Dead Reckoning (Lantern Beach Mayday Book 2)

by Christy Barritt

  “How will you make it look as if it’s our fault if you shoot us out here in the open?” Kenzie asked.

  Lori’s eyes narrowed, but she still appeared undeterred. “Maybe I’ll tie it in with the captain’s crime-filled past. I’ll claim you’re his little minions, and you caught me asking too many questions. I don’t know exactly what it’ll be, but I’ll figure out something. You shouldn’t doubt me.”

  “You’re going to go to jail if you shoot us,” Kenzie reminded her.

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Lori’s words flew from her lips, faster and higher pitched by the moment.

  Kenzie was getting to her. Good. That’s what she needed to do—to throw Lori off balance.

  Because Kenzie wasn’t bluffing. She didn’t think Lori would shoot her and Sunni out in the open. Even if she did, any of those excuses Lori had come up with wouldn’t hold up in court.

  Besides, if the three of them stayed here for much longer, somebody was bound to walk past at some point. Somebody who could help them. Who could stop Lori.

  Preferably Jimmy James.

  Kenzie’s heart squeezed at the thought of him.

  She hadn’t realized how much she had come to depend on the man in the short time they’d known each other. But she had. He always had her back.

  Kenzie didn’t take that for granted, even with everything that had transpired between the two of them.

  At once, Lori lunged forward and grabbed Sunni’s arm. She jerked the chief stew toward her and shoved the gun against her temple.

  Sunni gasped, her eyes filled with fear.

  “Do what I say, or I’ll shoot your friend.” Lori’s voice cracked. “Don’t even think I won’t do it.”

  Kenzie’s breath caught when she saw the terror on Sunni’s face.

  It was one thing to put her own life on the line. But it was an entirely different story to put someone else’s life in danger.

  Kenzie’s thoughts raced as she tried to figure out exactly what she would do.

  Just then, voices sounded in the distance.

  This was it, Kenzie realized. This was her chance to make a move. Maybe her only chance.

  But if things went wrong . . .

  She couldn’t let herself think about it.

  As Lori quickly glanced toward the sound, Kenzie tackled her. Their bodies collided onto the teak floor, and Kenzie wrestled her, trying to get the gun. But Lori swung it around wildly, keeping it just out of reach.

  “Run!” Kenzie told Sunni. “Get help!”

  Sunni stared at her for a moment before darting past them toward a door on the other side of the room.

  As she disappeared, Kenzie slammed Lori’s arm onto the floor.

  The gun slipped from her grasp and slid across the wooden floor.

  Kenzie stared at it, stretching to reach it. But the weapon was too far away.

  She’d have to let go of Lori in order to grab it.

  “Lori? What’s going on here?”

  Kenzie’s stomach clenched. She didn’t have to look up to know who the voice belonged to.

  Senator Williams.

  Even worse, Kenzie knew exactly how this looked.

  She was on top of Lori as if she’d been the aggressor in this situation.

  Lori’s face had instantly transformed into a victim-like expression as she glanced back at her husband.

  Kenzie jumped to her feet and grabbed the gun, her survival more important than her reputation right now. Only once she gripped it in her hands did she say, “Your wife tried to shoot me and Sunni.”

  Williams’ bodyguards appeared and rushed toward Kenzie, ready to snatch the gun away. But she pointed the barrel at them, warning them to stay back.

  Kenzie braced herself for whatever was going to happen next.

  The senator rushed toward his wife, helping her to her feet as the two of them scowled at her.

  Based on the look on the senator’s face, he didn’t believe a word that Kenzie said. His wrong assumptions could get her hurt—or even worse.

  Just as the thought filled her mind, one of his security guards grabbed her arms. The other snatched the gun from her.

  Kenzie released a breath.

  Suddenly, she no longer had the upper hand.

  Everything happened fast.

  Too fast.

  Just as things escalated inside, Eddie had rushed back toward Jimmy James, ready to run into the salon himself. Jimmy James stopped him, not wanting to make the situation more tense.

  Instead, he peered through the window.

  Two bodyguards had Kenzie by the arms. They’d taken the gun as they restrained her.

  Lori cried in her husband’s arms and scooted back as if she feared for her life.

  Senator Williams and his men must have come in from the other door across the room.

  Jimmy James had to get in there.

  Now.

  He stepped through one of the doors leading into the salon and paused, muscles bristling with tension as he tried to keep a cool head. “What’s going on here? Why are you holding a gun to my steward?”

  “Lori tried to kill me,” Kenzie rushed.

  Senator Williams gawked, looking appalled at the mere suggestion. “That’s not true. Your steward tried to kill my wife.”

  “We all know that’s not what happened, don’t we?” Jimmy James looked at Lori, his gaze pointed and unwavering.

  “Luke . . .” Lori looked up at her husband, desperation cracking her voice. “All these people want Sampson to win. This has all been a setup. All of it. I’m so sorry. I should have looked deeper into their backgrounds. I . . . I failed you.”

  The senator’s gaze went back to Jimmy James and then Kenzie. “Is that true? Are you all working for Sampson? Has the political game gotten this twisted and evil that he’d take it this far?”

  “Don’t listen to anything she says.” Kenzie tugged against the grip of the security guard, her gaze feisty and undeterred as she stared at the senator. “Your wife has been lying to you this whole time. She tried to set you up and make it look like you were having an affair. All so you’d leave the political world.”

  Senator Williams looked back at Lori and shook his head. “Lori would never do something like that. She loves our life. Why are you trying to make her look bad? Are you that desperate?”

  The severity of the situation hit Jimmy James. He knew how hard it would be for the senator to believe the truth. But with Sunni, Jimmy James, and Kenzie as witnesses, how could Williams ultimately deny it?

  Then again, Jimmy James had seen some crazy things in his life. People believed what they wanted to believe. They believed what fit their narrative. And they twisted the facts in their minds to make that happen.

  For that reason, he knew the situation could get uglier before it got better.

  “Let Kenzie go.” Jimmy James turned to the security guards and placed his hands on his hips. “Take your hands off her.”

  “Don’t listen to him,” Williams rushed. “Don’t let her go. She’s dangerous.”

  Jimmy James puffed his chest out. “I’m in charge on this boat.”

  “Do you know who I am?” The senator thumped his own chest, his eyes so wide he almost looked delusional. “I have enough power to make your life miserable. Believe me, I do.”

  “I’m the captain of this boat. I have authority over you and your bodyguards. And I’m telling you that you need to let Kenzie go. Don’t make me take matters into my own hands.” His voice came out a low growl as his jaw muscles flexed.

  Williams sent a look to his bodyguards. The next instant, both aimed their weapons—one gun pointed at Kenzie and the other at Jimmy James.

  Jimmy James sucked in a breath.

  These people honestly thought Jimmy James and his crew were the bad guys here. Lori’s manipulation had worked. She’d twisted the truth enough that no one knew exactly what to believe.

  Somehow, he had to make everyone see what was really going o
n.

  Before he could say anything, Lori let out a grueling sob and clung to her husband. “I thought I was going to die, honey. Thank you so much for saving me. You have no idea how frightened I was.”

  This woman was a great actress. It seemed as if her husband had fallen hook, line, and sinker for what she was selling.

  Jimmy James looked at Kenzie, and the two of them exchanged a glance.

  This might just be harder than either of them had anticipated.

  Chapter Forty

  Kenzie couldn’t let Lori win. Even though she knew the truth would come out in the long run, that might not stop another tragedy from happening in the more immediate future.

  Considering the fact that one bodyguard had a gun pointed at her and the other guard had a gun pointed at Jimmy James, this wasn’t looking good.

  “She’s playing you.” Kenzie stared at Senator Williams, desperate to make him see the truth. “Lori wants you out of office, and she was willing to go to extremes to make that happen. She even went as far as to commit murder.”

  “I don’t believe you!” The senator shook his head, his chest rising and falling too rapidly as he kept an arm around his wife. “You need to stop talking.”

  “You shouldn’t trust them.” Lori sobbed again before sending an accusing look at Kenzie and Jimmy James. “They’re trying to make me look bad. Trying to cover up their own political agenda. Don’t let them win. Please.”

  “She’s the one trying to win.” Kenzie tried to jerk her arm out of the bodyguard’s grip again, but he held too tightly. “Your wife orchestrated all this. She even killed that woman. Ashley Nelson—your new political strategist.”

  The senator’s mouth fell open, and he glanced at his wife as if a moment of doubt filled his mind.

  Then he looked back at Kenzie. “You’re wrong. Lori didn’t even know that woman. Neither of us did. You’re just trying to make me doubt my wife. Trying to turn me against her.”

  “Your wife is a dangerous woman,” Kenzie said.

  “Stop talking!” Senator Williams sliced his hand through the air. “I need to figure out what’s going on here.”

  “The Coast Guard is on their way,” Eddie announced.

  “Great,” Senator Williams said. “We’ll just wait until they get here and then they’ll sort everything out. In the meantime, no one better make any moves.”

  But it was too late. The rest of the crew had gathered around to watch this scene play out. Thankfully, the senator’s kids were already in bed and didn’t have to witness this.

  “What she’s saying is true.” Sunni seemed to break out of her trance-like state as she stepped back into the room. “Your wife pulled the gun on us, Senator Williams. She wanted to make it look like she was defending herself or that Kenzie and I had turned on each other. Anything to make it seem that Kenzie and I were the aggressors. But that’s not true.”

  “Stop talking!” The senator’s voice rose, and his eyes grew even wider. “Stop trying to make Lori look bad. I won’t stand for it. Do you understand?”

  Jimmy James inched closer but kept his voice even as not to provoke anymore outbursts. “Think about your wife. She grew up poor in a small West Virginia town. But you transformed her into the political powerhouse she is today. You know just as well as anyone else that when she’s not in the public eye, she’s a different person. She’s mastered putting on masks. You can’t deny that fact. You helped make her that way.”

  Kenzie glanced up at Jimmy James as if confused as to where he had gotten that information.

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Disbelief stained the senator’s voice.

  “You know we’re speaking the truth.” Jimmy James continued to creep closer, taking steps so small they were almost indiscernible. “You’re just in denial. There’s no way that you’re going to walk away from this unscathed.”

  “He’s lying!” Lori nearly hissed. “When people hear about what happened to us on this charter, your numbers are going to soar, honey. You’re going to get the sympathy vote.”

  “I want people to vote for me because they believe in what I stand for.” Something in his voice changed as he said the words.

  Was he realizing the truth?

  “In an election like the one we’re in, you don’t want to turn down any votes. Isn’t that what you always say?” More bitterness edged Lori’s voice.

  The senator glanced at his wife and his expression tensed. Had he seen Lori in a different light? Did he have a realization about what was actually going on here?

  Jimmy James prayed that was the case.

  It might be the only way that they were going to get out of this situation unharmed.

  Kenzie wished she was stronger. But it didn’t matter how many spinning classes she’d taken, she knew she wouldn’t be able to take down the bodyguard holding tightly to her arm. He was much larger than she was. Plus, he had a gun.

  As she felt the pressure building in the room, she knew this could turn out poorly.

  Their best chance of surviving was if they could convince Senator Williams that his wife was a fraud.

  “You wouldn’t do this, would you?” Senator Williams glanced at his wife, a touch of disbelief in his voice.

  “They’re all lying to you.” Lori wiped faked tears from beneath her eyes. “Don’t believe them. That’s what they want.”

  “Did you really go to that event at your college roommate’s house?”

  “Of course. You don’t believe me?” Her voice trembled as if she were afraid.

  “I didn’t see you in any of the pictures. I looked.”

  “Well, you didn’t look hard enough.” Her voice hardened. “You know I’d never kill anyone. That’s preposterous. Don’t let them get to you.”

  “The truth is, I had a lot of questions about this strategist you set up for me.” Senator Williams’ voice sounded more aloof, more cautious. “I tried to look into her and even asked a few colleagues about her. No one had heard of her.”

  Kenzie’s heart thudded harder into her chest. Maybe they’d be able to convince the senator that his wife was guilty after all.

  “What are you saying, Luke?” Tears glimmered in Lori’s eyes.

  “I’m saying that things are starting to make a little bit more sense.” The senator stepped away from her.

  Kenzie exchanged another glance with Jimmy James.

  Maybe this was it. Maybe this was the moment where everyone would come to their senses. Lori could be subdued. The Coast Guard would arrive and arrest the senator’s wife. And this would all be over.

  Was it hoping too much to believe that was true?

  Chapter Forty-One

  Jimmy James prayed the senator would see the whole truth for what it was. But he knew that the process—the reckoning—would be difficult.

  The senator seemed to truly love his wife.

  What Jimmy James wasn’t sure about was where the senator would go with this conversation.

  “You set this all up, didn’t you?” Williams asked.

  Lori gasped, her expression morphing into outraged offense. “What are you talking about? You believe them? You’re letting them get to you?”

  “What Kenzie said is true, isn’t it?” His voice hardened. “You wanted to make it look like I had an affair so I’d get out of politics. You begged and pleaded with me, and that never did any good. So, you took matters into your own hands.”

  The despair on Lori’s face disappeared as if someone had flipped a switch. Instead, her expression hardened. “You never did listen to me, Luke.”

  “That’s not true. You’re great at helping me plan my next political move.” Senator Williams shook his head, his eyes beginning to harden. “But you always have liked getting your way.”

  “Who doesn’t? That doesn’t mean I would kill.”

  Senator Williams stared at her, his gaze colder than before. “The truth is that I saw you talking to one of Thatcher Davenport’s bodyguards at an
event last week. I just didn’t put together what you were doing. But now it all makes sense.”

  The next instant, the senator strode across the room and snatched a gun from his bodyguard.

  He pointed it at his wife.

  Jimmy James felt his heartbeat ratchet up.

  This wasn’t the way this was supposed to play out.

  Nobody was going to get killed on Jimmy James’ watch.

  Not if he had anything to do about it.

  Kenzie felt the bodyguard beside her shift as if he didn’t know what to do either.

  This whole situation spun out of control, and the air was filled with frenzied emotions and panic.

  Now they needed to figure out exactly what to do about it.

  As the senator held the gun on his wife, Lori rose to full height, something almost evil filling her already dark eyes.

  “I’ve made you who you are today,” she growled as she nearly crouched toward him. “That doesn’t mean I don’t regret it. You’re a senator because of me.”

  His eyes seemed to burn into Lori’s. “All you’ve done is nag me. Now we finally have what we’ve always wanted, and you no longer like the position that we’re in. It’s nearly impossible to make you happy.”

  “Sometimes you get what you want, and you realize that you should have never wanted it in the first place.”

  “I can’t believe you did this to me . . .” The senator raised the gun higher.

  Lori’s face went pale as if she realized he actually might pull the trigger. “Luke . . . you don’t want to do this. Please.”

  “I did this for you.” He practically spat out the words. “I thought it was what you wanted.”

  “Luke . . .”

  The senator was thinking about pulling the trigger, wasn’t he?

  Jimmy James seemed to sense that also.

  He stepped forward, his motions steady and calm. “Maybe we can all just talk this through without any guns.”