Lantern Beach Mysteries Box Set

by Christy Barritt

  “So, what brings you out this way, ice cream lady?” Austin sat down on a bench behind her.

  He was the guy who seemed like he could be friends with everyone. Laid-back, with a wide smile and an easy laugh. He had curly dark hair and the lean build of someone who was active.

  Cassidy opened her mouth and shut it again. She had to remember her cover story.

  “I just needed a change of pace,” she said. “It probably sounds lame, but my life was passing me by too quickly.”

  Too quickly, as in there was a bounty out for her head and people who wanted to kill her.

  “I think almost everyone here has that same story,” Austin said. “Life is too short to get caught up in the rat race.”

  “Where are you from, Cassidy?” Lisa asked, joining in the conversation.

  “Texas.” It was a big state. The biggest state, and therefore the safest state to be from. Samuel had agreed with her. Cassidy just needed to remember to throw some y’alls in there every once in a while to seem authentic.

  “Oh, yeah?” Ty glanced up from the smoky grill. “What part?”

  “The western part of the state. A small town that no one has ever heard of.” Vague. General. Innocuous.

  “Try me. I’m from just outside of Houston.”

  Cassidy’s stomach sank. Of course he was. Because her life could never be that simple. She should have noticed earlier. He had a Southern drawl, but it wasn’t of the North Carolina variety. How could she not have realized that?

  “Impact,” she said.

  “Never heard of it.”

  She shrugged, banking on that fact. “I told you it was small. Smallest town in Texas, for that matter.”

  She’d picked it on purpose, knowing it was so tiny she most likely wouldn’t run into anyone from the area. Knowing Ty, he would look into and blow her whole cover. That would just be . . . awesome.

  As the conversation drifted around her, she stole a glance at Ty. Observed his hard muscles rippling through the back of his shirt. Noticed his biceps and the tattoo peeking out from beneath his sleeve.

  The man might be attractive, but too bad his insides didn’t match his outsides. He probably saw all the women here as conquests.

  “What do you do for a living?” Lisa asked before taking a sip of iced tea. “Or have you always sold ice cream?”

  Cassidy rubbed her hands on her jean shorts. “I’m an interior designer.”

  Her mom had hired enough of them that Cassidy knew the gist of what they did. It seemed like a safe enough career choice.

  “Hey, did you guys see this?” another guy—Wes—asked as he stared at his phone. “You hear about that gang leader who was killed out in Seattle?”

  It took every ounce of Cassidy’s self-control to keep her face placid as everyone around her nodded.

  Had she been made?

  Because she didn’t feel like her time in Lantern Beach was up yet. First she wanted to help Diane and clear Phil’s name. She hadn’t realized until now how badly she wanted to help.

  The urge just might be one of the stupidest she’d ever had, especially if she didn’t want to blow her cover.

  Chapter 10

  “It was awesome.” Wes’s face was animated as if he was talking about his favorite movie. “This lady threw a baseball and hit the guy’s chest. It stopped his heart.”

  “Some people are calling her Commotio Cordis,” Lisa said. “I guess that’s the correct verbiage for when something hits your heart hard enough to stop it. It’s totally a rad name.”

  “Sounds like the heroine in an action movie,” Skye said, lingering near Ty. The exotic beauty was the third member of the women’s volleyball team.

  “I guess she has this underground following now, especially since she’s disappeared,” Wes continued, still reading something on his phone. “Some kids are even creating cartoons—or is it called anime?—about her.”

  Cassidy’s heart leapt into her throat. Cartoons? She hadn’t heard about that.

  “Kids are thinking she’s a hero?” Lisa took another sip of her tea. “Isn’t that strange?”

  Ty finally spoke up, though he’d seemed oblivious to the conversation only seconds earlier. “This gang makes the lives of its members miserable. People under their leadership are subservient. Women are objects. Members’ children are forced into the gang when they come of age. The woman who killed the leader is a hero.”

  “How do you know so much about gangs?” Lisa raked her hair out of her eyes as an island breeze swept across the deck.

  Ty shrugged and turned back to the grill. “I watch 20/20. What can I say?”

  “Commotio Cordis,” Austin repeated. “I wonder what happened to her.”

  “The gang put a bounty out on her head,” Wes said. “If anyone kills her, they get a million bucks. You know they’ve got members all over the country who are probably looking for her.”

  “It’s a shame someone would put a price on a life.” Ty flipped a fillet. “Does anyone know anything about her?”

  Wes laughed. “You going to go look for her yourself? Maybe you could get funding for your project that way.”

  Cassidy swallowed hard at the glib words. His project? What was that? To bring a strip club to the area? Based on his truck, that’s what she would guess.

  “Nah, man,” Ty said. “I think that’s why people are fascinated, though. They’re wondering who this girl is who’d face these killers who have no regard for human life.”

  The conversation faded into something else. But it had certainly given Cassidy a lot to think about. She was becoming a folk hero? That was something she’d never expected. Never wanted.

  But the important thing was that Raul was off the streets. Now Ryan just needed to put his henchmen behind bars . . . for good.

  Ty took another sip of his root beer and leaned back in one of the cheap plastic chairs adorning his deck.

  He liked nothing better than to watch the people he cared about enjoying themselves. The conversation was easy here tonight, and he thanked God again for good friends. The five of them had met at Bible study a year ago and had been as thick as thieves ever since then.

  His gaze shifted to Cassidy again. She was certainly beautiful—no one could deny that. Her blonde hair flowed in waves over her shoulders, her tiny nose was pert, and her lips were full. Then there were her eyes. They were intelligent and always seemed to be assessing things—situations, people, volleyball games.

  The woman was a mystery to him. She didn’t seem quite as uptight tonight, but she definitely hadn’t let down her guard either.

  Why was she really here?

  A verse from their last Bible study rolled through his mind. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

  So Cassidy wasn’t an enemy—but she was definitely hostile. He needed to work on the praying for her and loving her part. People didn’t usually rub him the wrong way so easily, but she seemed to have a knack for it.

  “What are you thinking about, Ty?” Skye came over and leaned against the deck railing. “You look like you’re in another world.”

  He shrugged. “About my old job, I suppose.”

  He’d been a Navy SEAL, and he’d been responsible for tracking down terrorists. He’d been good at it—until he’d been medically discharged. So he supposed in one way he was doing the same thing now. He was evaluating. Thinking. Trying to figure things out.

  “Is your leg bothering you again?” Skye nodded toward his knee.

  He shrugged, trying to ignore the ache there. “It’s always bothering me, but I’m doing okay. Trying to put off another surgery for as long as I can.”

  “I don’t blame you.”

  As Cassidy turned to speak to Austin, something behind her ear caught Ty’s eye. Was that a tattoo? It was slightly blurry—almost like she’d tried to cover it with makeup. If she’d done that, no doubt playing the volleyball game had washed that cover-up away.

  What was it?

  I
t almost looked like a lightning bolt.

  A lightning bolt? Could that be right?

  The tattoo seemed vaguely familiar, like he’d heard about people doing it before. But for what reason? He couldn’t remember.

  And it probably didn’t matter. It was just one more piece of the mystery that was Cassidy Livingston.

  As if she sensed him watching her, she tugged at her hair, pulling it down behind her ear. She cast Ty a glance—more like a dirty look—before turning back to the conversation with Austin.

  He knew one thing for certain: There was a lot more to Cassidy Livingston than she let on.

  Cassidy got home that evening feeling surprisingly refreshed. And the cobia had been exceedingly good. Ty had served it over cheese grits and roasted veggies and had even added some kind of homemade salsa on top.

  She could have eaten seconds, but she didn’t let herself. Not now that she was sitting in a truck for ten hours a day. The last thing she wanted was to come back to Seattle fifteen pounds heavier.

  Her mind drifted to the strange group of friends she’d met tonight. Ty, Lisa, and Austin.

  Then there was Wes. The plumber had tattoos all up and down his arms, spiky dirty blond hair, and a look of mischief in his eyes. Apparently he ran kayaking expeditions when he wasn’t fixing pipes and installing faucets.

  The other girl had been Skye, and she ran the vegetable stand on the main highway. Her hair was long and dark and wild—which seemed to fit Skye as well. She gave off somewhat of a gypsy vibe.

  How had the group all come together? They were all about the same age, but their professions were different, as were their personalities.

  Stop trying to figure people out, Cassidy.

  But trying to figure people out was what she did best.

  She sank into her couch when her phone rang. Her burner phone.

  Her heart skipped a beat. Only two people had that number. Samuel and—

  She glanced at the screen.

  Ryan

  Something must be wrong if he was calling her. Really wrong.

  “Hello.” Her voice sounded breathless with anxiety.

  “Ca—Cassidy?” Ryan’s voice stretched across the line.

  “What happened?” Her mind fast-forwarded through worst-case scenarios. She’d been made. The gang was on the way. They’d decided to target her parents.

  “Nothing’s wrong. Don’t get worked up.”

  Certainly she hadn’t heard him correctly. Because that was the only reason he should be in touch. “You’re only supposed to call if there’s an emergency.”

  “Is that any way to talk to the man you love?” His voice held an edge of teasing. Of course, it was his job to make people see things his way, and he was good at it.

  Irritation flashed through Cassidy. “It is in a situation like this one.”

  Ryan was the assistant DA. He should know better than to break the rules without a good reason.

  “I just needed to hear your voice, sweetheart. I needed to know you were okay. I haven’t spoken with you in six days.”

  Her muscles loosened some at his soothing tone. “I know. It’s been hard. But after what happened at the safe house . . .”

  His voice dropped. “I know. I can’t stop thinking about it either. Rest assured that I know what I’m doing. No one is tracing this call.”

  No one ever thought they were being traced. But technology had evolved, and it was getting harder and harder to truly disappear. She kept the thought quiet, knowing Ryan wouldn’t appreciate the lecture.

  Another moment of strangled silence stretched between them before Ryan finally said, “You heard about the bounty?”

  “I did.” But there were other things Cassidy preferred to talk about rather than the price tag that had been put on her life. “How’s the case going?”

  “We’re making progress. It’s pretty open-and-shut. But there’s one thing. . .”

  Her back muscles cinched at his worried undertone. “What’s that?”

  “Rachel is missing.”

  Rachel? Cassidy’s breath caught. She was the DA in charge of the case.

  “What . . . how . . .?”

  “We don’t know. The police are looking for her.”

  Cassidy pushed herself deeper into the couch as she absorbed the thought. “I don’t like the sound of this.”

  “None of us do. But at least you’re tucked away somewhere safe. That makes me feel better. But I am worried about one thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “If something happens to Samuel, no one will know where you are or how to get in touch with you.”

  She didn’t like the sound of that either. It only emphasized how very alone and isolated she was right now. “You have my cell.”

  “What if something happens to you? You won’t answer. And I’ll have no way of finding you.”

  Cassidy swallowed hard. “I’ll be fine.”

  But she wasn’t totally confident of that. All it would take was one wrong move on her part, and all of this could come crashing down.

  “How’s it going there?”

  She glanced around the dated beach house with its wood-paneled walls. At least the carpet had been updated to an off-white low pile.

  “Okay, I guess. It’s different. It’s . . . relaxing.”

  “Well, don’t get too attached or I might want to visit. I miss you.”

  Her heart leapt into her throat at the thought of seeing Ryan—of seeing anyone familiar, for that matter. Her homesickness had come on more quickly than she’d ever imagined. “I wish you could. I miss you too, Ryan.”

  As Cassidy hung up, her heart felt as turbulent as the currents of water crashing on a stormy shoal outside her new home.

  Chapter 11

  Six Days Earlier

  Cady stared out the window at the woods surrounding the secluded farmhouse. It was located on twenty-five acres out in the middle of nowhere, which made it a perfect place to hide out until things blew over.

  She pulled her arms around her, the emotional scars from the past two months far outweighing any physical scars she’d obtained.

  “You should move away from the window,” Vann, the marshal in charge of overseeing her safety, said.

  She was a detective. She could make these choices for herself. Yet she straightened the curtain and backed away. She wasn’t sure what she’d been wanting to see anyway.

  Members of DH-7 emerging from the woods with guns, ready to kill her? Raul coming back from the dead? Thugs dragging bats across the ground, headed her way?

  Cady still couldn’t get the sound out of her head. When she closed her eyes and lay down at night, she could hear the wood scraping against the asphalt. Could feel the pain she’d been anticipating.

  Maybe that’s what she deserved.

  Deserved? Where had that thought come from?

  She shuddered.

  Whenever she let her thoughts drift, she saw them coming for her. Just like they’d come for Samantha.

  Samantha . . .

  She’d been a member of DH-7 who’d been desperate—but unable—to get out. She’d realized she was in over her head and that the gang was bad news. The police had turned the woman, and Samantha had agreed to fake her death so Cady could earn Raul’s trust. Samantha had been promised safety and security, and she’d been whisked off to a secure location.

  But DH-7 found her somehow. She’d gone on the run, but they’d found her again.

  And that was when she’d been killed.

  Cady shivered. She imagined it all playing out. She pictured how Samantha must have been feeling—the cold, stark fear—as she recalled her broken promise to the woman.

  Cady should have done more to protect her. How had the breech happened?

  “Mr. Samson is on his way,” Vann told her.

  Her heart raced a minute. Ryan? He was coming here? She knew he’d take all the right security precautions. She also knew if he was coming, it was important.

 
; She hadn’t seen him since all of this went down. No, she’d been whisked from the scene of the crime to this safe house on the outskirts of town. The FBI had spent hours questioning her and finding out everything she knew about the gang.

  She’d collected evidence. Pictures. Fingerprints. Recorded conversations. Everything they needed to put the four men at the head of DH-7 behind bars for a long time. Not for being gang members. That wasn’t illegal. But they were going to jail for murder. For selling drugs. On weapons charges. And that was just the beginning.

  Cady’s testimony would be essential to helping put them away for life.

  Ten minutes later, Ryan arrived. Handsome, debonair Ryan who had the whole world in front of him. No one could deny how intelligent he was. He’d graduated at the top of his class. Had passed the bar on the first try. He had his pick of jobs and wanted to work for the government as a DA instead.

  Not only that, but he was a head turner with his thick, dark hair. He had a well-cared for body, flawless skin, and a perfectly symmetrical face.

  He nodded an aloof greeting when he walked in the door.

  That was right. No one knew he and Cady were dating. Ryan thought it was better this way until after the elections, where Ryan was planning on running for prosecuting attorney for King County. Cady’s dad could be an alienating figure, and Ryan didn’t want that fact to sway voters.

  So they’d been dating in secret for four months. Two of those months, Cady had been deep undercover with DH-7. It wasn’t an ideal way to start a relationship, but when you had something good, you fought for it. Go to war for the things important to you.

  “Can we have a minute?” Ryan asked.

  She nodded, and they slipped into a downstairs bedroom. As soon as the door was closed, he pulled her into a hug. The scent of his spicy cologne filled her. She wished the smell was comforting, but for some reason, she’d never liked it.