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Back The Stalker
Chapters (46)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. PART ONE
  4. Chapter One
  5. Chapter Two
  6. Chapter Three
  7. Chapter Four
  8. Chapter Five
  9. Chapter Six
  10. Chapter Seven
  11. Chapter Eight
  12. Chapter Nine
  13. Chapter Ten
  14. Chapter Eleven
  15. Chapter Twelve
  16. Chapter Thirteen
  17. Chapter Fourteen
  18. Chapter Fifteen
  19. Chapter Sixteen
  20. Chapter Seventeen
  21. Chapter Eighteen
  22. Chapter Nineteen
  23. Chapter Twenty
  24. Chapter Twenty-One
  25. Chapter Twenty-Two
  26. Chapter Twenty-Three
  27. Chapter Twenty-Four
  28. Chapter Twenty-Five
  29. Chapter Twenty-Six
  30. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  31. PART TWO
  32. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  33. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  34. Chapter Thirty
  35. PART THREE
  36. Chapter Thirty-One
  37. PART FOUR
  38. Chapter Thirty-Two
  39. Chapter Thirty-Three
  40. Chapter Thirty-Four
  41. Chapter Thirty-Five
  42. Chapter Thirty-Six
  43. Acknowledgements
  44. Keep Reading …
  45. About the Author
  46. About the Publisher

The wind is high, something we hadn’t factored because the boathouse sits on an inlet and is sheltered, but as soon as we’re out in the open we’re caught in it and the waves get even bigger, slapping hard against the sides. I glance back at the island, now ten metres away, then very quickly twenty metres away. Liam splashes around with the oars, trying to hook them through the oarlocks, but when he finally manages and tries to paddle with them, he can’t seem to steer us in the direction he wants to. Instead, we’re being dragged along by the tide that the boatman warned us about, slamming into forceful swells that slosh water over the prow of the boat and leave our feet submerged. We’re floating through the underworld, it feels, heading away from the mainland and towards the sea.

I shiver as the drizzle turns to heavier rain, coating my face and eyelashes. I can barely see through the cloud and the freezing cold of the water has numbed my hands, which are still clutching the boat tightly. Looking down at the water I think about the unfathomable depths below us and try to overcome my burgeoning panic.

‘We should go back!’ I shout to Liam, but he shakes his head, fighting to steer a course. He looks over his shoulder to check our progress and just then the boat hits a large wave. It’s as if we’ve been slammed headfirst into a rock. I tumble into the icy loch with a cry of alarm.

Chapter Twenty

The water is so shockingly cold it feels as if I’m being flayed alive. It strips the flesh, rakes at the bone, grips my heart and squeezes it tight. I sink beneath the surface and for seconds I’m too paralysed by shock to fight the terrible downward pull, but finally my survival instinct kicks in and my legs start to move. I kick, breaking the surface and gasping for breath, yet unable to squeeze air into my frozen lungs. The water is cement, encasing my legs and body and tugging me down. I disappear once more, swallowing water, unable to kick my legs or move my arms in order to keep myself afloat. Oh god. I register that I’m drowning.