Chapter 442
[ 490 words ]
Chapter 442:
“We’re going to die here, aren’t we?” The question was a whisper, a fragile sound lost in the immense silence. Her body began to tremble.
Sterling saw the despair taking hold of her. He forced himself to take a deeper breath, fighting against the fire in his legs.
“Don’t be stupid,” he said, injecting a note of arrogant confidence into his voice. “I’m Sterling Hendon. I’m worth a lot of money. My team will turn over every rock in California to find me.”
He was trying to make her believe it, trying to build a wall of bravado against the crushing reality of their situation.
A small, watery chuckle escaped her lips. It was a ridiculous thing to say, but in the suffocating darkness, it was something. A flicker of light.
She studied his face again in the narrow beam of the flashlight. The arrogant smirk, the confident set of his jaw. But it was his eyes. There was something in his eyes.
“I feel like… I’ve seen you somewhere before,” she said, voicing the thought that had been nagging at her since they first met.
For a split second, his expression tightened. A flicker of something guarded, almost fearful, passed through his eyes before he masked it.
“Is that so? Maybe on the cover of a business magazine?” he deflected, his tone light and teasing.
“No,” she shook her head, her mind sifting through fragmented memories. “It’s your eyes… they remind me of someone.”
𝖶𝖾𝘦𝘬𝘭𝘆 𝗋𝖾l𝘦a𝗌еѕ о𝗇 𝗴а𝘭𝗻o𝘷𝗲𝘭𝗌.cо𝘮
Sterling’s heart gave a heavy thud against his ribs. He knew exactly who she was thinking of. And he couldn’t let her get there. Not now. Not here.
He was suddenly wracked by a violent fit of coughing, his whole body convulsing with the effort. The movement sent a fresh wave of agony through his trapped legs.
“My leg…” he gasped, his voice choked with pain. “God, it hurts…”
The sound instantly pulled Caroline back from the edge of her memory. The faint sense of familiarity was completely erased by a crushing wave of guilt.
“I’m sorry,” she choked out, the words thick with tears. “This is all my fault…”
He reached out, his hand closing over hers. His skin was cold, clammy from blood loss. “Listen to me,” he said, his voice low but firm. “This was my choice. It has nothing to do with you. Don’t put this on yourself.”
She looked into his serious eyes and nodded, but the weight of her guilt didn’t lessen. It settled deeper, a cold, heavy stone in her stomach.
She had to get him out. No matter what it took.
She wasn’t going to sit here and wait to die. Caroline picked up the steel rebar again, its weight a familiar, grim comfort in her hands.
“Don’t waste your energy, Caroline,” Sterling pleaded, his voice weaker now. “Save your strength. Talk to me instead.”
She shook her head, her jaw set in a stubborn line. “I can’t just watch you die.” The guilt was a poison, and the only antidote was action.
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