interrupted by a surprise from behind. Josiah tackled him to the ground and the knife flew out of his hand.

Max tried to attack my face with licks. He had no idea this wasn’t over. I unclipped the leash from his collar so Hayden couldn’t yank him over the edge with it and painfully scrambled to my feet.

Josiah and Hayden struggled on the ground, close to the edge of the cliff. Hayden clawed at the ground, his fingers almost reaching the knife.

I ran for it to kick it away but Hayden got to it first. His fingers curled around the handle and I watched in horror as he whipped his arm around and plunged the blade into Josiah’s thigh.

Josiah roared. But the knife in his leg didn’t slow him down; it only seemed to make him angry.

I staggered back to stay out of the way. Josiah rolled Hayden onto his back and punched him. The sound of his fist hitting flesh and bone carried above the noise of the waterfall. I flinched at the violent contact, then Josiah hit him again.

Hayden groaned, writhing on the ground. I watched with my heart racing as Josiah got to his feet.

“Stay down,” Josiah growled through clenched teeth. He looked at me. “Are you okay?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Are you?”

“Yeah.” He didn’t even look at his leg.

Hayden didn’t listen. He rolled over and pushed himself to standing. Blood streamed from his nose and hatred seethed from his narrowed eyes. He looked absolutely unhinged. Josiah charged but Hayden was fast. He shifted to the side and slammed into Josiah’s leg, right where the knife still protruded. Josiah’s leg buckled and he crumbled to the ground with a howl of pain.

Max barked like I’d never heard him bark before. With an aggressive snarl, he charged. He jumped on Hayden, teeth bared, and bit his arm.

Hayden shook him off and delivered a swift kick to his side. Max yelped as he rolled across the ground, and Hayden turned his furious gaze on me.