a switch on at its base, and rammed the bulb-end hard against her assailant’s leg, just above the knee. There was a loud, angry crackle as eight hundred thousand volts of electricity surged out of the torch, which also doubled as a stun gun. She’d bought it the previous year in Panama, just to make her feel safer at night, and this was the first time she’d used it in anger.
Tina held the button down to keep the current flowing, but for a couple of seconds her assailant didn’t move, and she thought with a sudden panic that it might not be working. But then he let out an audible yelp and stumbled backwards, falling to the floor and juddering wildly as the shock surged through him.
‘Move and I’ll kill you!’ shouted the gunman, pointing the gun at her head.
But Tina knew that if they intended to kill her so soon after they’d murdered Nick they were going to have to make it look natural, which meant there was no way he was going to pull the trigger. So she grabbed her bedside lamp and chucked it at his head, before jumping over the bed and making straight for him, pressing the button on the torch as she did so.
Unlike his colleague, the gunman knew the damage she could do with it and he reacted decisively, grabbing her wrist and twisting it painfully as they fell together into the wall.
Her wrist felt like it was going to break, and instinctively Tina dropped the torch, but she still had the presence of mind to gethold of his gun arm so that he wasn’t pointing the weapon at her. Then, recovering as best she could, she drove her head into his face, kicked out at him, and turned and ran out of the door.
He was after her like a flash, and before she could get to the stairs he’d got hold of her again and was pushing her bodily towards the bathroom.
She fought back furiously, lashing out with her legs and trying to kick him in the shins, but he was a lot stronger than she’d expected and the momentum was with him. Together, they crashed through the door opposite and into the unlit bathroom, Tina in front.
That was when she saw that the bath was full, and she realized immediately that they’d run it in order to drown her.
Digging her heels into the newly tiled floor, she tried to turn round, but he had her in a surprisingly tight bear hug, the gun gripped firmly in his right hand, tantalizingly close but impossible to grab. He might have been a lot smaller than his colleague but it was becoming abundantly clear to Tina that this man was the more dangerous of her two assailants.
As if to prove this, he suddenly let her go, and before she had a chance to react he punched her once, very hard and very accurately, in the kidneys, before grabbing her coat by the collar and pushing her into the tub.
The cold water sprang up to meet her and she instinctively held her breath as her head went under. Knowing she only had one chance, she managed to flip herself round in the water so she was on her back and facing upright. Her attacker’s expression was determined as he clambered in on top of her, pushing all his weight into her midriff. A gloved hand covered her face like an immense spider, and she was pushed under again.
She struggled wildly beneath him, making no noise as sheworked to conserve the air inside her and hold down her rising panic. She’d always had a fear of drowning, ever since she’d fallen in the river at the age of four, at an outdoor birthday party. Now those terrifying cold moments came back to haunt her as she felt the pressure begin to grow in her lungs, knowing she only had a matter of seconds before the big attacker with the needle recovered from the electric shock she’d given him and rejoined his colleague. Then she’d be finished.
She managed to slide a hand out from under her and in one movement grabbed the oyster-shaped china soap dish from the top left corner of the bath where she always kept it and slammed it into the side of her assailant’s head.
He cried out and slipped
Tina held the button down to keep the current flowing, but for a couple of seconds her assailant didn’t move, and she thought with a sudden panic that it might not be working. But then he let out an audible yelp and stumbled backwards, falling to the floor and juddering wildly as the shock surged through him.
‘Move and I’ll kill you!’ shouted the gunman, pointing the gun at her head.
But Tina knew that if they intended to kill her so soon after they’d murdered Nick they were going to have to make it look natural, which meant there was no way he was going to pull the trigger. So she grabbed her bedside lamp and chucked it at his head, before jumping over the bed and making straight for him, pressing the button on the torch as she did so.
Unlike his colleague, the gunman knew the damage she could do with it and he reacted decisively, grabbing her wrist and twisting it painfully as they fell together into the wall.
Her wrist felt like it was going to break, and instinctively Tina dropped the torch, but she still had the presence of mind to gethold of his gun arm so that he wasn’t pointing the weapon at her. Then, recovering as best she could, she drove her head into his face, kicked out at him, and turned and ran out of the door.
He was after her like a flash, and before she could get to the stairs he’d got hold of her again and was pushing her bodily towards the bathroom.
She fought back furiously, lashing out with her legs and trying to kick him in the shins, but he was a lot stronger than she’d expected and the momentum was with him. Together, they crashed through the door opposite and into the unlit bathroom, Tina in front.
That was when she saw that the bath was full, and she realized immediately that they’d run it in order to drown her.
Digging her heels into the newly tiled floor, she tried to turn round, but he had her in a surprisingly tight bear hug, the gun gripped firmly in his right hand, tantalizingly close but impossible to grab. He might have been a lot smaller than his colleague but it was becoming abundantly clear to Tina that this man was the more dangerous of her two assailants.
As if to prove this, he suddenly let her go, and before she had a chance to react he punched her once, very hard and very accurately, in the kidneys, before grabbing her coat by the collar and pushing her into the tub.
The cold water sprang up to meet her and she instinctively held her breath as her head went under. Knowing she only had one chance, she managed to flip herself round in the water so she was on her back and facing upright. Her attacker’s expression was determined as he clambered in on top of her, pushing all his weight into her midriff. A gloved hand covered her face like an immense spider, and she was pushed under again.
She struggled wildly beneath him, making no noise as sheworked to conserve the air inside her and hold down her rising panic. She’d always had a fear of drowning, ever since she’d fallen in the river at the age of four, at an outdoor birthday party. Now those terrifying cold moments came back to haunt her as she felt the pressure begin to grow in her lungs, knowing she only had a matter of seconds before the big attacker with the needle recovered from the electric shock she’d given him and rejoined his colleague. Then she’d be finished.
She managed to slide a hand out from under her and in one movement grabbed the oyster-shaped china soap dish from the top left corner of the bath where she always kept it and slammed it into the side of her assailant’s head.
He cried out and slipped
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