Safe Harbor

by Christy Barritt

  “You don’t even know, do you?” Jill asked.

  “Know what?” Bree had no idea what she was talking about.

  “You don’t see the way Lloyd looks at you.”

  Bree shrugged. “Lloyd looks at me like a fellow musician.”

  Jill scoffed. “Then you really are naïve. I thought that show business would’ve woken you up by now.”

  “I’m telling you, Jill, Lloyd and I are just friends. There’s nothing there but professional respect.”

  “You may feel that way, but he doesn’t. You are all he talks about. I told him not to go on tour with you. One reason was the money. There was so little of it. But the other was because his eyes lit up whenever you were around. I knew what was coming. I could see the writing on the wall. He insisted he do this, despite what I wanted.”

  Bree tugged at her handcuff again, hating the feeling of being trapped, of feeling helpless. “So why are you punishing me for that? I never did anything inappropriate or gave him any hints that there could be something between us.”

  Her smile disappeared. “You epitomize everything that I am against. You’re pretty, successful, rich, and famous. Frankly, I’m just sick of it. Sick of working so hard for nothing while people like you get what I want, what I deserve.”

  “So you’re going to kill me?”

  Jill stepped closer and narrowed her eyes. “I’m thinking about it.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Where was the gunfire coming from? Dez remained on the ground, unwilling to stand yet. Not until he knew where the shooter was. From what he could tell, the gunman wasn’t moving around but seemed stationary. Maybe if he went around to the backside of the woods, he could figure out who this person was.

  He made eye contact with Cassidy and motioned what he was going to do. She nodded.

  A moment later, Dez ducked into the woods. The brush was thick and thorny and occasionally even marshy. Those things were the least of his concerns right now. He had to be quick, efficient, and quiet.

  He moved between the trees, careful to conceal his presence. He didn’t want to alert whoever was out here to the fact that he was coming.

  Another round of gunfire emerged. Bang. Bang. Bang.

  It was an automatic weapon, for sure. But something seemed weird about the cadence of the gunshots. It didn’t really make any sense. When someone fired again, there wasn’t a pattern to the way the person shot.

  But something bothered him, and Dez needed to figure out what it was.

  As he got closer to the sound, he crouched lower, remaining careful of his footsteps and any sound he might make.

  He still didn’t see anybody.

  But he could smell the gunpowder.

  He was close.

  Finally, he reached the area where the shots were coming from. And what he saw there made his jaw drop.

  “Why don’t you just get this over with?” Bree stared at Jill, trying to anticipate her next move. “Why draw it out?”

  “I’ve been living like this for the past six months since you went on tour. Why should it all be over for you so quickly?”

  The woman definitely held a grudge, to say the least. Bree needed to keep her talking. “Were you the one who killed Kyle?”

  “I was sneaking into Emerson’s house to leave him a new threat when Kyle saw me. I had no choice.”

  “How did you get into my house to leave your threat? How did you get the code?” Bree might as well get some answers as she bought herself time.

  “Easy. When you first checked in to this house of yours, all the guys came by for a quick jam session. When you let them in, you punched in the code in front of all of them. Bobby Dee saw you do it. I was talking to Lloyd before the concert—on the phone—when Bobby Dee made a joke about it in the background. I heard him. He even recited the code. Good thing I have a decent memory. When I saw you leave, I went to your house and gave it a try. What do you know? It worked.”

  If Bree got out of this alive, she made a mental note to be more careful. “And you were the one who opened fire at the concert? You were actually so angry that you decided to shoot into a crowd?”

  “I was only aiming for you. Be thankful that I’m a bad shot.”

  “That took a lot of planning. I’m surprised nobody noticed you were in town and that you were able to get that boat and the guns.”

  “My dad was an avid fisherman and hunter. He taught me everything I know, including how to shoot and how to operate a boat. It really wasn’t that hard. In fact, I put everything I needed in my trunk, took the ferry over, and stayed in a campground until I got the call from you saying that Lloyd had been shot and that I should come. It was all a lot easier than you might think. Plus, nobody was looking for me because nobody suspected I was in town.”

  “Where’s Trixie?” Bree asked, still trying to buy time. She glanced down, trying to guess what was going on below her. It was no use.

  “She’s in my cabin. She’s okay. For now. I’m kind of hoping no one will discover her for a long time, though. She’s driving me crazy with that attitude of hers. Maybe I targeted the wrong person, but it’s too late now. She stole your song, you know.”

  “I heard.” Bree licked her lips. “You’re clever, I’ll give you that. You should take that cleverness and put it to good use, not by doing stuff like this.”

  More gunfire rang out, and Bree ducked again.

  Jill let out a laugh aloud, entirely too amused. “You still haven’t figured it out? Well, let me give you a little hint. I work by myself.”

  How was that possible? “Lloyd wasn’t in on this?”

  “No, he would have never done something like this. Especially not if you were involved. That’s why I had to make it look like he was, though. Did you know they have these handy dandy guns that work by remote control? Hunters use them all the time. They set them up in the woods and people who can’t leave their homes to hunt can pay to shoot things remotely. Pretty handy, huh?”

  “So you’re the one who is firing down there?”

  She showed Bree the remote. “That’s right.”

  “You are clever. But why hurt more innocent people?”

  “Those people never did anything for me. I’m over it all. I’ll probably go to jail. I don’t think I’m going to get away with all of this, so I might as well enjoy myself on the way out.”

  “There has to be a different way than this,” Bree said. “It’s not too late to make things right.”

  Jill cackled again. “Oh, I would say that it is. I opened fire at a public event. There’s no way that I am not going away for life.”

  That’s when Bree realized that Jill wasn’t bluffing. There was nothing to hold her back anymore. Bree dreaded to think what that might mean for her.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Dez grabbed the gun that had been positioned on the tree. He pulled the ammunition out before it could be fired anymore.

  A remote control gun? Whoever had come up with this idea was sick. He’d heard of hunters using things like this, but he never thought he’d see it used in a situation like this.

  Most likely, whoever was in the lighthouse was using some kind of remote system to operate this. But no more, not without the ammunition.

  Dez darted back through the woods, toward Cassidy and Banks. He needed to let them know what was going on, and they needed to figure out a way to get to Bree.

  As he emerged from the brush, he filled them in.

  “I called Austin,” Cassidy said. “He has a key to this place, and he should be here any time now.”

  “Let’s go,” Dez said.

  They took off toward the lighthouse. As soon as they got there, Austin pulled up. He unlocked the door, and they flooded inside.

  “Let me,” Dez said.

  “Dez . . .”

  “Please.” Cassidy was more than capable, but Dez . . . he had personal reasons for wanting to protect Bree.

  Cassidy frowned and nodded. “Go. I’ll be righ
t behind you.”

  They rushed up the stairs, and Dez prayed he wasn’t too late.

  Bree desperately didn’t want everything to end with Jill killing her atop the lighthouse in a fit of rage and bitterness. She prayed that wouldn’t be the case. But fear claimed her body. Her thoughts. Maybe even her hope.

  “I’ve thought about this a lot.” Jill’s eyes looked glassy and cold as she addressed Bree. “About how the best way to kill you would be. At first, when I sent you those threats, I was just blowing off steam. But the more I think about it, the more I think that it could be fun to let you go out with a bang.”

  Despite the wind around her, a thin layer of sweat formed across Bree’s face.

  Jill put the remote back into her pocket and pulled out her phone instead. As she did, she set the gun on metal walkway, just out of Bree’s reach.

  “Since you’re so much into getting attention, I thought that maybe I could catch all of this on camera.” Jill flashed a smile. “Maybe we could even do a VideoStream live on all of this as it happens. What do you think?”

  “I think that’s a bad idea,” Bree said. “But I have a feeling I can’t talk you out of it, can I?”

  “No, you can’t.” She hit a few buttons on her phone and then held it up to record. “This is Jill, and I’m here to talk about the rise and fall of Bree Jordan. You may think of her as the sweet girl next door with the voice of an angel. She is everything that I can’t stand, and I want you all to be witnesses to what is going to happen to her. Say hi for the camera, Bree.”

  Bree only stared, determined not to play this woman’s game. “You’re sick, Jill.”

  “What she says about me really doesn’t matter. Because my mind is already made up. This will be the last day that Bree Jordan walks here on earth.”

  Bree sucked in a breath but tried not to show too much fear for the camera. That’s what Jill wanted. Bree couldn’t give her the satisfaction.

  “Okay, maybe since you didn’t say hi, you can say bye.” Jill grabbed her gun and pointed it toward Bree.

  Bree couldn’t take her eyes off that barrel. One pull of the trigger, and she would be a goner. She wasn’t ready for that yet.

  Please, God. Send help. Don’t let anyone else get hurt.

  “Tell your audience that you’re better than everybody else,” Jill demanded.

  “Why would I do that? It’s not what I think.”

  “It’s how you act,” Jill snapped.

  “I don’t know about that. But I do know that’s not who I am.”

  Jill didn’t seem to hear her. “Sing the first verse of ‘You’re Killing Me.’”

  “What? Now?” Had this woman lost her mind?

  “That’s right. Now.” Jill pointed the gun, her finger on the trigger.

  The message was clear: sing or else.

  Bree scrambled to remember the lyrics. Finally, her voice squeaked as she began with, “I’m standing on the edge. Death is waiting for me. Death has your name. Death is all I see.”

  Jill smiled and raised her eyebrows. “Perfect. Climb to the other side of the railing.”

  “You want me to . . .” Bree looked below her and felt her head spin at the sheer height. “Jill . . . I’m not going to act out my song.”

  “I said do it!”

  Bree heard the tone and knew this was no time to argue. Jill would pull the trigger.

  Should she take her chances that she might be able to buy time until Dez could help her?

  Neither option seemed tempting.

  But she had to see if she could draw this out.

  “Now!” Jill shouted.

  “Okay! Okay!” Bree’s hands trembled as she threw her leg over the railing. Carefully, she lowered herself to the other side. With one hand still cuffed, she gripped the metal with all her might, praying her feet didn’t slip.

  As she looked at the ground below, her head swam.

  Please, Lord . . .

  “On the count of three, you’re going to sing your song while I record you. If you don’t, I’m going to pull this trigger. Understand?”

  Bree nodded. “I do.”

  The wind swept around her, nearly pushing her from her spot. She couldn’t let this be the end. She had too much of life left to live.

  Jill turned on her camera phone again and began recording herself. “Everyone, this is your chance to lift your prayers—as if they’re going to do any good. Now, sing, Bree. Sing.”

  Bree opened her mouth but nothing came out.

  “I can’t hear you!”

  “Don’t you know that you’re killing me . . .” Bree’s voice cracked.

  “This isn’t nearly as fulfilling as I thought it would be,” Jill muttered. “On second thought, I’ll do this the easy way. I’m going to give you to the count of three. Then I’m pulling the trigger.”

  Ice filled her veins. “Don’t do this, Jill,” Bree said. “It’s not too late.”

  “Yes, it is.” Jill flashed a smile. “Three. Two.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Dez heard everything that was being said. As far as he knew, Jill had no idea he and Cassidy lingered on the stairway. He had to make a move, and he had to make it soon.

  Sirens sounded in the background. Help was on the way.

  But they had no time to waste.

  Dez heard Jill say, “Three, two—”

  Before she could say “one,” Dez reached out from the hatch and grabbed Jill’s leg. He jerked it until the woman hit the platform with a thud. The gun dropped from her hand, along with her phone.

  He knew he didn’t have long. He had to make a move, and it had to be now.

  Dez pulled himself from the hatch and straddled Jill. As he did, her hand reached out for her gun.

  He couldn’t let her reach it.

  Cassidy scrambled past him toward Bree.

  Jill’s knees jammed into his back.

  That wasn’t going to stop him. He grabbed her wrists and flipped her over until her face was against the metal grate.

  “This is all over,” Dez told her. “Your little game is done.”

  Dez’s gaze lifted to Bree. Just as Cassidy reached her, Bree lost her grip.

  And she fell from the lighthouse.

  Bree felt herself slip and gasped. All of this, and she was still going to die, wasn’t she?

  Then a terrible pain ripped through her.

  She was still holding on. Only her feet had slipped.

  They dangled below her now.

  Agony continued to tear through her arms from the impact of her body lurching to a stop.

  She could already feel her grip loosening, her strength waning.

  Cassidy appeared from above and grabbed her arms. “I’ve got you, Bree.”

  “Cassidy, Jill’s all yours,” Dez said. “I’ll get Bree.”

  “I’m on it.”

  They traded places. Dez reached down and easily pulled Bree up and over the railing. As he gathered her in his arms, Cassidy passed him a key, and Dez unlocked the handcuff.

  “Are you okay?”

  Bree nodded, relief washing through her. She’d thought she was going to die. She’d been nearly certain of it. Who would have thought this handcuff could have saved her?

  Dez gently touched her wrist. “I think it might be broken.”

  She squeezed the tears back from her eyes. She’d never felt pain like she did now, but gratitude won. She was alive. “But it will heal. Thank you. For everything.”

  He leaned down until their foreheads touched. His hands splayed across her neck and into her hair.

  “I was so worried about you, Bree.” His voice sounded raspy with emotion and concern. “Never do that again.”

  “If I thought it would protect you, I’d do it all over again.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “You really are stubborn sometimes, aren’t you?”

  She let out a whimpering laugh as she held her wrist. “Yes, I suppose that I am.”

  Wasting no more time,
Dez closed the space between them until his lips met hers briefly.

  Maybe everything would be okay. Finally.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  The next day, Bree had a cast on her arm. Her wrist was broken, but the doctor said she’d be okay. Since the break was on her right arm and the cast didn’t cover her elbow, she’d still be able to play the guitar. It would just require a little more creativity.

  The whole confrontation between her and Jill had been caught on video. VideoStream removed it from its site, but not before some people had managed to copy the footage and distribute it to various media outlets. All the news stations wanted to play it over and over again.

  And Bree’s album sales had soared because of it.

  Emerson had been formally charged with money laundering and conspiracy, among other things. Bree’s lawyer had filed a civil suit against him. Soon, her contract would be null and void.

  That was okay with Bree, because other labels were trying to court her in the wake of everything that had happened.

  Lloyd had survived the gunshot wound. He’d had nothing to do with this.

  Trixie had been found. She was also okay. She’d even mumbled an apology to Bree when their paths had crossed at the clinic.

  As her way of saying thank you, Bree would be doing a free concert here in Lantern Beach next month.

  Right now, Bree was slated to do a press conference. This time, she decided to do it live. The guys from Blackout would be joining her.

  “Are you ready for this?” Dez asked. They stood inside the police station. The press conference would take place outside in five minutes.

  She nodded. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. I’m just happy right now to be alive.”

  “I’m happy that you’re alive too.” He scooted closer and kissed her forehead.

  She couldn’t believe just how easy things felt between the two of them. She’d feared that he was a player, that he would lose interest. And, granted, the relationship was still new, still fresh. But something in her gut told her that she could trust Dez.