Stranded

by Dani Pettrey

  “There is no way I’m letting this go.” Kayden continued to block her path.

  “It’s not my place.”

  Gage linked his arms over his chest, leaning back against a pylon. “Sounds like you already ignored your place.”

  He was absolutely right. This time she fully deserved the censure. She shouldn’t have delved into Jake’s private life, into his past, but the man proved too intriguing during her time in Yancey. The reporter in her couldn’t resist snooping. She could try to claim she’d pried to protect them—that she wanted to be certain Jake wasn’t a criminal, as Kayden had often insinuated, and that they weren’t in any danger—but it would be a lie.

  While the remote possibility had existed that Jake was hiding from a criminal past, even from the beginning Darcy knew deep down in her heart that he was a good guy. What had driven her was curiosity, plain and simple. She’d poked around a bit and found nothing, and her curiosity intensified. It became a challenge she had to master, so she’d kept on, refusing to quit until she discovered the truth, and once she had, she wished she’d never pried.

  If her digging brought Jake any more pain than he’d already endured, she’d never forgive herself. She squared her shoulders. “I’m not proud of what I did—far from it—but I’m not going to make it worse by blabbing.”

  “Fine.” Kayden cocked her head. “Then I’ll call him on it myself. Tell him you know who he is.”

  “Please don’t,” Darcy said. “Leave the man be.”

  “Why?”

  She shook her head. “You don’t understand.”

  “Don’t understand what?” Jake asked, rejoining them with a pack in hand.

  All eyes shifted to him.

  Darcy swallowed. “I thought you’d left.”

  “I grabbed Gage’s pack by mistake.” He eyed them all as he dropped the pack. “What’s going on? Some more news on the remains?”

  Emotion welled in Darcy’s throat. Gage was right. Some things were meant to remain private.

  “Just tell him,” Kayden said, nudging her arm. “This charade has gone on long enough.”

  “Tell me what?” Jake asked.

  “She knows who you are,” Kayden said, tilting her head in Darcy’s direction. “Who you really are.”

  Darcy wished she could vaporize. Swallowing, she forced herself to meet Jake’s gaze. “I’m so sorry. I never should have pried.”

  “You told them?” His words came out strangled, his voice hollow.

  “No.” She shook her head.

  “Told us what?” Kayden’s tone heightened a pitch.

  “Stop, Kayd,” Gage said.

  “You just couldn’t leave it be, could you?” Jake asked Darcy, raw anguish aflame in his eyes.

  Tears tumbled down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry.”

  Looking in the distance, Jake exhaled. “You might as well tell them. Kayden won’t stop until she badgers it out of you.” He slipped his pack over his shoulder and walked away.

  “I need to get back to the ship,” Darcy said, shame brimming within. She couldn’t let this happen. Jake had earned the right to keep his pain private.

  “Nuh-uh.” Kayden took Darcy by the arm, pulling her onto the marina bench. “Not yet. Not until you tell me about Jake.”

  “I can’t, Kayden. Please.”

  “He just said you could.”

  “Because he knows you won’t let it go, but believe me, you don’t want to know.”

  “So it’s that bad? What did he do?”

  Darcy frowned at Kayden. She always assumed the worst. “He didn’t do anything.”

  “Look, I’m the one staying at the campground with him tonight. If Jake has some criminal ties, I deserve to know.”

  Storm clouds thickened overhead, the temperature dipping quickly.

  “He is not and never was a criminal, and you’ll have Piper and Landon with you.”

  “Not tonight,” Landon said. “I need to remain in town until Cole arrives and we process the crime scene.”

  “Okay, then Piper will be with you. Not that you’d be in any danger, anyway. If anything, you’ll be safer with Jake there.”

  Kayden narrowed her eyes. “Why’s that?”

  “I was planning to stay in town with Landon,” Piper cut in, “since I might not see him for the rest of the excursion. We lucked out and got the last two rooms at the inn.”

  “Why might you not see him for the rest of the excursion?” Darcy asked, confused.

  “I’m not sure how long the crime scene will take to process,” Landon said. “I may be able to fly out and meet up with you all, but I can’t make any promises.”

  “So . . .” Kayden clicked her tongue. “Just me and Jake at the campground. Super.” She pinned her determined gaze on Darcy. “I deserve to know if I’m sharing it with an ex-con.”

  “Kayden, have you not been listening to me? He is not an ex-con.” Irritation flared in Darcy’s voice, in her chest.

  Kayden’s expression was hard, determined. “Who exactly is Jake Westin?”

  Darcy squeezed her eyes shut, rubbing her temples as Kayden badgered. Jake was right. She wouldn’t stop until she got answers. And she was so very wrong about the man.

  “Darcy,” Kayden pressed.

  “He was a cop, okay!”

  Kayden slumped back. “A cop?”

  “A detective—one of Boston’s best,” Darcy said.

  Gage sat down on the bench between Kayden and Darcy. He tapped Kayden’s knee. “Looks like you owe Jake a big apology.”

  She swallowed the acid that truth brought. Kayden hated being wrong, but she loathed admitting it. But if he was a detective, why had she not found any information when she’d searched for him on the Internet . . . many times?

  “What happened?” Landon asked, settling onto the opposite bench. “Case gone bad?”

  Darcy exhaled, leaning forward. “That’s one way to put it.”

  “Jake screwed up?” Kayden asked. Ridiculous as it was, she hoped to still salvage some semblance of pride on the matter.

  “Not at all,” Darcy said. “He solved the case. But . . .”

  “But . . . ?” Kayden pressed as they all leaned in closer to Darcy. The eerie sensation of their having an audience lingered. Kayden glanced over her right shoulder to find numerous crew members and passengers still watching intently from the Bering’s decks. Clint and George included.

  She shifted her attention back on Darcy as anguish filled her features. “During the case, he lost his wife.” Darcy paused, looked at Gage, and when she continued, her usually strong voice was sorrowful. “And his child.”

  “His wife and child?” Gage’s face twisted in agony. “How?”

  Wife. Child. Jake had been a husband and a father? Kayden’s heart bottomed out. She’d seen firsthand the toll losing a child took on Gage’s life. No wonder Jake . . .

  She squeezed her eyes shut. What a cold wretch she’d been to him.

  “Jake and Rebecca had been married less than a year when the case began. Jake apparently received threats to back off the case, but his former partner said Jake refused to be bullied. He pressed on, and about a week after the threats started, his wife was killed by a hit-and-run driver.”

  “And his child?” Gage asked.

  “Rebecca was seven months pregnant at the time.”

  “Are you certain?” Piper asked, tears welling in her eyes.

  Kayden grimaced. Why couldn’t she be openly compassionate like that?

  Because if she allowed herself to feel strongly about anything, if she let her guard down to empathize, all the hurt and sorrow in the world would crush her. She was doing what she had to, to survive. But this . . . How could she block this out? How could she ignore all Jake had suffered when she’d questioned his character, his integrity, and treated him as if he didn’t belong? Guilt and anguish seared like a hot knife, slicing through her guard and deep into her soul.

  Forgive me, Father.

  Darcy co
ntinued. “He was tough to find at first, even using my profession’s resources. I found a few Jake Westins, but they were clearly not him. Then I stumbled on an article about a detective named Jake Cavanagh. The article mentioned that his mother was a daughter of the Boston Westins. After reading the article I hoped, prayed, Jake Cavanagh was not our Jake Westin.”

  She took a long, shaky breath. “I called Detective Cavanagh’s precinct and spoke with his former partner. It was quickly clear our Jake was his former partner. He was so thrilled to hear Jake was all right that he didn’t hold much back during our conversation, including the unpublished information that Rebecca had been pregnant. I confirmed everything else through the papers and records.”

  Tears spilled from Piper’s eyes, but Kayden refused to cry, at least not in front of the rest. She’d held it together for so long, she wouldn’t waver now. No matter how heartbroken she suddenly felt, she’d cry alone in the dark—the way she always did.

  23

  Darcy followed Gage onto the Bering, her heart in her throat.

  Gage hadn’t said a word since they’d left the rest of the team, and the silence was torturous. She’d outed Jake. She completely deserved for Gage to out her with Mullins.

  Even though she was on a ship with well over a thousand people, she’d never felt so alone.

  “I’m sorry,” she blurted, needing to apologize—not just defend her reasons or rationalize but sincerely apologize.

  Gage stopped.

  “I’m sorry about Jake, so sorry I didn’t tell you that I couldn’t kayak or swim, it’s just—”

  “I know, your case is more important.” He hefted her still-wet pack over his broad shoulder. For someone who was so mad at her, he was still being mighty protective of her.

  “No. I mean yes . . . I mean . . .” She took a deep breath. “Look, I don’t know what to do. I meant what I said—I feel awful for causing problems for you and your family.” She looked down, mustering her courage. “I should have been straight with you from the start.”

  “Yes, you should have.”

  “I didn’t have any time. Mullins told me I was going to have to kayak right as the vans were about to pull away. I made a snap decision. I thought I could handle it, that I had to or my cover would be blown.”

  “Some things are more important.”

  “Than someone’s life?” Abby was missing. She understood he was mad about her prying into Jake’s past—that was obvious—and even understood his frustration about her not being up-front about her fear of water and lack of swimming skills, but this was Abby’s life they were talking about.

  He lowered his voice as people shuffled past. “I understand the need to find your friend, but what makes her life more precious than anyone else’s?”

  “It’s not like anyone died on the excursion. No one was even seriously hurt.”

  “How can you say that? You nearly died.”

  “I’m fine.” She stepped closer, resting a hand on his chest. “And I don’t think I ever properly thanked you for rescuing me.”

  He sighed at her touch. “You’re welcome.”

  The memory of his lips hovering near hers took hold. She blinked, needing to think straight. They were going to have to face Mullins. “I’ll tell Mullins I can’t swim, that I’m the reason for the trouble.”

  “Maybe Mullins will let you stay on and cover things from the ship.”

  “Yeah, right. She’s not that nice—besides, I’ve been thinking. . . .”

  “That’s dangerous.”

  She pursed her lips. “Seriously, what Whitney said about the Bowens got me thinking. They went missing during an excursion, and Abby was hoping I’d get the journalist gig to work the excursions with her.”

  “So?”

  “So, what if she knew the excursions were where the story was.”

  “How, exactly?”

  “I don’t know, but if Abby’s reference to the case we worked in San Diego was any indication, then drug running or smuggling of some sort is involved. Maybe it’s not occurring just between ports. Maybe, whoever is involved is using the excursion points for drop-offs or pickups.”

  “That would be smart. It would take ship security out of the picture. But what would any of that have to do with the Bowens?”

  “Maybe they saw something they shouldn’t have and were killed for it.”

  “You think Bowen didn’t kill his wife?”

  “I don’t know, but if someone is using the excursion points to run drugs, then we know our list of suspects.”

  “Ted, George, or Clint—and wasn’t there another excursion member that left the cruise?”

  Darcy nodded.

  Mullins came barreling down the main corridor. “You both have some explaining to do. My office—now.” She turned heel, and they followed.

  Darcy braved a glance at Gage, who kept his attention fixed forward.

  Mullins led them into her office, shut the door behind them, and settled into her desk chair. “Well, which one of you wants to explain?”

  Darcy’s mouth went dry, and her gaze flashed to Gage. It finally felt as if they had something to go on with the Bowen disappearance, but she couldn’t let him or LFA take the fall for her.

  Mullins leaned forward, her freckled arms resting on the desktop. “One of you had better explain how my luxury passengers were subjected to such unpleasantness.”

  Unpleasantness didn’t even come close. Darcy took a deep breath and straightened. Time to come clean. She couldn’t let Gage and LFA lose their contract with the Bering—or worse, their reputation in the industry—over her foolish actions. “It was—”

  “An accident,” Gage cut in.

  She turned to him in surprise. What was he doing?

  Mullins frowned. “An accident?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Gage said.

  Mullins leaned forward, no sign of understanding on her face. “The entire point of hiring a professional, of having you on board, is to prevent accidents from occurring, to ensure our passengers are safe and catered to.”

  “And we at LFA take every possible safety precaution, but kayaking isn’t a safe sport. You can’t control nature.”

  “So this is how you and your company run your business?”

  “Accidents happen. But I apologize for any discomfort or inconvenience it caused the passengers.”

  Darcy watched pride in his company, in his safety record, fade in Gage’s tone. This wasn’t right. It was her fault. All my fault. “It wasn’t Gage’s fault,” she said. “It wasn’t anything LFA did or didn’t do.”

  Mullins’ gaze shifted to her. “Oh? So it was yours?”

  Please, Father, give me strength to do the right thing, even if it means risking my chance to find Abby.

  She opened her mouth to confess, but Gage, once again, beat her to it.

  “One of the passengers got spooked by a stick she thought was a water snake. She hollered, and it diverted everyone’s attention. A few seconds is all it takes to lose focus and for the current to take hold. Darcy tried her best, but once you are caught in a vortex, there’s little you can do to get out of it.”

  Her shoulders slumped. Unless, of course, you’re properly trained, as I should have been. She really had endangered her and everyone else’s lives. Abby’s life was important, but Gage was right—so was everyone else’s on that excursion, and she’d put them all in jeopardy.

  “So you’re saying it wasn’t an error on anyone’s part?” Mullins’ gaze remained fixed on Darcy.

  Clearly she’d heard otherwise. Darcy was placing her bet on Heath complaining.

  “Mr. McKenna?” Mullins pressed. “Was it a mistake on someone’s part?”

  Gage’s jaw clenched. “No.”

  Darcy’s gaze flashed to Gage, her eyes wide. He’d just covered for her.

  “Very well, but if any more accidents occur, you’re fired. Understood?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Gage said, his words clipped.

  Darc
y was overwhelmed with gratitude for Gage’s defense, and yet she felt awful for putting him in the position she had.

  Mullins exhaled as she shuffled papers on her desk. “I still cannot believe my luxury passengers were exposed to a dead body.”

  “None of them actually saw it,” Darcy said, trying to help in whatever minuscule way she could.

  “It matters not. It’ll be a long time before this one dies down. I’ve already offered all guests involved cruise vouchers, along with cabin upgrades for those who weren’t already in our top suites. I can’t imagine when headquarters learns . . .” She glanced up. “What are you still doing here? Go.”

  “Right.” Darcy turned to the door, only to find Gage already walking out of it.

  She shut Mullins’ door behind her and hurried after him. “Gage.”

  He kept walking.

  “Gage.” She raised her voice while increasing her stride.

  He turned, and she nearly bowled into him.

  “I don’t know what to say.” There was so much she longed to tell him. “But, thank you so much.”

  “For what?”

  “Covering for me.” He’d told Mullins it wasn’t a mistake on her part that caused the accident. While Whitney’s scream had startled her, the fact was she had no kayak experience and no right to be out there in the first place. “I’m so sorry about everything. I—”

  “I understand your need to find Abby. Let’s leave it at that.” He turned and walked away, leaving her alone in the corridor.

  “Darcy.”

  She turned with a start at the sound of Clint’s voice. How long had he been standing there? Had he overhead any of her and Gage’s conversation? Nervousness tracked through her. “I didn’t see you there.”

  He smiled. “You were distracted.”

  She glanced back in the direction Gage had gone, wishing he was with her now.

  “Totally understandable after the day you’ve had.” He stepped closer, his gaze raking over her. “You poor thing. Look at you.”

  She slipped her matted hair behind her ear. “I suppose I look pretty atrocious.” But not according to Gage—he’d said breathtakingly gorgeous.