Rough Waters

by Maggie Toussaint

  “You had options.”

  Rock realized he was hunched over the wheel. He leaned back into the seat, making a conscious effort to relax his shoulders. The inn wasn’t much farther. “Tarpley had options, same as me. He chose not to exercise them. He clowned around to get attention, and he always knew how to charm the teachers. Seemed to me if he’d used a quarter of that energy toward getting ahead he would’ve made it and then some. He was the guy everybody liked, but something held him back from making his mark in the world.”

  “Sounds like you grew apart. Did that strain your friendship?”

  Images from the past filled his head. Tarpley shrieking with joy as he reeled in his first trout. Tarpley covered in grease and satisfaction from taking apart his mom’s Chevy. Tarpley proudly hanging his graduation tassel on the rearview mirror. “We still hung out together. Those were some good times. Heck, we even joined the military together.”

  “But you weren’t posted to the same squad. The Navy recognized your differences.”

  He slowed to enter the Bromley Inn parking lot. “Tarpley was good with his hands. He knew motors. I knew enough about motors to know when to call a mechanic. Or Tarpley.”

  She glanced around the half-full parking lot as the dogs sat up. Castor shook, and fur flew in the truck’s cab. “This place take dogs?”

  “They do.”

  “Good. Because we are not leaving these guys in the truck while we sleep. Someone might steal them.”

  Rock nodded. “I’ll get us a room.” Then he remembered she didn’t like being left behind. “Would you like to come inside with me?”

  Her mysterious smile warmed him. “Thanks for asking. I’ll wait here.”

  “Be right back.”

  A sleepy-eyed clerk rented him a room and okayed late checkout. Half an hour later, the dogs had been walked, showers were done, and Jeanie was tucked in bed at Rock’s side. He inhaled her essence of strawberries and woman, savoring the rightness he felt when he was with her. Mom, you would have loved Jeanie. I wish you could’ve met her.

  His drowsy thoughts flitted to Tarpley. How his childhood friend had loved to beat the system. He’d ribbed Rock endlessly about his “schoolboy” ways.

  But Tarpley had had his back for the longest time at the beginning. Wearing leather jackets and jeans to high school instead of button-down collar shirts and pressed khakis, they hadn’t bowed to the pressure of the so-called cool kids. As Tarp liked to say, they’d done cool their own way. It certainly hadn’t hurt their chances with girls, although Rock had spent more of his time studying than being a—what was it Jeanie had called him?—a studmuffin.

  He looked over at her and smiled, glad she was safe beside him, then returned his thoughts to the past. Tarp had given him a character reference to get his first job at the diner. The time he’d been too sick to work—Tarp had brought him soup. He’d taken care of Rock.

  That counted for a lot in Rock’s mind.

  But during the time they’d been apart, Tarpley had stopped caring for anyone but himself. His focus had shifted even more toward what he could get out of others. After the Navy, Rock had used his network of contacts to help find Tarp a job. But Tarp wouldn’t stay long at any job, and always had an excuse as to why it didn’t work out. Out of options, Rock decided to have Tarp crew for him on the fishing boat and share in the treasure hunt proceeds, hoping that would get Tarp back on his feet. He’d bought Tarp’s dive gear with the start-up funds from Lyle.

  The realization cut deep. He’d been conned by a quitter and a wannabe.

  He stared at the deeply shadowed ceiling, disgust churning in his gut. The signs were there all along, but he’d given Tarpley the benefit of the doubt every time.

  How much money had he loaned Tarpley? Five grand? No, that wasn’t right. Must be about ten. He’d loaned the guy ten Gs before he said no more. The look of genuine anger on Tarpley’s face at Rock’s first refusal had surprised him.

  Was that the beginning of the end of their friendship?

  Could be.

  He yawned, too tired to think.

  Tomorrow.

  He’d catch the bastard tomorrow.

  Chapter 46

  Jeanie hummed awake under the gentle strokes down her spine. Rock’s sea breeze scent filled her head and imprinted on her heart. Oh, she could get used to waking up beside this man. His caresses grew more deliberate, lingering on her buttocks, urging her closer. She nestled deeper in his embrace, stroking his arms, shoulders, and back, mindful of his healing body.

  His toasty warm skin felt like a touch of heaven. Much better than waking up next to an empty pillow, in an empty bed. If she didn’t have forever and ever with him, at least she had right now. She arched into his touch. “That feels so good.”

  “You feel good,” Rock murmured into her hair.

  She chuckled and stroked his chest, running her fingers through the short hair, tracing circles around his puckered nipples. She lightly followed the pink scar on the face of her warrior. “We feel good.”

  He lifted her chin and gazed deep into her eyes. Jeanie saw questions there, questions she didn’t know all the answers to. “Jeanie, I…” he began, trailing off.

  She touched a finger to his lips. “It’s okay. I feel it too. I can’t say what tomorrow will bring, but I want to be here. With you.”

  Understanding flashed in his eyes and a bit of something else. Was it disappointment? The thought unsettled her, in a good way. Could he be thinking long-term? She chewed her lip.

  He caressed the side of her face. “I like that about you, how you say what you mean.”

  “I do.” Her gaze flicked to the door and back. “We teamed up to find your coins, and we’ll do that. But here, in this bed, there’s only me and you.”

  His blue eyes deepened in color, rounding and seeming to smile at her. “Woman, you do things to me.”

  He kissed her, tender at first and then with growing insistence. The simmering heat in Jeanie’s loins flared to life. She whimpered a bit, rubbing against him, wanting more, needing more.

  “Not this time, minx.” He rolled them over so she was on her back and he pinned her to the mattress.

  The evidence of his desire pressed against her thigh as he made love to her breasts. He took his sweet time about it, laving, tweaking and cupping her tender flesh until she ached all over. She needed. Oh, she needed. To feel cherished like this. To be with him. To soar in his arms.

  “More,” she managed, tugging his head up. “I want you. Now.”

  He kissed a fiery trail down her belly, nestling his face between her thighs. Kissing her there. Jeanie’s fingers fisted in the sheets. She shivered, not from cold, but from heat. She burned from the inside as never before.

  “Rock.”

  He continued his gentle torment, brushing his fingers over her nub. The pressure inside built to a lion’s roar, and external sound faded. A primitive noise rumbled in her throat as her toes curled under. If he didn’t come inside her right now, it would be too late.

  She wanted to say his name again and couldn’t. Her body curved like a bow, tensed and ready to fire. And just as she thought she’d go over the cliff alone, he surged into her. Filling her. She gave herself to the moment, thrilling to the fiery passion, soaring to a private lover’s bower with Rock.

  Through it all, he held her, calling her name. As if she would ever confuse him with another lover. She drifted into a boneless nirvana, cradled in his arms.

  ****

  The heat of the shower loosened Jeanie’s stiff shoulders. If someone had asked her a week ago if she’d be shacked up with a blue-eyed, blond-haired man and two dogs in a no-tell North Carolina motel, she would have laughed herself silly. No way would she have left her children behind for any man.

  Or so she’d thought.

  She was doing this for her kids.

  To keep them safe. Speaking of which, she needed to call them again.

  The sooner she got to the bottom of this
mess, the better.

  “Breakfast,” Rock called from the other room. “Come and get it before the dogs eat everything.”

  “Coming.” She towel-dried quickly, donning jeans, a long-sleeved shirt, and a fleece hoodie. The aromas of coffee and sausage from the motel’s breakfast bar made her mouth water. She tore into her meal, licking her fingers after the last bite.

  “Want me to do that for you?” Rock asked.

  She blushed remembering the parts of her he’d tasted this morning. “I’m fine. We need to stay focused on finding Tarpley.”

  “We’ll check his haunts in Mayfield, then we’ll head to the Outer Banks. How soon can you be ready to go?”

  “I need a few minutes to pull myself together.”

  He nodded. “There’s a nature area near here. Thought I’d walk the dogs over and let them run for a bit.”

  “Sounds good. Should I find you when I’m done?”

  “Take your time. We’ll be back in half an hour.”

  She smiled. Half an hour would be great. She could dry her hair, put on makeup, and call the kids. “Perfect.”

  The minute the door closed, she dialed St. Augustine. The kids were fine. Mom was fine. So why did she feel so guilty?

  “Jeanie?” Mom asked.

  “Yes?”

  “You don’t sound like yourself. What’s going on?”

  The most incredible sex ever. The biggest, craziest, wonderfulest adventure of her life. “You remember what you said earlier? About me taking advantage of this opportunity? Well, I did. I have, I mean. We’re still doing it.” She clamped her hand over her mouth. She did not just say that to her mom.

  Her mother chuckled. “I trust it’s going well?”

  “Yes.”

  “You sound a little breathless.”

  “I am a little breathless. I care about him, Mom. It’s too soon. I barely know him, but I want to be with him. I sure hope it isn’t a rebound thing.”

  “It’s been a year since your divorce. You’re past the rebound phase. For what it’s worth, I like your new fella. The kids like him.”

  A shadow passed over the front window. She heard the sound of a key card being inserted in the lock. Was Rock back so soon? She wasn’t ready. Yikes.

  Instinctively, she spun away from the opening door and curled into the phone to keep her conversation private. “I have to go, Mom, but I love you.”

  “Love you too, hon.”

  Jeanie turned to see a gun pointed at her chest. On the other end of the weapon was a scowling stranger. How’d he get in here? Did something happen to Rock? “Who are you? What are you doing?”

  “Taking care of business.”

  Blood swooshed in her ears. An armed man in her motel room. She let out a shaky breath. Would Laurie Ann fall apart? No. She’d go on the offensive. “Are you Drake Tarpley?”

  His head kicked back as if she’d surprised him. He narrowed his gaze. “Toss the phone on the bed. You’re coming with me.”

  The man looked as if he’d slept in those navy sweatpants and gray jacket. His shaggy brown hair was smashed on one side. His athletic build resembled Rock’s, but his middle needed work. His nose had an extra hump, and his dark eyes looked flat. If ever a man had gone to seed, it was this guy. Where are you, Rock? Please be alive.

  She tried to breathe but it felt like her lungs were caught in a vise. She was in trouble here. Big trouble. This guy was bigger than she was. And he had a gun.

  A gun. She’d stashed the Beretta in her purse.

  Her purse was behind him on the dresser. Her hopes plummeted.

  She put the phone on the bed, feeling her way through this tricky situation. Tarpley was a screw up. He hadn’t displayed any lethal characteristics, except for the bombing thing, and he hadn’t killed anyone with that either. “I’m not going anywhere until I dry my hair.”

  “I’ll shoot you.”

  “You do and everyone in this motel will hear you. My hair comes first,” she bluffed, hoping to buy enough time for Rock to come back.

  “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Then don’t.”

  “Do as I say!”

  She ignored him, sauntered to the bathroom, and picked up the blow drier. She had scissors in her makeup bag. If he gave her any privacy, she’d palm those babies...

  But Tarpley surprised her by yanking the cord off the motel-supplied hair dryer, and tying her wrists behind her back.

  “Hey!”

  She struggled briefly, spilling her makeup bag. The loose cap on her pink lipstick came off again, and the open lipstick tube fell in the sink, smearing bright color as it rolled. The scissors clattered onto the tile floor.

  He hauled her toward the door. “You’re coming with me.”

  She didn’t want to leave this room. He wouldn’t chance shooting her in a public setting. Too many witnesses. Could she keep him talking until housekeeping came around?

  “What’s wrong with you?” she asked. “Why can’t you leave us alone?”

  “Shut up or I’ll go after your kids when I’m done with you.”

  Jeanie saw red. “You hurt my kids, and I will eat you for breakfast. Killing me won’t stop me from ruining what’s left of your miserable life.”

  “Shut up. You’re not exactly mother of the year.”

  “What?”

  “You sent your kids away.”

  “Rock will kill you.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  It struck Jeanie then that this was about Rock. Tarpley was using her to get to Rock. “For God’s sake, he was your best friend.”

  “Yeah, right.” He jammed the muzzle in her side and opened the door. Sunshine streamed in. “You scream, and I will blast a hole in your side, and I don’t care who hears.”

  Jeanie fought tears. There was just enough menace in his voice to convince her he would shoot her this time. The gun in her ribs. It hurt. But if she balked, she’d be dead. She would not let Avery raise their kids. Survival. She had to be smart. “I need my shoes.”

  “Too bad, too sad. Move it.”

  He directed her away from the lobby, away from Rock’s hulking black truck parked in front of their room. Only one car was in this direction. She hoped that beat-up clunker belonged to someone who would rescue her.

  Tears filled her eyes. Where could she run? Where would she go? If he killed her and dumped her body, she was far from home and her identification was in the motel room.

  She’d be a Jane Doe until Rock found her.

  Her vision blurred. She blinked the moisture away, desperate to see or be seen.

  He herded her over to the lone car. In seconds, he had duct tape over her mouth, on her ankles and around her wrists, having tossed the electrical cord in the trunk. Worse, he stuffed her into the trunk littered with reeking clothes and slammed the lid.

  Before he sealed her inside, he spoke, but his words were garbled by the clothes beside her ears.

  She trembled all over. It was so dark. The engine started with a reluctant cough. The car lurched backward. They were leaving. Tarpley wasn’t going after Rock right now. Hard to be relieved about Rock’s safety when she was being kidnapped. Her head banged into the side of the car as it careened out of the lot.

  Think, Jeanie. Save yourself. At the very least, buy time.

  The car took another curve too fast, and she slid hard into the other side of the vehicle. Rolling over stinky laundry. Something crunched underneath her. The noise sounded like breaking glass. Could she be so lucky?

  Trying to dig through clothing with her hands bound behind her was nearly impossible. She shifted to use her feet to kick aside the dirty clothes. She knew she’d found the right spot when something sliced into her sock-clad foot. Ow, ow, ow.

  Jeanie squirmed until her hands were where her feet had been. She fingered the lip of a bottle, smelled the faint yeasty aroma. Busted beer bottle. She could work with that. She grabbed a shard of glass, and sawed on her bonds.

  Damn i
f she’d go quietly to her own execution.

  Chapter 47

  Rock couldn’t deal with the edgy feeling a second longer. He burst into the motel room shouting her name. “Jeanie!”

  No answer.

  The eerie silence terrified him.

  He scanned the room, heart thumping. Phone on the bed. Shoes on the floor. Suitcase and purse on the lowboy dresser.

  He hurried to the bathroom. Picked up her spilled makeup bag from the floor. Saw the bright smear of lipstick in the sink. Saw the damaged hair dryer. Noticed the missing cord.

  “No.” His insides hardened to stone. Someone had taken her.

  “Jeanie!”

  What happened?

  He checked her purse.

  Wallet was there. Money inside. Gun inside.

  Not a robbery.

  Jeanie was the target.

  Only one person in this neck of the woods would recognize his truck.

  Tarpley.

  “Damn it!”

  What was Tarpley driving, or was he on foot?

  How’d he get into the room?

  The door had been locked.

  Tarpley must have stolen a key.

  The dogs milled at his feet, waiting for direction.

  He’d messed up. Left Jeanie alone to fight a killer.

  Rock signaled the dogs to find Jeanie. They scratched at the closed door. He opened it. They bounded out to the parking lot and stopped at an empty space halfway down the lot. Castor lay down on the spot. Pollox joined him.

  The bastard took her in a car. Rock’s racing heart skidded to a halt. They could be across the county line by now.

  Rock snatched a shallow breath and mentally reeled. To hurt you, he wants to hurt Jeanie. Don’t let him win.

  Focus.

  He needed to do better.

  If he gave in to fear, Tarpley would win. Jeanie would lose. Rock had to find her. He knew how to hunt. Prey sought out places to hide.

  An icy mantle settled over him as he gathered his wits. He glanced toward the lobby. No sense grilling the desk clerk. No sense getting tangled up with the cops, yet. Every minute counted.

  He knew Tarpley’s haunts.

  Time to scour them all.

  He loaded the dogs in the Lariat and sped the remaining ten miles to Mayfield. Cruised the old neighborhood. Saw nothing suspicious. Buzzed past Farston Elementary, the middle school, and Mayfield High. Looked like any other day.