by Annie Seaton
“Will you drive me into town, or should I call a taxi?” Her voice was like ice.
“Oh, for Christ’s sake, Gracie.” The frustration began as a slow burn in his stomach. “Just let me get this bloody knee working and we’ll talk.”
“You can talk to me till the cows come home but I won’t listen. I’m doing what I think is best.” She stepped into the hallway and stood in front of him with her arms folded across her chest.
Jake flashed a disgusted look and limped past her to his room. He rummaged around until he found the elastic brace for his knee. He hadn’t needed it for a few weeks and now it frustrated the hell out of him that he needed it again. By the time he got back into the kitchen, his mood was dark. He wondered why she had the ability to make him so angry…yet feel protective at the same time. It was because he’d let her get under his skin like he’d let no other woman before her.
The aroma of brewing coffee lifted his mood slightly and the sight of Gracie bending over in front of the fridge finished him off. Jake limped over and grabbed her shoulders and spun her around catching the milk carton as it slipped from her fingers. He put it on the bench beside them.
“What are you doing?” she asked crossly.
“I’m apologizing.”
He reached behind her and closed the fridge door and she leaned back against it, her hands behind her back and her expression wary.
“For what?”
“For being such a cranky shit and sleeping by myself last night.”
Jake braced himself against the refrigerator with his hands flat against the cold stainless-steel door. He dropped his head so that his forehead rested against hers. “You frustrate the hell out of me, you know?”
A glimmer of a smile lifted her lips. “I accept your apology…but I’m not changing my mind. And it would have been nice to share a bed.”
Jake reached down and kissed her gently, and her lips parted beneath his. “I know you won’t change your mind, and that’s part of the reason I can’t keep my hands off you. You’re brave, you’re determined, and you care about someone so much you’re willing to risk your own safety for them. You’d make a good cop.” He laughed against her mouth. “Except you’d have to learn to follow instructions.”
Gracie wound her arms around his neck. Her singlet top slipped up and her warm, bare skin pressed against his chest. Moving his fingers down slowly, Jake caressed the soft skin above her shorts and tugged at the small ring in her belly button before he looked up at the clock above the doorway and groaned.
“I suppose you want to go now?”
She shot him a cheeky smile. “The sooner I get on that boat, and sort out my sister…or go to the police, the sooner we can come back and catch up on what we missed out on last night.”
He looked at her intently. “Promise me, you’ll be careful?”
“I will. I have no intention of staying on the Midas for more than a few minutes. I’m not even going to go aboard. If Regan doesn’t come out when I ask to see her, I’ll give you a wave and we’ll go straight to the police. If she wants to play games, she’ll just have to put up with being reported as a missing person.”
She slid her hands down Jake’s arms and gripped his hands. “Don’t worry, Jake. I’ll be in your sight the whole time and you’ll be close. After all, there’s only one way out of the marina and it’s past your boat.”
Jake backed up reluctantly and folded his arms across his chest. “So if you’re not going on the boat, you could probably wear something else?”
“No, I want it to look like I’m not concerned and going to work.”
A glimmer of a thought began to form in his mind. “I’ll come with you to the Midas.
Gracie shook her head.
“No, that’s not a good idea because they already know you were a cop. It’s bad enough that Mick and Shannon saw us together last night.” She crossed to the coffee maker and poured two cups of coffee, and picked up the smallest mug.
“I’m going to sit outside.”
As he watched her cross the kitchen to the deck, Jake picked up his coffee and tried to ignore the nagging feeling that her plan was not going to work.
She was barefoot and her slim legs seemed to go on forever before they reached the snug-fitting white shorts. Her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and she looked as though she didn’t have a care in the world.
He pushed away from the bench and followed her outside into the drizzling rain. The weather had closed in overnight, but the air was still hot and sticky with scuddy showers blowing in from the sea. She sat in the covered area at the table overlooking the pool and gazed at a rainbow reflected by the watery sunlight.
God, he loved this place and sharing the quiet morning with Gracie made it just about perfect. She caught his eye as he sat beside her.
“It’s so beautiful here. Even with the rain. When I’ve got Regan sorted out, I’m going to see if there are any teaching jobs coming up here after the Christmas holidays. I’ve decided not to stay at Ashby Downs.” She sipped her coffee and then laughed ruefully. “She did me a favor after all, despite whatever else happens.”
Excitement surged through him at the thought of her staying around for a while. Maybe she was right. Hopefully it would all get sorted today.
But he couldn’t shake the ominous feeling…
…
Gracie stood beneath the roof at the top of the ramp and looked across at the Pretty Lady rocking gently at the far end of the marina. The clouds had lowered, and the rain was heavy now. Jake had brought tools with him and was scraping the paint from the side of the boat in the rain. He didn’t worry about being seen now that he was pulling the pin on the surveillance—not that there appeared to be anyone to see him. But he had insisted that she walk through security without him, so he’d gone on ahead of her.
It was almost eight o’clock and the marina was only just stirring to life. Cleaning crews were hurrying along the boardwalks toward the boats. Shannon was ahead of her, hunched under an umbrella, walking toward the Midas. Taking a deep breath, she fought the nerves building in her stomach, hitched her bag onto her shoulder, and headed down the ramp.
The last bay was quiet. The Midas floated queen-like, overshadowing the smaller yachts. A couple of sailors were disconnecting the power leads from the posts near their boats and lifting the fenders, ready to sail out. There was no one on the deck of the Midas and Gracie breathed a sigh of relief. Walking slowly, she scanned the three deck levels as she drew closer, but there was no movement on the large boat. She glanced across at Jake who was astride the front of his old sloop, scraping paint from the post where the life jacket had hung the other night. He was so close she could have had a conversation with him across the water, but she ignored him and turned back to the Midas as something on the middle deck caught her attention.
Shannon was closing the hatches of the guest cabins. Gracie took another deep breath and moved along the boardwalk to the back of the boat. The narrow gap of water was shining with an iridescent slick of oil floating on the surface, splintering as the rain bounced off the water. She stood and waited for someone to appear, conscious she was now out of Jake’s vision. The huge boat was between her and the channel where Jake was waiting and watching on the other side.
“Hello?” she called out. “Shannon, are you there?” Her hand trembled as she reached up to wipe the rain from her face.
No answer.
She stood undecided, looking up at the main door of the salon, where Clive had ushered her in the other day. Swallowing nervously, she jumped across the narrow gap of oily water and slowly climbed the stairs to the middle deck. The door was closed and she raised her hand and rapped on the glass.
“Shannon?”
All was quiet. There was no way she was going inside. But at the same time there was no way she was going to leave until she spoke to Regan. Gracie raised her hand and rapped loudly a second time.
“Hello?”
She tried the
doorknob and it turned beneath her shaking hand. Heavy footsteps pounded on the lower deck and she peered over the side of the staircase.
“The door’s not locked.” Clive glared up at her but his voice was quiet.
“I know.”
“Keep your voice down. No one’s up yet.”
Nervousness shimmied down her spine as Clive walked up the stairs slowly and stood beside her.
Too close.
“Shannon’s already started to clean. You can do the crew quarters first.” He looked her up and down and reached past her to open the door. His fingers pushed into her back as he tried to guide her through the narrow space.
“I’m not here to work.” Her voice was firm.
“What?” His eyes narrowed and he stepped closer, crowding her space. Despite his neat appearance in his white uniform, garlic breath and stale perspiration washed over her.
“I’m here to see Regan.”
“Regan who?” His voice was cold and Gracie shivered and then straightened her back, determined he would not see she was nervous.
“Or Carla…whatever she calls herself these days.” She raised her voice and stepped back to the top of the stairs and turned. “My sister? I’ll wait out here. I want to see her now. I need to see that she’s all right.”
Clive stared at her. “How did you know she was ill? They only got back from the hospital at midnight.”
Fear clutched at her stomach.
“Hospital? What’s wrong with her?” she asked.
He seemed reluctant to tell her and frowned. “She got bitten by a snake in the rainforest yesterday.”
“Oh my God.” Gracie put her hand up to her mouth. “I want to see her now.”
“I’ll have to go and check if they’re awake. Come inside.” He stepped through the door and waited for her to follow, holding the door open.
“I’ll wait here.”
“Whatever.” Clive disappeared through the saloon and the sound of low, urgent voices drifted out to her. She crossed to the edge of the deck and closed her eyes, lifting her face to the soft rain.
If they’d let Regan out of hospital, she mustn’t be in any danger. Gracie gripped the railing and waited to hear Regan’s voice. If anything happened to her sister…
The door closed behind her and she jumped and opened her eyes. She swiveled around expecting to see Regan.
A tall, dark man with a tanned face and tousled hair leaned against the door. A loose pair of white pants hung low on his hips and his chest was bare. Dark, heavy-lidded eyes returned her gaze.
“You are Carla’s sister?” His voice was deep with a slight accent that she couldn’t place.
“Yes. And I want to see Regan now.”
“She is still in bed…and she must stay off her leg.”
“Then I’ll go and see her.” Gracie thought fleetingly of her assurance to Jake that she wouldn’t go on the boat but dismissed the thought. If Regan was in there, it was going to be all right and she had to see her and make sure she was okay.
The tall man reached for the doorknob with a fluid grace. Opening the door, he stood to the side and gestured for Gracie to precede him. She stepped into the salon that Shannon had shown her through yesterday and caught a glimpse of Clive as he disappeared through the door from the dining room.
“I am Roderic Cabal.” He moved in front of her and held out his hand. “And you must be Gracie?”
A sharp whiff of citrus wafted past her as she took his hand. He held hers in a loose grip and turned it over, before he bent and brushed a soft kiss on the inside of her palm. His unsmiling gaze was fixed on her face. “You are very different from your sister.”
Gracie pulled her hand back as her nerves jolted in response to his kiss. She was tempted to wipe her palm on the side of her shorts but she held back and clenched her fist.
Excitement, relief, nervousness, and uncertainty coursed through her and she took a deep breath. Regan was close by and she was finally going to see her.
“Yes, I am. Now may I see her, please?”
“She has just woken, I believe. Follow me.”
Cabal walked across the salon toward the master cabin and Gracie glanced through the high windows on the side of the main salon, facing the sea. Droplets of rain ran down the outside but she could see Jake standing on the front of his sloop, hand above his eyes, staring at the Midas. As Cabal reached the door of the master cabin, he turned around to face her and followed Gracie’s gaze. He looked through the window toward Jake’s boat for a moment before he spoke.
“Your sister is in here.” He opened the door and stood back for Gracie to step through. All thoughts of Cabal and Clive left her mind as she hurried through the door.
“Regan? Regan? Are you all right?”
The bedclothes were pulled back but the bed was empty. The pillows were piled high in a jumble on one side of the bed. Gracie looked across to the bathroom. The door was closed.
As she stepped around the bed to the bathroom, the door of the master cabin closed and clicked shut but Gracie took little notice. She waited outside the bathroom door.
“Regan? Answer me. Are you okay?”
There was no answer and no sound came from behind the closed door.
“Regan, answer me, or I’m coming in.”
She waited for a few seconds before reaching for the door. The handle turned slowly beneath her tight grip and Gracie called in to the room as the door opened. “Are you decent?”
All was quiet and she stepped into the small bathroom. It was empty, and cold clutched at her chest as realization dawned on her.
Regan was nowhere to be seen. Goose bumps rose on her arms and her breath hitched as she quickly ran across to the door of the master suite. She grasped the handle but it didn’t budge. The door was locked from the outside.
Oh, shit.
She had just made one of the biggest mistakes of her life.
Chapter Eighteen
Jake gripped the paint scraper in his hand and stared at the sleek cruiser across the water. It had been at least ten minutes since Gracie had walked down the dock and disappeared behind the huge white hull. Every instinct was screaming at him that something was wrong but he bit it down in an attempt to trust her.
She was probably talking to her sister on the other side of the cruiser. He dropped the paint scraper to the deck and ran his hands through his hair. The deck was wet and slippery from the rain and he turned, moving carefully along to the back of his boat, keeping his eyes on the dock in front of the Midas as he gripped the side. The last thing he needed was to fall and wrench his knee.
He leaned back as far as he could, but the cruiser still blocked his view of the dock and he cursed in frustration. If Gracie didn’t appear in a couple of minutes, he was going to walk down there and check she was all right. He didn’t care who saw him.
There was movement in the gap between the Midas and the next boat and a flash of blue and white moved between the two boats. Jake briefly closed his eyes as he breathed out with relief.
At last.
The next boats along the row were angled and there was not a clear view of the dock from his vantage point. He waited a couple of minutes until she reached the ramp at the end of the row before he could see her. The scudding clouds cleared the sun and bright sunlight poured down onto the marina. Finally a figure clad in white shorts and a blue singlet top came into his view and climbed the ramp, carrying a laundry bag.
“Shit.”
It was the other girl from the Midas. The one who’d been in the hotel last night with Mick, the thug. Jake swiveled his gaze back to the cruiser but there was still no sign of Gracie.
A couple of crewmen inched along the side of the sleek white hull and climbed over the railing in the prow of the boat. Jake frowned and moved back slowly to the front of his boat, squinting his eyes against the sunlight reflecting on the channel. It was Mick and the older guy Gracie had pointed out to him. They bent over the deep anchor well, pointing downward
before they stepped back and climbed over the railing and disappeared through the interior door on the bottom deck. Uneasiness twitched at his skin as he watched them go inside. From the doorway where they’d entered the boat, they would be able to see Gracie.
If she was still standing on the dock.
Christ, he felt so bloody useless and he kicked out at the post in front of him, forgetting his busted knee for a moment.
“Oh fuck,” he muttered under his breath as a burning pain shot down his leg. He limped into the cabin and grabbed the binoculars from the shelf and stood in the shadowed doorway at the back of the cabin. The clouds were moving quickly to the west and the sun was still trying hard to break through. He lifted the binoculars and waited until his eyes adjusted to the bright glare from the water. A couple of figures stood in the control room on the top deck and he watched for a moment, before dropping the binoculars to the lower deck. Through the side window, he caught a glimpse of a dark-haired man and an older guy in a white uniform standing together at the top of the external stairs.
Cabal and Clive, but no sign of Gracie or her sister.
Hopefully, she was still outside where she’d said she’d stay.
Please.
The deafening chop of a helicopter flying low over the water caught his attention and he glanced up briefly as the blue-and-white-checked insignia of Queensland Police flashed overhead. As the chopper disappeared into the distance, the sound faded and was replaced by the low hum of a diesel motor. Froth boiled the water at the back of the Midas and Jake threw the binoculars into the cabin and limped as quickly as he could to the front of his boat.
Jesus, the Midas was slowly moving away from its mooring. They’d slipped the ropes on the other side, away from his view, and now the cruiser slipped smoothly to the center of the channel before executing a slow ninety-degree turn. As it turned, Jake had a full view of the berth it had vacated and there was no sign of Gracie. He pulled his phone from his pocket and quickly scrolled through the contacts until her name appeared. He dialed and held the phone to his ear as he stepped across the small gap to the boardwalk, supporting himself with his free hand on a post at the edge of the concrete walkway.
