Dark Water: Lantern Beach Blackout, Book 1

by Barritt, Christy

  Colton couldn’t fault them for that. But laws still needed to be obeyed.

  “I’m doing fine.” Colton didn’t take his eyes off the crowd in front of him. “For a small town, the people certainly have a lot of passion.”

  “You can say that again.” Cassidy’s words sounded dry, maybe even exhausted.

  Two feet away, another protester tried to dart past the line they’d strung around the area.

  Colton reached over and grabbed the man by his shirt. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “I’m going to stop those guys.” The man pointed to the land in the distance.

  “There’s no one here yet.” Colton kept his voice just above a growl. “There’s no one to stop.”

  The man raised his hands in the air. “Okay, okay. I get it.”

  Colton glanced at Cassidy and shook his head. Cassidy’s expression mirrored his own. She thought this whole thing was both frustrating and slightly amusing. The antics some people used to express their views were persistent, ineffective, and sometimes crazy.

  Her radio crackled, and she picked it up. A few minutes later, she pulled out a bullhorn and stood on top of an old stump to address the crowds. “The surveyor is no longer coming today. He was held up on the ferry. You can all go home. Nothing is happening here, and your message has been received.”

  Moans sounded in the crowd. Everyone here had been prepared to fight for what they believed in.

  Cassidy had hired Colton to help with crowd control. He’d been happy to lend a hand. Though Cassidy had three of her officers here, she hadn’t been sure how things would shake out. Too many people were upset over this potential development on the island. A surveyor had been scheduled to come today, and the people wanted their voices to be heard.

  A few minutes later, the crowd finally began to disperse. No doubt they planned to regroup later. This whole mess was far from over.

  “I think we can handle it from here,” Cassidy told him. “Thanks for your help.”

  “No problem.”

  Colton waited as more people trickled away. Finally, he felt satisfied that he could leave. He sauntered back over to his car, climbed inside, and sat there for a moment.

  Life looked a lot different right now than it did a year ago. So much had changed, and Colton was still adjusting. But the ghosts he’d tried to bury deep inside constantly haunted him. Nothing would ever change that.

  Nothing.

  As he drove back to the cottage where he was staying, he glanced out the window at the sand dunes and the glimpse of ocean beyond them. Even in January, this area was breathtaking.

  Lantern Beach, North Carolina, wasn’t necessarily the most ideal place to begin an organization like Blackout. The place was secluded and off the beaten path. In fact, the island was only accessible by ferry.

  But his friend Ty Chambers had been doing some fantastic work with former military special ops here. It made sense to pull some of those members in to help with an organization like Blackout. The company employed former military to act as security, bodyguards, or to work other high-stakes assignments.

  Colton pulled to a stop in front of Ty’s place, which served as their temporary headquarters and living area until something more permanent could be established.

  A strange car was parked beside the house. Colton slammed his door and looked at the plates.

  Virginia.

  Who had come here from Virginia? Ty hadn’t mentioned anything to Colton about a visitor—not that Ty was obligated to do so. Still, Colton was curious.

  Cautiously, he walked up the steps to the screened-in porch that surrounded the front of the house.

  When he got to the top, he paused. A woman sat beside the door. Her knees were pulled to her chest, and her eyes appeared dull as she stared off into the distance.

  He sucked in a breath as her familiar features came into focus. “Elise?”

  Her gaze swerved toward him. “Colton . . . I was hoping you’d be here.”

  The resounding feeling that something was terribly wrong stretched through him.

  Elise Oliver was his best friend’s widow.

  The woman he hadn’t seen in over a year.

  How had she ever found him on this secluded island?

  It didn’t matter. Colton knew with certainty that the only reason she would come here was if she was in trouble.

  Chapter Two

  Something shattered inside Colton at the sight of Elise sitting there, looking so broken.

  She tried to stand, only to nearly collapse. Colton’s arms caught her just in time. She quaked beneath his touch, turning limp.

  “I was hoping I’d find you.” Her voice cracked as she said the words. “I drove straight here from Virginia Beach.”

  “Let’s get you inside,” Colton muttered.

  She nodded, but her eyes were glazed. Something was wrong. The thought felt like a punch in the gut.

  Colton unlocked the door, took her inside, and lowered her to the couch. “Can I get you something? Some coffee? Water?”

  “Coffee would be great. I’m sorry you have to see me like this. I’ve been on the road for hours, and I didn’t get hardly any sleep.”

  Colton quickly made a cup for her, his mind racing. Elise. Beautiful Elise, with her dark, chin-length hair. Her pert nose, bright eyes, and smattering of freckles.

  Daniel’s wife. The woman who haunted his thoughts at night. The woman who made guilt fill him so completely he thought he might drown in the emotion.

  Now she was here.

  Colton set a steaming mug in front of her and lowered himself beside her on the couch.

  In all the years he had known Elise, Colton had never seen her like this. She was always put-together, calm, down-to-earth.

  Right now, she wore a sweatshirt and yoga pants. Her eyes look red, as if she’d been crying. And when she shifted, Colton saw the painful gouge on her forehead.

  “I’m sorry.” Elise ran her sleeve beneath her eyes before meeting his gaze. “But I didn’t know where else to go.”

  “You know you can always come to me if you need anything. Always. What’s going on?”

  She wiped beneath her eyes again, and her gaze scrambled back-and-forth, as if she struggled to find what to say. Instead, she reached for her coffee.

  Her hands trembled so badly she couldn’t bring the mug to her lips. She finally gave up and set it back on the coffee table. She drew in a deep breath, and her gaze met Colton’s.

  “I’m in trouble,” she finally said. “Someone is trying to kill me, and they almost succeeded.”

  A jolt of concern shot through Colton. Someone trying to kill Elise?

  “Is it one of your patients?” It was the only thing that made sense to Colton.

  As a psychologist, Elise dealt with people who had severe mental health issues, issues that sometimes affected their judgment. Had one of them decided to take out their grievances on Elise? It was the only explanation Colton could fathom.

  He remembered Daniel once telling him about some threats Elise had received from her patients. She’d always brushed them off, called the threats displaced anger. Daniel had said he’d like to displace a few of the people who’d given her so much grief.

  Colton understood the notion.

  “It’s not one of my patients.” Elise pulled her legs beneath her, looking more like a little girl than a professional.

  Seeing her like this caused something to crack inside him. This was not normal—and that bothered Colton far more than anything else. Whatever happened had obviously rocked Elise’s world.

  “What’s going on, Elise?”

  Her wide eyes met his. “I found some information out about Daniel. Now, the wrong person wants it and will do anything to get his hands on it.”

  * * *

  Elise watched as Colton’s eyes widened. He looked just as she remembered . . . except something she couldn’t quite pinpoint seemed different.

  It was his eyes, she thoug
ht. They were shadowed, full of much more depth than when they’d first met. Not just depth, though.

  Was that anguish? Why? It was too soon to lead with that question.

  The man was well over six feet tall, with strapping muscles. His brown hair was a little darker now than it had been when she’d last seen him, and he’d cut it short.

  He wasn’t the kind of guy people wanted to mess with.

  Peeking out from his sleeve, she saw the reminder of the skin graft he’d had after an IED had exploded near him a couple years ago. The injury had almost ended his career, but he’d persevered and joined his SEAL team again.

  That fact showed just how strong and determined he was.

  Did Colton have any idea what Elise had discovered? Or was he also in the dark about the hidden secrets that waited like a viper ready to strike?

  Elise had no clue. But she knew that her husband had always trusted Colton. She knew she could trust the man too.

  “Why don’t you start from the beginning?” Colton leaned forward, his jaw tight and his brown eyes intense as he waited.

  Elise drew in a shaky breath. On the way here, she’d been reviewing everything she knew. She’d been trying to formulate the best way to share the information without coming across sounding paranoid.

  She hadn’t figured out a good solution. No matter how she tried to frame what she had to say, the facts were going to sound dramatic.

  That was because the situation felt more like a Hollywood blockbuster than real life.

  She rubbed her trembling hands on her pants and dragged in a deep breath. Her eyes hit the clock in the distance, and she realized the time. Real life flooded back to her.

  “I’ll tell you everything,” she said. “I just need to call into my office first. Let them know I won’t be in today. I have patients lined up and—”

  “Why don’t you use my phone?” Colton pulled it from his pocket. “Tell your staff you’re under the weather. Keep it simple.”

  Elise nodded and took the phone from him. But, before she could dial, someone else walked into the house. “You’re never going to believe this.”

  Elise turned and saw Griff McIntyre standing in the doorway, looking like the bad boy he’d always been. Blond hair a little too long. Toothpick in his mouth. A hardened look in his eyes.

  Griff . . . another familiar face. Showing up here was almost like a homecoming for Elise . . . if only circumstances were different.

  He stared at his phone, not even looking to see who was in the room. Whatever he saw on the screen obviously consumed him.

  “Last night there was a—” Griff froze when he noticed her, and his face lost some of its color. “Elise.”

  She nodded, her head clearing just a little. “Hi, Griff.”

  “I thought you were . . .” He looked at his phone and frowned.

  Elise sensed something wasn’t as it seemed. “You thought I was what?”

  His frown deepened. “I thought you were dead.”

  Chapter Three

  I thought you were dead. What in the world was Griff talking about?

  Colton stared at his friend, anxious to hear his explanation. “Why would you think that, Griff?”

  Griff swallowed hard and held up his phone. “I was coming in here to tell you about an article I just read. I have alerts set up on my account. Whenever there’s a new article connected with someone from our platoon—or a spouse—I get a notification.”

  Colton suspected there was more to Griff’s curiosity than that, but he said nothing. Griff had probably set that alert in order to see who the next team member might be who was framed.

  Nausea rolled in Colton’s stomach at the thought.

  “I got an alert just now,” Griff continued. “It’s all over the news that your house caught fire last night, Elise. Officials believe a gas line exploded. A body was discovered inside.”

  Elise pinched the skin between her eyes. “No . . .”

  Colton’s hand came down on her shoulder. “Was anyone in your house when you left?”

  “Just the man who attacked me. Who . . . ? How . . . ? I don’t understand.”

  Attacked her? Colton’s stomach tightened as a protectiveness rose in him. He would find whoever had done this. No one would stop him.

  He softened his voice before saying, “We’ll get to the bottom of this. Let’s just take this step by step.”

  Elise nodded, but she still held her head, as if overwhelmed by the news she’d just heard.

  “Anything else, Griff?”

  “No, they haven’t released any more details yet.”

  “If you hear anymore, let me know.”

  “Of course.” Griff nodded. “I’ll give you guys some time. Elise . . . it’s good to see you.”

  “Thanks, Griff. You too.” But Elise sounded less than convincing. Her gaze turned back to Colton. “The past week has been like a nightmare.”

  “I want to hear about it. But, Elise, I wouldn’t call your office. Not yet. Maybe the best thing right now is for people to think you’re dead.”

  “But . . .”

  “It’s your choice. But if you can disappear for a while, then I think you should.”

  * * *

  Elise sucked in a deep breath before diving in. This felt like one of her husband’s underwater missions. The stakes were just as high, just as intense. But she felt ill-equipped for the role.

  She glanced at Colton, at his penetrating gaze as he waited for her to gather her thoughts. Daniel had always called him a rock—dependable, solid, the kind of person everyone should have in their lives.

  “I found evidence to prove Daniel may not have been a traitor after all,” she finally said. The words felt surreal as they left her lips.

  Colton’s breath caught beside her. He’d never believed Daniel was guilty. Neither did Elise. It didn’t matter what everybody else thought, Colton and Elise knew Daniel better than anyone. They knew he was honorable.

  “What did you find?” Colton’s voice sounded deep, throaty.

  “A couple things, including a burner phone. I charged it and saw several calls made to the same number within the US. I couldn’t trace the number, however. I also found what appears to be a coded message and several photos.” Her gaze remained on Colton as she waited for his reaction.

  “What did you do after you found those things?”

  “I went to the command office. It seemed like the logical thing to do, and I thought the team there would want to know what I had discovered. I met with both Commander Larson and Secretary Stabler—”

  “Secretary of the Navy Stabler?” Colton asked, surprise lilting his voice.

  “That’s right. He just happened to be there when I arrived. I told them what I’d discovered, and they promised to look into it.”

  “What happened next?” Colton asked. “Did they seem concerned?”

  “Not really.” She shrugged. “I mean, they kept giving each other looks. I’m pretty sure Secretary Stabler couldn’t care less about Daniel at this point. He only thinks of him as a traitor. The whole meeting probably only lasted ten minutes, and then I was back at my car and sent on my merry way.”

  “How did that lead to you coming here?” Colton continued to push.

  “After the meeting, I began to feel that somebody was watching me. Following me. My house was broken into, but nothing was stolen.” She drew in a shaky breath. “Then last night someone came into my house with a gun and demanded that I give him the information.”

  Colton bristled. “Did he hurt you?”

  Elise touched her forehead, feeling her eyes cloud as she remembered the stark fear she’d felt during those moments. She was lucky to be alive right now. “He banged me up pretty well, but I’m okay.”

  Colton gently ran his finger beneath the cut on her forehead. “You should be checked out by a doctor, just to be safe.”

  “No, I’ll be fine. Really. I have other things to worry about right now.” Images from last night h
it her again, each one causing her to flinch. “I got away and started running. I knew I needed help, that this was bigger than me. So I managed to track down where you were, and I came straight here. I didn’t know what else to do.”

  “You did the right thing.” Colton’s voice was unwavering, as was his gaze. “We’ll help you.”

  “Thank you.” Her voice quivered. She knew that Colton would help. He was that kind of guy, cut from the same cloth as Daniel had been. She was thankful she had someone to turn to.

  “Come to the bathroom. I need to clean that cut.”

  She didn’t argue. She followed Colton through the house. In the bathroom, she sat on the counter as Colton directed. He found a first aid kit and brushed her hair off her forehead to examine the cut.

  “Nothing a couple of butterfly bandages can’t fix,” he murmured.

  She said nothing, just waited as he pulled out some antiseptic cream and blotted her wound.

  “Where is this information you found?” Colton used some gauze to wipe away the excess ointment. “Did you hand it over to someone?”

  “No, I hid it.”

  A grin of approval spread across Colton’s face. “Good girl. We’re going to probably need to see that.”

  “I figured you might. I figured somebody might.”

  “The commander didn’t ask you for it?”

  “I told him I’d put it somewhere safe and didn’t feel right carrying it with me.”

  “Did he offer to send someone to get it?” Colton pulled off the back of a bandage.

  Something about his closeness made it hard for Elise to breathe. Probably the fact that he’d been her husband’s best friend. They shouldn’t be this close. But the act was innocent. Colton was just treating her cut. Her reaction didn’t make sense.

  She cleared her throat. “They did. I told them I was more comfortable keeping it until I knew the next step. They brushed me off. Based on their reaction, I didn’t think they were all that interested in it. Or maybe I figured they didn’t take me seriously. I’m not sure. The whole meeting was strange.”