Finding Home Again (Catalina Cove)

by Brenda Jackson

  At what had to be a surprised look on her face, he said, “Yes, I know about him. I heard a couple of ladies talking in Spencer’s about how they hoped the two of you get back together. Then I knew I’d been played.”

  Played? Bryce was trying to follow what Jeremy was saying but it made no sense. Where had he gotten the assumption that there was more between them than friendship? Hell, they’d never held hands or even kissed.

  “You aren’t the first woman who tried taking advantage of my kindness and they got the same fate that you’re going to get. That will teach you a lesson.”

  Bryce moaned against the gag in her mouth. The man was an attorney, for Pete’s sake... At least that was what he’d told her. Had he lied about that, too?

  “It won’t do you any good to try to get away, Bryce. There’s nowhere for you to go off the ship unless you want to be eaten by gators. We’re in the swamp.”

  Her head jerked up. The swamp? Surely he wasn’t going to throw her overboard. The thought of such a thing made her tremble all over.

  As if he read her mind, he said, “I haven’t decided what I’m going to do with you yet. You used me,” he sneered. “At first I retaliated by going after your guy. You should not have called and canceled our meetings. I found out where you lived and checked out your place. Imagine how I felt when I saw that guy spending time with you. That made me mad enough to slash his tire one night. Then I wanted to rough you up a bit and tried breaking into your place one night when I knew you were there. I accidentally bumped into your garbage can, and then I figured it was best to get the hell out of there when I saw your neighbor, some old man, wandering about looking for some damn cat.”

  Bryce heard what Jeremy was saying and remembered hearing a sound outside on her patio that night. That was the same night Vashti had sent Sawyer over to investigate.

  “And, of course, there was the fire.”

  His words reclaimed her attention and she stared at him. He smiled. “Yes, I’m the one who set the fire on your boyfriend’s boat when I found out the two of you were out of town together. You couldn’t spend time with me, yet you were spending time with him.”

  She stared at him, unable to say anything because of the gag still in her mouth. As if he was tired of talking to her, Jeremy turned and left, locking the door behind him.

  * * *

  “CALM DOWN, KAEGAN.”

  Kaegan stopped pacing and glared over at Sawyer. “The woman I love is missing and you want me to calm down? How would you feel if it was Vashti?”

  “He’s right, son,” Chester said, coming to place a hand on Kaegan’s shoulder. “You need to calm down. Why don’t you come and sit with me, Debbie and the family.”

  Kaegan shook his head. He didn’t want to sit down. He wanted to lash out, beat the hell out of someone. He glanced around the café, which was now closed. Everyone close to Bryce was there. Her parents, her brothers and their wives, Ray and Ashley, Vashti and Sawyer. And him.

  According to Sawyer, they were checking more video cameras in the area to see if Skinner’s car had been spotted anywhere, but so far it hadn’t. News had spread quickly that Bryce was missing. One of the café’s regular customers who owned a printing shop had put Jeremy Skinner’s picture on flyers that were being passed around town in case anyone recalled seeing him in the area.

  So far no one remembered anything. Sawyer had alerted the FBI and an agent had come and gone, talking more to Sawyer than to anyone. Sawyer hadn’t shared what the man had told him. But Kaegan had a feeling it hadn’t been good.

  “This is my fault,” Kaegan said, brokenly.

  “How?” Chester asked.

  “We should never have broken up ten years ago. We could have been married now and then she wouldn’t have had a reason to meet up with a bastard like Skinner. She would have called me that day when she’d gotten a flat tire and she sure as hell wouldn’t have met him for coffee at any time. Hell, some boyfriend I am. I couldn’t even protect her.”

  “There was no way for you to have known, Kaegan,” Vashti said, coming up to him to give him a hug. “I knew more about the guy and I didn’t suspect a thing. Neither did Bryce. Don’t give up. None of us can give up. We have to believe Bryce is safe and will return to us.”

  More than anything, Sawyer wanted to believe that. He honestly needed some kind of reassurance that the woman he loved was all right, but nobody could give him that.

  He looked over at Sawyer. “What do you know about Skinner?” He knew Sawyer knew something. Why wasn’t he saying whatever that FBI agent had told him?

  “I can’t tell you anything about him right now, Kaegan.”

  “Like hell,” Kaegan said angrily.

  Suddenly Ray appeared at Kaegan’s side. “Come on, man. Let’s take a walk outside and get some air. I think you need to cool off a minute.”

  He was about to tell Ray he didn’t want to take a walk outside when he figured maybe doing so would be for the best. He was headed out the door when the beeper on his watch went off. Knowing someone had trespassed on his property was the last thing he gave a damn about now. He had more important things to deal with.

  “I know it’s going to be hard to do, Kaegan, but you need to pull yourself together, man,” Ray said when they were outside. “Sawyer and his guys are doing all they can do.”

  “I know that, but the FBI guy told him something and I want to know what.”

  “If he could have told you then he would have, Kaegan. You have to respect the fact that in addition to being our friend, he’s still the law.”

  “I’m leaving. We got a possible lead.”

  Kaegan and Ray turned when Sawyer quickly walked out of the café. Kaegan’s heart jumped. “Where?”

  “Over to Blackmon Boat Rentals. Jack Blackmon recognized the man on the flyer being passed about as a man who rented a boat from him earlier today. I’ll call and let you know what I—”

  “I’m going with you, Sawyer.”

  Sawyer suddenly stopped, and with a fierce frown on his face, he turned and stared at Kaegan. “You need to stay here with the others. This is police business.”

  “Then deputize me, dammit,” Kaegan snapped. “You’ve done it before—that time when several of your men came down with the flu.”

  Sawyer seemed to consider his words and then said, “Fine, but do what you’re told, Kaegan, and if you try and take matters into your own hands, I will arrest you myself.”

  He then raced toward the police cruiser with Kaegan right on his heels.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  THERE WAS ONLY a quarter moon in the sky. The night was drenched in total darkness and Bryce had no idea where she was. Jeremy had returned to the cabin, pulled her up and practically dragged her off the boat.

  “I discovered this place a couple of months ago when I came here to go fishing. It’s a private island off the swamp and I’m told people are afraid to even come here,” he said, finally removing the gag from her mouth.

  Bryce’s heart began pounding as she began working the soreness from her mouth. Had he brought her to Eagle Bend Inlet? Would she lose her life here? Jeremy hadn’t said what he intended to do with her, and she was too afraid to ask him.

  “Please let me go, Jeremy,” she said, backing up away from him. “It’s not in you to hurt anyone.” She wanted to believe that.

  He laughed. “If you think that then you really don’t know me, Bryce. And had you truly known me you would know I’m a man who doesn’t like being ignored. Two others found out the hard way.”

  Fear settled in her stomach when he slowly began walking toward her. Was he saying he’d hurt two other women before her? How could she have thought he was someone she wanted to be interested in? Someone who could help her move on from Kaegan?

  “Please don’t do this.” Even with the low light she saw another rope he held in hi
s hand. It was similar to the one her hands were tied up with. Did he intend to strangle her, squeeze the life out of her here? She backed up. “No, Jeremy, please don’t. Just leave me here to die.”

  “Why should I make things easy for you?” he asked her, grinning.

  “You won’t be making it easy,” she insisted. “There’s no way I’ll survive the swamp,” she said quickly, hoping she could convince him to let her live. If this was Eagle Bend Inlet, Kaegan would have gotten an alert that someone had trespassed on his property. At least she hoped he would.

  Jeremy stopped walking, as if to consider her words. “Hmm, you just gave me an idea,” he said, as a huge smile touched his lips.

  He pulled his phone from his pocket and clicked on the flashlight. “I’ll give you a five-minute head start, Bryce. Then I’m coming after you. You better hope I don’t find you.”

  Bryce still couldn’t believe he was doing this. It was dark and she could barely see her way around. She could just imagine herself falling into quicksand or wandering back into the swamp. And what about those animals that came out at night? But five minutes were five minutes and she would take it. It would be a run for her life. With her hands still tied behind her back, she turned and took off running.

  * * *

  “YES, THAT’S HIM,” Jack Blackmon said, pointing to the likeness of the man on the flyer. “I would never have rented him a boat had I known he intended to hurt someone, especially Bryce.”

  “Did he say where he intended to go?” Sawyer asked the man.

  Jack shook his head. “No. He said he was going fishing, and that was all he said. He’s supposed to have my boat back to me by morning. Claimed he would be doing night fishing.”

  At that moment, a black car pulled up and two men got out. Kaegan recognized one of the men as the FBI agent he’d seen earlier. Sawyer walked off toward the men and Kaegan strained his ears to hear. One of the men said, “We picked up a couple a half hour ago who were trying to charge something with Bryce Witherspoon’s credit card. They claim Jeremy Skinner planned to take Ms. Witherspoon to some island he saw one day in the swamp and bury her alive.”

  Goose bumps began forming on Kaegan’s arms at the same time the beeper on his watch went off. That was the second time tonight it had done that. “Damn!”

  Everyone glanced over at him. “I know where they’ve taken her,” he said, rushing over to Sawyer. “The alert has gone off twice tonight on my watch. I got a feeling the bastard has taken her to Eagle Bend Inlet.”

  Sawyer turned to Jack Blackmon and quickly said, “We need to use one of your boats.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  BRYCE RAN UNTIL she couldn’t run any more. She ran so much at one point she was convinced she was running around in circles and that eventually she would run right back into Jeremy. She still didn’t know where she was and hadn’t seen anything familiar. But then it was blue-black dark and she could barely see her own hands. Hands that were still tied. She was at a disadvantage and he knew it.

  Then there were the sounds of the night. Eerie sounds, and she didn’t want to think about what animals were making them or the possibility she could step on a snake or alligator at any moment. The thought that she was being hunted down like an animal made her want to scream, but screaming would alert Jeremy to where she was, and she had to keep moving. She couldn’t let him find her. How long would he look for her? Would he stop then start up in the morning when he had more light? She had to believe people were looking for her. Kaegan would know something was wrong when she hadn’t shown up for dinner.

  Needing to catch her breath, she leaned against a tree. She was tempted to cry but refused to do so. She had to keep running. She turned and saw that, because of the angle of the moon, light shone on the tree she’d rested against. Was she imagining things or did this tree have markings on the side? Markings of K & B that seemed to glow in the dark?

  It was her and Kaegan’s tree. A semblance of hope filled her and had her glancing around. She was on Eagle Bend Inlet. Bryce wanted to jump for joy.

  Suddenly, she heard a noise and quickly looked over her shoulder and could see a light moving back and forth. Jeremy! Fear raced through her again and she quickly moved, headed toward the right. She stopped quickly and deliberately moved to the left. If Jeremy was using the flashlight to check her footprints, then she needed to confuse him. The last thing she wanted was to lead him straight to the bunker. After making sure he would assume she’d gone in another direction, she backtracked to her right and found the tall trees that were covered in grassy moss and thick vines.

  Walking behind the trees, she managed to push back a lot of the mossy vines with her tied hands and find what she was looking for. The door opened and she quickly slid inside. The sound of footsteps crunching on the grass meant Jeremy was not far away. When the door closed shut behind her, she let out a relieved breath and prayed he would not figure out where she’d gone.

  When her feet touched the stairs, security lights came on. Moving quickly, she went down the stairs and headed straight for the kitchen. The first thing she needed to do was find something to cut the ropes from her hands. She managed to maneuver the bottle opener in a way that after so many tries, the rope began shredding apart. When her hands were free, she rubbed them together, seeing the marks the tightened rope had left behind. But she didn’t care. She was safe. She raced up the stairs and locked the door from the inside in case Jeremy figured out where she was and how to get in. She needed time for Kaegan to get here and she had to believe he would come. She had to believe that.

  Satisfied that she was safe at the moment, she walked back down the stairs and moved over to the love seat, and she sat and waited. Kaegan was coming. She had to believe in her heart that he would be coming for her.

  * * *

  “REMEMBER, YOU’RE NOT a police officer, Kaegan,” Sawyer said once they reached the inlet. “Don’t let me regret allowing you to come with us. Let my men do their job. Understood?”

  Yes, he understood, although he didn’t like it. He would have loved to beat the crap out of Jeremy Skinner. He just hoped Bryce was safe. It was pitch-dark. What if she hadn’t managed to get away from Skinner? What if she got away from him, but hadn’t managed to find the bunker in the dark? He had to believe Bryce was safe. He had to believe that.

  “Kaegan?”

  It was then that he realized that he hadn’t answered Sawyer. “Yes, I understand.”

  It seemed as if it took them forever to reach Eagle Bend Inlet, and when they rounded the bend, they saw the small cabin cruiser. The moment they were close enough to shore, Sawyer and his four deputies were off the boat in a flash. “I’ll call for you when you can come ashore.”

  “Yeah, right,” Kaegan said, knowing he had no intention of staying put. He just wouldn’t get in anyone’s way.

  One of the men erected a huge beacon, and when it was turned on, it seemed to light up the entire island. Sawyer had a bullhorn that he spoke through and said, “Jeremy Skinner, you are under arrest. Come out with your hands up.”

  With the island well lit it was only a matter of time before the man surrendered, walking toward them with his hands in the air. “Where is Bryce Witherspoon?” Sawyer asked him.

  He shrugged and then said, “I don’t know. I gave her a head start and then I couldn’t find her.”

  Kaegan heard what the man said. He’d given her a head start? Before what? Before he tried hunting her down like an animal? Fury raged inside of Kaegan and he moved toward the man only to find his path blocked deliberately by one of Sawyer’s men. As soon as Skinner was handcuffed and led away, Sawyer looked over at Kaegan and said, “Now go find your woman.”

  Kaegan jumped off the boat and raced to the area where he knew the bunker was. When he saw it was locked from the inside hope sprang inside of him. He used his handprint, and in no time the door was sliding open.
He stood at the top of the stairs and glanced down. Bryce was sitting there, flipping through one of his shipping magazines. Even from where he stood, he saw the tears brimming in her eyes when she said, “It’s about time you got here for me, Kaegan Chambray.”

  He quickly raced down the stairs and she moved toward him. He pulled her into his arms, needing the feel of her there. He needed something else, as well, and lowered his mouth to hers. The kiss seemed to go on forever, and when he released her, he looked into her eyes and said, “You okay?”

  She swiped at her tears. “Yes, I’m okay.”

  He pulled her into his arms. Needing to feel her there, close to his heart. “I love you, Bryce.”

  She tilted her head to look up at him and wiped more tears from her eyes, then said, “And I love you, too, Kaegan. So much.”

  He raised his brow in surprise, and before he could tell her to repeat what she’d said, she leaned up and captured his mouth in hers.

  * * *

  IT WAS BARELY daybreak when Kaegan and Bryce eased between the sheets in his bed after taking a shower together. He knew that for as long as he lived he wouldn’t let her out of his sight. In fact, he’d told her so several times tonight. He’d told her and a number of people, including her parents, her brothers, Vashti and Sawyer, Ray and Ashley, several of the deputies, those two FBI agents and anyone who’d cared to listen. Hell, he’d even told Jack Blackmon when they’d returned the man’s boat. The man thought that was a good idea. Bryce was his and he would never let anyone try to take her away from him again.

  “Tell me again,” he whispered to her.

  She smiled as she slid closer toward him to wrap her arms around his neck and entwine their legs together. They’d made love in the shower and he looked forward to making love again in his bed. “I love you, Kaegan. I had planned to tell you over dinner last night, but then Jeremy interfered with those plans.”