Cassidy raised her eyebrows. “Is that right? That’s great. How long were you guys married?”
Elise flipped some pancakes that had turned golden brown. “We dated for three years, we were engaged six months, and we were married for nearly a decade.”
“I’m really sorry to hear about what happened to him.”
Elise nodded solemnly. “Thank you. It was a shock to all of us, to say the least.”
“I guess you met the rest of the gang because of your husband.”
“Yes, I did. He and Colton were really great friends. They met at BUD/S.”
“Colton’s a great guy. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know him. All of the guys, really. But I’ve known Colton the longest.” Cassidy turned another piece of bacon.
“Yes, there’s something about Colton that you just don’t forget, do you?”
“Are you talking about his biceps?” Cassidy raised her eyebrows. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m a married woman. A very happily married woman. But nobody can miss those muscles.”
Elise chuckled, feeling her cheeks flush. “It is one of his finer qualities, but certainly not his only one.”
“No, certainly not.”
Elise sobered again. “Colton really was there for me after Daniel died. I guess I felt like he was the only one who really understood what it was like to lose Daniel. We were the two closest to him, I suppose.”
Cassidy offered a sympathetic smile. “I could see where that would have bonded the two of you. And now he’s like a big brother?” Cassidy looked at her.
Was there more to the look in her eyes? Was she trying to feel Elise out to see if she was interested in Colton? Because that thought was ridiculous.
“Yes, kind of like a big brother.”
“Well, it’s always good to have a big brother to watch out for you.” Cassidy put the remaining bacon on a platter—and just in time.
The door opened, and Colton stepped inside. Elise felt herself suck in a quick breath.
Her reaction made no sense. It was like yesterday when he had touched her shoulder and electricity jolted through her body. There was no reason for that. Colton had always been her friend, and that’s all they would ever be. That’s all they could ever be.
His face seemed to soften when he spotted Elise, and something resembling a smile tugged at his lips.
“Morning,” he called, stepping closer. “The rest of the gang is coming in a few minutes. They’re getting cleaned up.”
“Good morning.” Elise let the last batch of pancakes cook and grabbed a mug from the cabinet. “Can I get you some coffee?”
“I’d love some.”
Something about the way he said the words made Elise think he hadn’t gotten much sleep last night. Why was that? Had something else happened?
If so, certainly he would tell her.
She poured a cup for him and set it on the table before finishing up the pancakes.
Colton glanced at Cassidy. “How did your meeting go last night?”
Cassidy frowned. “Not well. There were some very heated emotions.”
“People really don’t want this hotel going in, do they?” Colton asked.
“No, they most certainly do not. I don’t envy the position that Mac is in right now. If only standards had been put in place before all this happened, it wouldn’t be an issue right now. But what we’re dealing with is the will of the people versus the development of the island. I can really see the positives and negatives for both. But it’s going to be an ugly fight.”
Colton grunted. “Politics are never fun.”
“You can say that again.”
Colton shifted and ran a hand over his hair. There was something on his mind, Elise realized.
“Did something else happen?” Elise finally asked.
Colton remained quiet a moment, his eyes narrowing with obvious displeasure. Finally, he said, “There was someone outside last night. I tried to follow him, but he got into a car and got away before I could catch him.”
Elise gasped. “What?”
He nodded. “Somebody appeared to be scoping out the place.”
“Does Ty know?” Cassidy’s eyebrows knit together.
“I texted him last night. It was late. You were probably already asleep.”
“I need to know these things.” Cassidy’s voice sounded pointed and stern.
Colton nodded. “I know. That’s what I came over here this morning to tell you.”
Elise crossed her arms over her chest. If her tormentor already knew she was here, that didn’t leave her much time to figure things out.
But there was nowhere she could go where she’d be safe. So what was she supposed to do? All Elise could do was stand her ground.
That’s what Daniel would have told her.
* * *
Colton’s gut jostled with unease. He didn’t like this any more than anyone else. He had stayed awake for most of the night, watching for any signs that trouble had returned. He’d seen nothing, but he couldn’t let his guard down.
He’d do whatever it took to keep Elise safe.
The door behind them opened, and Griff stepped inside. He nodded at everyone, never one for small talk. Instead, he walked over to the table, where Colton and Elise sat with Ty and Cassidy, and frowned.
“I heard an update on the fire at your place, Elise,” he announced. “I’ve been keeping my eye on it.”
“And?” Colton asked.
“It was caused by a gas line explosion.”
Elise’s gaze fixated on Griff, and she looked like she was barely breathing. “What about the body inside?”
Griff frowned again. “The body they found inside was a male. Still unidentified. There was a bullet wound to his chest.”
“A bullet wound? My gun . . . I left it there. It fell from my hand when the man grabbed me. What if . . .?” Her words came out fast, almost panicked.
“If that was the gun used in the crime?” Colton finished. “It’s a possibility.”
“The police are trying to locate Elise to ask her more questions,” Griff continued.
“What should I do?” Elise glanced around the table. “Should I call them?”
“I know this will go against everything your instincts are telling you, but the less people who know where you are, the better,” Colton said.
“I agree,” Ty said. “There’s a good chance someone already knows you’re here. But, just in case, we don’t want to tip them off.”
“What if the police think I did something wrong?” Elise nearly sounded breathless. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She was thinking about calling the authorities, wasn’t she? Thinking about telling them what was going on.
“Let’s just let this play out a little longer,” Colton urged. Until they knew whom they could trust, they needed to keep their circle small.
Elise stared at him a moment, part of her bottom lip tucked into her mouth as she nibbled on it. Colton knew she had a big decision to make, and he hoped she would listen to his advice.
“If you think so,” she said. “I’ll wait. For a little while, at least.”
He released his breath.
Good. They needed all the time they could buy themselves to find some answers.
They heard a ping, and Elise glanced at her screen again. Then her face went pale.
“What is it?” Colton leaned closer.
Her wide eyes met his. “I got another threat.”
“What do you mean another threat?”
She showed him the screen. The words there were stark and clear.
Turn over the information or we go public with your indiscretions.
Below that was a picture of Elise facing a man, both smiling at each other as the darkness stretched behind them.
There was obviously more to this picture than Colton realized. He only knew that seeing Elise smile at somebody like that did something to his heart that it shouldn’t.
Chapter Thirteen
“Elise?” Colton stared at her as if waiting for an explanation.
Explaining this was the last thing she wanted to do, though. Instead, she rubbed her brow as she felt a tension headache coming on.
“Elise?” Colton repeated.
She let out a long breath before dragging her gaze back up to meet his. “It’s not what it looks like.”
“I’m not even sure what this looks like. You went on a date? That doesn’t seem to be all that bad.”
“No, I didn’t go on a date,” she said. “I ran into that man while I was doing some errands. He gave me a hug, and somebody must’ve snapped that picture.”
“I’m still not following.” Colton shook his head and waited patiently for her to explain.
She lowered her eyelids again before raising her gaze to meet his. “Colton, that man is one of my patients. He started making me uncomfortable, so I told my secretary he was going to have to find a new psychologist.”
“What do you mean by uncomfortable?” Cassidy pushed her plate away, her full attention on Elise.
Elise frowned and let out a long breath. “I mean, he kept coming on to me. He would tell me how he had dreams about me. That if he only had someone like me in his life then he would be happy. He went through these manic episodes where he thought he could conquer the world.”
“Okay.” Colton squinted. “So let me get this straight. This man came onto you, you were about to recommend him to a different psychologist, and then you happen to run into him out in public and someone snapped this picture?”
“Yes, that’s what happened. But this photo makes it look like more, doesn’t it?” Elise frowned again and shook her head.
Colton looked at the picture again. “It does look like the two of you were out for the evening together.”
“Colton, in my line of work I cannot have a personal relationship with my patients. Things like that are reason to lose my license.”
“This picture isn’t enough to prove anything,” he said.
“I have a feeling this is the tip of the iceberg.”
“So you think someone set you up?” Cassidy asked.
Elise shrugged. “That’s my best guess. I knew that something felt off about this man. I even said something to one of my colleagues about it. But I haven’t felt like myself for this past year, and sometimes, with that, I’ve doubted my own feelings. That was obviously a mistake.”
“This one picture alone shouldn’t be enough for the board to take away your license,” Colton said. “Do you think whoever is behind this will plant other evidence?”
“That’s what my gut tells me,” Elise said. “If whoever is behind this has gone as far as to plant a fake patient within my practice, then who’s to say they haven’t gone as far as to fabricate other evidence?”
Colton frowned.
His feelings seemed to match Elise’s. She knew if someone had already gone to these extremes, they likely had other things up their sleeve.
She had to figure out who might be behind this. There was no time to waste.
* * *
Elise sat in a chair by the window with a cup of coffee in hand. The rest of the gang had split up to do their respective tasks, and Elise had been left alone with her thoughts.
She couldn’t escape the headache that haunted her since she got that text. She had to make the choice between giving up what could be critical intel or losing the career she had worked so hard to build.
Her psychology practice had gotten her through her days since Daniel died. Helping other people become better versions of themselves had been rewarding. It made her feel like she was making a difference.
It also made her forget about her own problems.
She supposed, in her own way, she had used her busyness as a healing tool since Daniel’s death. As long as she had too many things to do, she couldn’t stop long enough to think about her loss.
And this was why.
Breakfast was three hours ago. They’d eaten and cleaned up, and now Elise had nothing to do. She was miserable. All she could do was sit here and think about her choice.
But she knew there was no choice. She could never choose herself over national security. How could she? These guys who were here, the members of Blackout, had been willing to give up their lives for their country. She couldn’t even consider placing her career over the greater good.
Despite that realization, the thought still weighed heavily on her. These evil people were trying to ruin her life, and they were coming close to succeeding. If only she could do something else that might help catch them. But, right now, there was little else she could do except try to remain safe.
If Elise protected herself, she could protect the information. That’s what she kept telling herself, at least.
“Hey, you.” Colton stood from the kitchen table where he’d been reviewing some notes he’d made and wandered toward her. That familiar look of worry stained his face as he lowered himself into the seat across from Elise. “What are you thinking about?”
She shrugged and took another sip of her coffee. Mostly she’d been staring out the window at the gray day outside. For a while, she’d even tried to imagine that it was summertime and that she was in Lantern Beach on a relaxing vacation. That trick only worked for a few minutes before reality came crashing back.
“I just can’t believe all of this is happening. I thought the worst was over. Daniel was dead. People thought he was a traitor. How could it get much darker? But it has.”
Colton leaned closer. “We’re going to get through this. I don’t know how. I don’t know what’s going to happen. But we’re going to be right here by your side.”
She reached forward and squeezed his hand. “I really appreciate that, Colton. It means a lot to me.”
She pulled her hand back into her lap, reminded again of the electricity she felt whenever she and Colton touched. Another round of guilt pummeled her. If she was smart, she would make sure she never touched Colton again. The feelings it produced could never come to fruition.
“Listen, how about if we grab a bite to eat?” Colton suggested.
Her gaze met his, and she didn’t bother to hide her skepticism. “Is that safe?”
“The guys are going. We’ll be there with you. I know you well enough to know that you’re going to be miserable if you have to stay cooped inside until this is resolved. You can go out. You’re just going to have several escorts who are keeping an eye on you.”
“Makes me feel kind of important.” She tried to smile.
Colton stooped down until their eyes met again. “You are important, Elise. You always have been, even before all of this happened.”
His words caused a burst of warmth to explode inside her.
But her smile disappeared as she remembered the earlier threat she’d received. “It just seems like such a nightmare.”
“Did you decide what you’re going to do?”
She shuddered. “I have no doubt that this person would go as far as to kill me to get the information he wants. But I’m not going to hand it over.”
Colton swallowed so hard his neck visibly tightened. “You do realize that this could escalate, right? This person will start with your career, and then move on from there.”
“I know.”
“Elise . . .” Colton’s voice sounded concerned.
She shook her head. “It’s already decided. I’ve got to do what’s best for everyone, not just myself.”
He stared at her another moment before nodding. “I know that’s what you decided, but maybe part of me hoped it would be different.”
“I wish I could be, Colton. I wish I could be.” Her voice cracked.
But she couldn’t compromise, not when the well-being of others was on the line.
Chapter Fourteen
Colton’s gaze scanned the street in front of him as
he headed to the restaurant. He’d been on guard all morning, but he hadn’t seen anything that registered as dangerous. Whoever had been there last night appeared to be long gone.
Dez and Griff followed behind them in another car, and Ty drove his vintage truck at the lead. Was it overkill? Some people might think so. But Colton didn’t want to take any chances.
Elise was right. Whoever was trying to get this information would stop at nothing to do so. Though he hated to hear that she wasn’t going to give it up, another part of him admired her even more for her stance. Her decision was selfless. Then again, that didn’t surprise Colton. He’d always known that about her.
Since Benjamin was in Virginia Beach already, Colton had asked him to talk to Tara Campbell’s boyfriend. She was the CIA handler who’d died around the same time as Daniel. Maybe Benjamin would be able to get some information from him. Colton hoped so.
“So, where are we going?” Elise asked, the brightness still not returning to her voice.
“It’s called The Crazy Chefette. Our good friend Lisa runs it, along with her husband, Braden. Do you remember Braden Dillinger? I think you may have met a couple times. He was special forces.”
“The name sounds familiar. I didn’t realize so many of you guys had come out here.”
“We owe that to Ty. He used to come to Lantern Beach as a child, and he ended up moving here after he got out of the military. He’s our connection.”
“It sounds like he’s doing good work, and so are you.” She sent an encouraging smile his way.
Every time Elise smiled at him, everything in Colton’s world felt right. Even if it was just for a few seconds, it was still better than nothing. But that feeling was dangerous. The safest bet was to feel nothing at all.
“I think you’ll like this place. Lisa is always great at putting together unexpected flavor combinations. At first, I thought it was kind of froufrou, but I’ve grown to appreciate her recipes. I think you will too.”
Dark Water: Lantern Beach Blackout, Book 1 Page 7
