Broken Shadows: Shadows Landing #5

by Kathleen Brooks

  Trent wrapped his arm around Skye and used Wade’s rescue swimmer technique to begin to swim.

  “I can swim. I promise. I’m good now,” Skye said as she kicked along with him.

  “I’ve got you. I don’t want us to be separated.”

  “Why aren’t we just swimming back to shore?”

  “We’re going to let the current take us to the ring. Then they’ll help pull us back to the shore. It’ll save us a lot of energy,” Trent explained as they kicked along with the current. “Here it is,” Trent said, reaching out and hooking his arm around the ring.

  Skye reached forward and kicked hard to climb her way up Trent’s body until she could hook her arm over the ring too. “You’re right. This was harder than I thought.”

  “Okay, Ryker!” Trent yelled. “Now kick as they pull and we’ll be on the shore in no time.”

  It took only minutes as they fought the current but with the help of the ring they were finally pulled ashore by Wade, Ryker, and Edie.

  His brother, Wade, went straight to Skye and started the standard medical evaluation that he used as a rescue swimmer.

  “Where’s Gavin?” Trent asked of his doctor cousin.

  “Treating the few gunshot wounds,” Wade told him. “Granger, Kord, and Peter have formed a chain gang of prisoners. Most are still unconscious, but they’re coming around.”

  “Who did this?” Skye asked what everyone wanted to know as she pushed herself up from the ground.

  “You’re good, but you’re going to be exhausted once the adrenaline wears off,” Wade warned her.

  “Then let’s get to the bottom of this while I’m amped up. I can’t believe we just jumped out of a helicopter.”

  Trent pushed himself up and they trudged their way up the yard. Sure enough, around fifteen men were tied up and being guarded by the knitting club as Gavin and Ridge treated the wounded on the other side of the lawn.

  “What the hell is he doing?” Trent asked of Mason. He was getting in the faces of the men tied up screaming at them.

  “Where did he come from?” Skye asked with confusion. “It was like it was right out of an action movie.”

  Trent shrugged. The man wasn’t a good fighter, but at least he had helped. Peter, Kord, and Granger stood off in a tight circle and Trent and his group joined him. “What’s going on?” Trent asked.

  His friends slapped Trent on the back as they joined the group. They then gave him and Skye a ten for their leap out of the helicopter but only gave Trent an eight for his leap onto the helicopter.

  “It would have been cooler if you hadn’t almost slipped off the landing rail,” Kord said with a shrug.

  “Who are these guys?” Ryker asked, bringing them back to the current situation.

  “We were hoping Skye could tell us,” Granger growled at her in a way that made Trent instantly defensive.

  “Me?” Skye asked. “I’d love to know who they are and who is trying to kidnap me.”

  Suddenly Granger, Kord, and Peter didn’t look like her friends anymore. Instead, they looked pissed off and all that anger was directed at her.

  Peter shoved a handful of IDs at her. “Please tell me this isn’t what it looks like.”

  “What does it look like?” Skye asked in confusion. What did she do to lose their trust?

  “It looks like you hired them to stage your kidnapping,” Granger told her as he glared at her. Edie gasped and Trent instantly got in Granger’s face defending Skye. As they traded barbs and Granger told Trent to back off, Skye looked down at the IDs in her hands and gasped as she went from one card to the next.

  It wasn’t the driver’s license that drew her attention. It was the other ID card that did. It was a standard union card she knew well. “They’re all stuntmen,” Skye said in stunned surprise.

  “That’s right. They say they were hired for a new movie in which you were starring as a kidnap victim,” Peter said, his tone deadly serious and accusatory. Gone was the man who had tried to protect her.

  “Me? They say I hired them?” Skye was shaking her head. This couldn’t be real.

  “They think they’re in the interrogation part of the movie,” Granger said, gesturing to the group tied up, sitting there as Mason talked with the knitting club. “We can’t get them to break character. However, the ones who got shot are all too happy to talk. Only they don’t know who hired them. It was done through someone who claimed to be a casting assistant. They were sent a script and told to use their talent to stage a mock kidnapping. They were all sent tickets to Charleston and were met by some director’s assistant. They were given the supplies they needed to raid a house and get the actress. Then they were to fly you back to Charleston and drop you off—end of scene. When asked about cameras, directors, and movie sets, they said the director’s assistant told them the cameras were all hidden to make it appear as real and gritty as possible. They would all be there, but hidden. They wanted one long, continuous take so they wouldn’t interrupt unless they had to.”

  “It’s not possible. I didn’t hire them. This doesn’t make sense. None of this makes any sense. No one shoots movies like that. Then there’s the big question of why would I stage my own kidnapping?” Skye felt herself flipping out. She had to be dazed after jumping out of the helicopter and dreaming this all up.

  “Because you’re addicted to the Hollywood spotlight? Because you needed to drum up attention to get that role you wanted so badly?” Granger asked rhetorically.

  “Skye!” Mason called out to her when he saw her. He jogged over to her and wrapped her up in a tight hug. “I was so worried about you.”

  “Hey! Get back here!” Miss Winnie yelled.

  Skye glanced back and saw the men who had been tied up were no longer tied up. They were running for the water after having knocked some of the club members down.

  “Stop!” Mason yelled and took off after them.

  “Go after them!” Skye was so confused. Why weren’t Granger, Kord, and Peter going after the men?

  “We have their IDs and I have my team waiting for them at the drop off point in Charleston,” Peter told her calmly. “Plus Charleston PD and the Coast Guard are boating upriver as we speak.”

  Ryker crossed his arms over his chest. He looked at Skye and then to the men running. “Why do you want them caught, Jessamine?”

  “So they can tell you I didn’t hire them.” Skye’s head was spinning. Her breathing was coming in quick and shallow. This wasn’t right. Trent was fighting Granger, the men were getting away, they thought she was behind this . . . “Oh my God.”

  Skye spun and took off toward the river as the men yelled at her to come back. The answer had been right in front of her the whole time. The sound of the boat engine roared to life and then the boat full of men raced away. They were out of sight in no time.

  29

  “I won’t forget this,” Trent threatened his friends and family as he shoved Granger before taking off after Skye. He knew the others were running behind him. Even the knitting club was teetering as fast as they could down to the river.

  Trent pushed himself into a full-out sprint as he kept his eyes on Skye racing toward the riverbank.

  “Mason!” Skye yelled and Trent would never forgive Granger or the others if Skye left him for Mason. She had to know Trent loved her and didn’t believe she was behind this.

  Skye opened her arms as if she were running to leap into Mason’s arms. The actor turned from the riverbank and smiled at her. He opened his arms wide and Skye bounded into the air to fling herself into his arms.

  Wait, no. That wasn’t what she was doing at all. Her right hand fisted, her arm came back, and when she flew toward him, she let loose with a beauty of a punch to Mason’s face. The punch had the full weight of her body behind it as she slammed into him and the two of them careened onto the ground in a heap of rolling bodies.

  Skye seemed to roll twice as long as Mason. Mason was already on his knees when Trent reached them, shaking
his head as if to clear it. It wasn’t Mason who Trent was concerned about, though. Trent didn’t stop running until Skye was in his arms and he was looking into her eyes to make sure she wasn’t hurt.

  “What is going on? Are you okay?” Trent asked as he put himself between Skye and Mason, who was on his feet already.

  “Skye? Why would you do that to me? I’m your best friend. I was trying to protect you and you hit me.” Mason had a little whine to his voice that seemed to make Skye very pissed off. Trent could hear her almost growling behind him.

  “You did this. You set this whole thing up, didn’t you?” Skye shouted furiously as Trent fought to keep her back and away from Mason.

  “I helped set up the demonstration at your trial. Is that what you mean?” Mason looked thoroughly confused.

  “No, you rat. I mean tonight and possibly even before tonight. You set this whole kidnapping fiasco up, didn’t you? Did you send the threatening notes too?” Skye shouted at him. Her face was red and Trent worried he’d see steam begin to come out of her ears soon.

  “How could you say that?” Mason looked hurt. Like, really hurt and Trent was wondering if Skye had hit her head during all the mayhem.

  Kord had been the first to reach them, but Granger and Peter were only steps behind, followed by everyone else in his family and the knitting club.

  Skye shoved Trent’s arm away and stalked around him to get into Mason’s face. She poked him in the chest with her finger and he backed up a step closer to the riverbank, trying to prevent another jab.

  “Those men were all professional stuntmen, Mason. We have their union cards. The whole thing even reminded me of a movie stunt. That got me thinking,” Skye said, poking Mason again as he took another step back. “Who in Hollywood would want me kidnapped? I thought it was Jim and Lenny, but it wasn’t. I thought they were just blowing smoke up my ass when they said they’d been worried about me, but they weren’t. They were worried because they really did receive those threats. Tell them, Mason.”

  “Tell them what? I’m sorry, Skye. I know this has been very traumatic for you, but I don’t know what you’re talking about. Karri, talk some sense into her.” Mason held up his hands in supplication and looked sympathetically at her.

  “Tell them who your agent is.”

  Mason finally took in everyone around them. “Jim. Well, it was. I’m firing him over his abuse of you, though. You know that.”

  “And tell them who your manager was before I arrived in town?”

  The first worried look appeared across his face. “That doesn’t matter. That was years ago.”

  “Then it shouldn’t matter who it was, so you can tell us without worry,” Granger said, his voice a monotone as he stared at Skye and Mason, giving nothing away of his thoughts.

  “Lenny was, but he hasn’t been my manager in almost seven years.”

  “You had access to Jim’s office and Lenny’s home address, so you knew when, where, and how to get those threats against me delivered to them.” Trent watched as Skye jabbed Mason in the chest again. She was leading up to something and that role as a defense attorney three movies ago seemed to have rubbed off on her as she began laying out her evidence.

  “You live in the same gated community as I do. Granted, you’re not super close, but you could pin the threats on my gate without being seen. Another question, Mason.” Skye put her hands on her hips and glared. “Which private security firm do you use for bodyguards?”

  “Now come on, Skye. Everyone who is anyone uses Star Power. What does that have to do with anything? I really think you need to go to the hospital. Something’s wrong with you, Skye.”

  Skye had begun to raise some questions, but there wasn’t any evidence. It didn’t make sense. There was no reason for him to stage Skye’s kidnapping or send threatening notes.

  “The only thing wrong with me is you,” Skye screamed as she raised her hands and shoved hard against his chest. Mason staggered back a step. The ball of his foot slipped back and he fell onto his stomach in the mud and wet grass. His feet were wet as they lay in the river and his face was first etched in disbelief and then into a rage so great Trent heard the loud hiss coming from him.

  No, wait. That hiss wasn’t coming from Mason. It was coming from the alligator behind him.

  Chirp.

  Chirp.

  Hiss.

  Skye froze along with everyone else as the baby alligator wiggled free from under Mason’s armpit. When Mason went down, he landed on the baby gator that had been hiding in the mud and now Big Bertha was mad.

  “Shit! Is that an alligator?” Mason tried to scramble up, but Trent knew Skye was onto something. He jumped forward and placed his foot on Mason’s back. “What are you doing? Let me up!”

  “Did you try to kidnap Skye?” Trent demanded as the baby gator chirped and stood snout to nose with Mason. “I wouldn’t take too long in answering. That baby’s momma, Big Bertha, is right behind you and swimming in hot and fast.”

  “No! I would never hurt Skye,” Mason yelled.

  “I didn’t say hurt, you did. I asked if you hired these stuntmen tonight? Did you try to stage a kidnapping? Did you send those threats to her?” Trent demanded.

  “Let me up!”

  “Did you stage Skye’s kidnapping? Yes or no. Give me the truth and I’ll let you up.” Trent kept his calm, but it was hard as Big Bertha bore down on them.

  “Screw you!” Mason shrieked. The baby gator didn’t like that at all and bit Mason’s nose. Mason’s scream soared like a mezzo-soprano as Big Bertha’s hiss turned into a prehistoric, guttural rumble.

  “You better hurry. The truth, now.” Trent may have said it calmly, but he wasn’t feeling calm as the knitting club ladies all started backing up as quickly as possible.

  “Yes! Okay? Yes. I planned the whole thing once I saw that Skye was getting all the publicity for our movie. It was all about Skye. I’m the action hero, damn it, not her. But all they could talk about was Skye this, Skye that, America’s Sweetheart this, America’s Sweetheart that. Not a single headline had my name on it. I needed to show them I was the hero. I wanted them to talk about me, not some woman who is just in the movie to look pretty. Now let me up!”

  “Not yet,” Trent said, keeping one eye on Bertha, who was getting dangerously close. “How did you pay them? Who did you pay? Prove to me you did this and I’ll let you up.”

  “My assistant tipped off the media about Skye being missing because I wanted to find her. I sent the kidnapping note to Lenny and Jim because I tried to have her kidnapped from her house, but didn’t know it was a bust until after I’d mailed the ransom. I wanted to be the one who found Skye and rescued her, but freaking Jim and Lenny hijacked my search. It was my Star Power bodyguard that broke into Skye’s house. I sent him to Kentucky to try to find Skye from that PR lady, but I haven’t heard from him since. My assistant hired everyone for tonight after I found out Skye was shacked up with you. They were all paid with digital currency because my assistant claimed it would help the stuntmen tax-wise and union-wise by hiding the money. The digital account they were paid under is a made-up name, but you can trace it back to my production company, HRO Productions. I wanted to deduct the expenses from my taxes. Now let me up!”

  “That’s good. Now, run!” Granger ordered as he yanked the baby gator from Mason’s nose and placed him in the water right as Bertha surged forward.

  Trent clasped Skye’s hand tightly and took off. Ryker and Wade yanked Mason up by the armpits and ran with him locked between them. Bertha hissed and rumbled as she charged them from the water. Trent shoved Skye forward and up onto the metal table. Ryker, Wade, Mason, Granger, Kord, Karri, and Peter leapt up too. They weren’t going to make it back to the house with Big Bertha hot on their tail.

  The group crammed together as Bertha stopped underneath the table and tried to bite at them through the decorative iron swirls. Trent slammed his boot down on the table, the vibration surprising Bertha for a moment
before she hissed again.

  Edie came out of the house with a large picnic basket in hand.

  “Edie, no!” Ryker snapped. Edie rolled her eyes at him as she gave Bertha a wide berth and stepped onto the dock. She walked down it until she was near the riverbank. She pulled out a cookie and sent it flying to the grass near the lapping water. Then she tossed out a cookie every four feet or so until she ran out of them.

  “Use the chess pie next,” Miss Winnie yelled out.

  Edie reached into the basket as pulled out a pie dish. She dug in and then sent a hunk of pie flying to the ground until she got closer to Bertha.

  “Now the apple pie!” Miss Ruby yelled.

  Bertha didn’t like the noise and rammed her snarling snout into the bottom of the table, causing Skye to jump and Mason to scream. Trent wrapped his arms around Skye and lifted her up and off the table. If Bertha was going to bite, she was going to bite him, not Skye.

  “Here, gator, gator, gator,” Edie sang out sweetly and sent a chunk of apple pie flying right at Bertha. It smacked against her tail and Bertha swung around to attack.

  “Good gator.” Edie tossed another piece, this time a little to the side of the table.

  Bertha stepped cautiously from under the table and snapped up the pie. Edie threw another piece a couple of feet from Bertha, but in order for her to get it, she had to turn away from the table and head toward the water. Slowly Edie tossed apple pie pieces until the apple pie met the chess pie and Bertha snorted and snapped up the pieces like a pig with truffles.

  “Told you everyone loved my apple pie,” Miss Ruby said as the knitting club stepped outside. “You can get off the table now.”

  Trent helped Skye down and noticed that she grimaced when he reached for her hand. The hand she’d punched Mason with was swollen and already starting to look red and bruised.

  “You’re hurt,” Trent said into the stunned, gator-induced silence. That one statement caused the world to go upside down. Gavin rushed forward and police helicopters were heard downriver. Peter and Granger had a jurisdictional spat over who got to arrest Mason. In the end, he was escorted to Charleston by both of them.