Love Inspired Suspense December 2013 Bundle: Christmas Cover-UpForce of NatureYuletide JeopardyWilderness Peril

by Lynette Eason

  Movement from the trees brought their conversation to a halt.

  Through the water coursing down his face, Reuben saw Leland, his hand wrapped in Antonia’s hair, running with her toward the boathouse.

  “Nee,” Reuben shouted. He sprinted toward her, but Leland had a head start. The roar of a helicopter hardly registered as he watched Leland disappear into the lower floor of the cavernous boathouse.

  He turned back to Silvio, whose stricken gaze alternated between the boathouse and the helicopter, which was working its way to the far side of the island. “Get Paula. Take the skimmer and go signal them.”

  “Not gonna do it,” Silvio said softly.

  Reuben gripped Silvio’s shoulders and locked eyes with him. “We need help. You’ve got to go get it because I’m not leaving her.”

  “She’s hurt you, abandoned you,” Silvio said. “You gonna risk your life for her again?”

  Reuben could not remember in that moment a single hurt, one disappointment, the tiniest recollection of past pain. His heart and brain were filled only with the precious, the jewellike memories of a love so pure it hurt and a spirit so cleaved to his own that he would not be whole without it.

  “I’m going to save her,” Reuben said, feeling something strong and sure take the place of the physical pain that wracked his body. He did not know how, but certainty rang through him like the thunder of the waves.

  Silvio cocked his head and smiled at Reuben. “I wouldn’t have expected any other answer.”

  Reuben allowed himself to be pulled into a fierce hug and then Silvio was gone to retrieve Paula. He straightened as best he could and marched toward the boathouse. There was no need for stealth, as Leland had already seen what transpired with Martin and the skimmer. He made his way up the path to the lower level and onto the small platform, letting himself into the cavernous underbelly. It was dark, and he blinked as his eyes adjusted. The risen water had topped the platforms that would normally provide docks for the boats to be tied, but it had receded until it was now a few inches below the bloated wood. The beams that held up the roof were blackened with water but still whole and strong. He thought ruefully that his mother would be proud. He took courage from those sturdy beams as he approached the wooden steps to the upper floor.

  The bottom step was slick and his feet skidded a bit. He wondered what had happened to Gavin. To his brother. The boards creaked and groaned under his weight. The steps led to a solid platform, a space piled with boxes and opening onto two small rooms that served as more storage and a tiny office space for managing the paddleboat rentals that were so popular when times were better.

  Antonia sat on a metal folding chair, hands in her lap, her look a mixture of fear and defiance. Leland stood next to her, a gun held casually in his hand, as if it were nothing more than a TV remote. Her eyes locked on him and something exquisite rippled through those fine features. One tear, glittering and pure, slid down her cheek. He knew that tear was for him.

  “Welcome to the boathouse,” Leland said. “Did you kill him?”

  It took Reuben a moment to realize Leland was speaking about Martin. “No, he’s alive.”

  Leland nodded. “And Granny and Grandpa? What’s become of them?”

  “They are on their way to flag down the coast guard.” Reuben watched Leland’s eyes for some sign of anxiety, but he showed none.

  “It’s all right,” Leland said, almost as if he were speaking to himself. “I’ve got someone coming to pick me up. Small boat can outrun the coast guard. That’s why we love this island so much, isn’t it?” He wiggled a small cell phone. “Phones are back up, did you know that? The storm has passed, the clouds have parted and all is right with the world.”

  Reuben looked at Antonia, calculating the distance and time it would take to reach her. He was not faster than a bullet. “Where’s my brother?” he said.

  “Put him in the storage room. Didn’t give me much of a fight. Going to take him with me when I leave so he can sign the island over to Garza.”

  “He won’t sign,” Reuben said.

  “Yes, he will. He’ll be put out that I murdered his brother, but he’ll sign. He’s got a kid and an ex-wife to think about after all. How old is the kid, anyway? Two? Three? A real cutie, I’m sure.”

  Antonia started to stand, rage in her eyes, but Leland pushed her back down. “Stay there, señorita. It will be easier for all of us.” He cocked his head and fingered her hair. “I just have to know. How did you manage to not drown? No one could have stayed afloat in that storm.”

  Antonia jerked her head away.

  “Not going to tell me? All right,” he said with a sigh. “It will be one of those mysteries you take to the grave.”

  Reuben’s pulse thundered. “The cops are going to know everything. You’re caught.”

  Leland laughed. “Such a naive boy. I’m going to become someone else. Garza will set me up in Mexico maybe or the tropics. I’m still useful to him, being so skilled and all.” He called loudly over his shoulder. “Hector, come out here, please.”

  The door remained closed. Leland sighed and fired a round into the rafters just above the door. Antonia screamed as the sound echoed through the space. Reuben lurched toward Leland, but he stopped him by aiming the gun at Antonia and waggling a finger.

  “Come on out, Hector,” Leland shouted, “or the next one goes through the door.”

  Reuben saw his brother emerge from the storage room, shoulders slumped. His eyes were smudged with shadows, bruises darkening his skin and a smear of dried blood on his chin. Face slack with shock, he looked at Antonia and then his brother.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I never meant for any of this to happen. I’d hoped to give you time to get away.”

  “I’m sure he knows that,” Leland said. “Very touching, the brotherly bond and all that. I simply wanted you to see me kill these two so you’ll remember how it looked and how they sounded, et cetera. Fix it in your memory, Hector, and keep it there so if you’re tempted to change your mind about signing over Isla or some such foolishness, you can stroll down memory lane and imagine how a bullet will impact a small child.”

  “You don’t need to kill them,” Hector blurted out. “My brother will hand it over now, won’t you?” Hector’s tone was pleading. “You can stop all this, Reuben.”

  Reuben felt a mixture of disgust and compassion. “Yes,” he said, gaze on his brother. “Leland, you don’t have to kill anyone.”

  Leland laughed. “I’m not sure you’re right.” He spoke to Hector as if they were the only people in the room. “These two—” he gestured the gun at Reuben and Antonia “—they seem to have that fire in the belly, a certain antiquated desire to cling to the moral high ground, a quality that you don’t have, Hector. I can’t see them blithely going along with Mr. Garza and being the quiet little church mice for the foreseeable future. They have that look in their eyes that spells trouble.”

  Hector shook his head. “Don’t kill them. They haven’t done anything wrong.”

  “Mmm.” Leland pulled out his cell phone and checked the screen. “Ah. My ride is here. Hector, head downstairs, please.” When Hector didn’t move, Leland fired another shot into the rafters, which made Antonia scream again and his brother cringe. Hector took several slow, shuffling steps away.

  “It’s been lovely chatting with you, but my schedule is full. Gentlemen first.” He swiveled the gun at Reuben and pulled the trigger.

  TWENTY-ONE

  Antonia threw her handful of sand just as Leland’s finger depressed the trigger. At the same time, Reuben launched himself at Leland, who jerked backward instinctively as the sand pricked his eyes, clawing at his face.

  She picked up the chair and brought it down on Leland’s back with all the strength she possessed as he rolled on top of Reuben. The metal impacted Leland’s skull with a thwack and sent the gun flying under a pile of boxes. Leland went limp. She helped Reuben get slowly to his feet, tears crowding her visi
on, mind disbelieving the events her eyes had just witnessed.

  After one tight hug, he grabbed her hand and pulled her away. They met Hector at the stairs. “We have to get out of here before his men arrive,” Hector said.

  Feet echoing on the steep steps, they made their way quickly. From upstairs they heard a groan as Leland fought his way back to consciousness. Antonia’s skin prickled in panic.

  They plunged down to the landing, and she noticed that Reuben stumbled slightly, whether from haste or blood loss she was not sure. They headed for the exit just as a boat motored into the structure. As the man blinked to adjust to the darkness, the three shrank back into the shadows, but they were not quick enough. The boat captain pulled a weapon from his belt and began firing, the shots exploding in ear splitting percussions all around them, drilling deep tunnels into the wood siding.

  There was no place to hide, no trace of cover. Splinters careened above their heads as they took the only chance open to them and plunged feetfirst into the water. Antonia felt Hector and Reuben punch through the surface a split second after she did. They slid under the planked dock and came up for air. Her head bumped the wood. There were only a few inches between the waterline and the underside of the dock. She sucked as much oxygen as she could in that tiny, precious gap.

  “Get out to the ocean,” Reuben breathed next to her. “We’re easy targets here.”

  Shots cut into the wood above them as the shooter raked the slip with bullets. They went under again, as deep as they could, but Antonia could still feel bullets chugging through the water near her shoulders and head. She pressed in the direction she figured led to the open ocean, but a second spray of bullets made them again take cover under the other platform. The shooter had leaped from the boat and run to the end of the dock, firing at close range into the water, here, there, at every swirl or splash, determined to find his target in spite of the darkness.

  Reuben shoved Antonia behind him and backed them as far away from the shooter as he could. She rested her cheek against his shoulder, panting. The boathouse went so quiet their own harsh breathing sounded loud. She bit her lip between her teeth. A flash of movement from above revealed the boat captain bent over, peering underneath the planking of the dock right next to them. His feet made the boards creak and moan as he peered into the water, inch by meticulous inch.

  Leland came down the stairs, a look of fury on his face, hair damp with blood. He gestured wildly with the gun and began his own perusal of the farthest dock, shooting methodically into the wood every few inches. There was no emotion on his face except pure, unadulterated rage, and she knew this time he would kill them on sight.

  She held Reuben around the shoulders, knowing that he was frantically trying to formulate some means of escape. It was only a matter of minutes before they were discovered. They had to buy time, to live, until the coast guard arrived or Gavin managed to get some reinforcements there to help them. Hector crouched near enough that his shoulder touched hers. His lips were moving, but she could not hear any words. He looked small and scared, and hopeless.

  Leland shouted loud enough for her to hear his every syllable as he paced the dock.

  “I am going to kill you all. Do you hear me?” he roared. “All of you.”

  Something moved next to her and she almost screamed. Before she could make sense of what she was seeing, Hector dove low and swam out into the open water between the slips.

  “No!” Reuben lunged for him, but Hector was away before he could catch hold. Reuben’s profile was etched in anguish as his brother swam into the line of fire. She understood then. Hector was providing them a distraction, a precious moment to swim away undetected.

  She’d thought him a coward. She’d believed he was purely selfish, but in this final act of heroism, he’d proven her wrong.

  A shudder went through Reuben. It was as if she could sense his heart breaking inside his body. Tension, grief, outrage or maybe some other emotion balled the muscles in his back, and she felt a deep quiver run through him before he began to move. He would not let his brother’s sacrifice go to waste. He pulled her toward the opening, and after one breath they plunged as deep as they could before striking out for the ocean. Her sodden clothes pulled her back, tired muscles and exhaustion working against her as they kicked hard, scooping their way through the shadowed black water toward the brilliant blue sea.

  Had she heard more shots? Was there shouting? She could not be sure over the pounding of her pulse as her body screamed for oxygen. A few more strokes and she felt the warmth of the sunlight-kissed water against her fingertips. Another two kicks and she broke to the surface, sucking in desperate lungfuls of sweet air. She was several yards out of the boathouse, she realized, the shore glittering invitingly to her right, sun dazzling her eyes.

  Treading water she called to Reuben. “Come on.” When she received no reply she began to turn in slow circles, frantic energy pooling in her stomach. Finally, his head broke the surface, but his eyes were half closed and face pale as the Florida sand.

  She reached him in a few hard strokes, moving behind him and supporting his head and shoulders. “It’s all right,” she whispered. “We’ll make it.”

  She towed him toward shore, all the while eyeing the boathouse. The motor sound ignited a fresh terror inside her. The boat broke out of the shadows, two figures aboard. It didn’t take them long, only seconds really, before they spotted Antonia and Reuben. Antonia squeezed Reuben to her chest and kicked for all she was worth toward the shore.

  *

  They were not going to make it, not this way. Frustration and anger tainted every breath as Reuben tried to kick and help Antonia get them to shore. He knew the puffs of blood billowing in the water were from his stab wound, but he felt no pain, not in his body anyway. He wondered if Hector had. He remembered the swimming races they’d conducted as kids, the staying-underwater competitions that Hector won every time to Reuben’s chagrin. Hector was not content to lose, but he had this time. He’d lost so Reuben and Antonia could live.

  The thought gave him a ripple of energy, and he flipped over on his stomach. Antonia gave him a surprised look. “Okay?”

  “Okay. Go, go,” he gasped, putting a hand on her back and shoving her through the water.

  Without another word they swam as hard as they could for shore. He tried to let his good arm do most of the work, but every motion reminded him the right side of his body was not working properly. The muscles seemed deadened, as if they belonged to someone else.

  He heard the boat draw closer and closer, but the water underneath him was shallowing out, warming as they reached the shore. Bullets burst through the foaming waves.

  Stroke, kick, breathe. His body was fueled now on one ferocious determination. He would not let Leland take her life. They would not steal away the single precious gift in his possession like they had taken his brother and threatened to do with Gracie. Sprays of water splashed his face as Leland continued to fire. Stroke, kick, breathe. Antonia kept darting looks over her shoulder to make sure he was still following.

  “Just go,” he shouted. “Don’t wait for me.”

  She pressed on until he saw her scramble to her feet and reel onto the shore like a wave coming home to the sand.

  His heart leaped. She’d made it. She’d made it. His feet found purchase on the ground and he staggered in her direction, but his legs would no longer hold him. He felt himself falling, the shore reaching up to receive him. Then she was there, tugging on his arm.

  “Come on, Reuben. Come on,” she pleaded. She grabbed him under the arms and attempted to drag him along the sand, but the slope was steep and he outweighed her.

  He tried to get his knees underneath him with no success. The terrible numbness seemed to have crept from his wound through the rest of his torso, his legs, his arms, leaving them stiff and numb. She knelt next to him, staring into his face. “Please,” she whispered, water trailing down her long hair and onto his chest.

  �
��Nee, you’ve got to go. Get to the trees. Now.”

  “I’m not leaving you.”

  He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the exquisite brush of joy against his soul. Somewhere under all the pain, she still felt something for him. “I’ve lost my brother and Isla. Don’t let that be for nothing. Go, go now.”

  Her black eyes were huge, glimmering with helplessness and something else. He reached up to stroke her cheek. “There’s that pilgrim soul again.”

  She settled next to him, hand brushing the sand from his face. The boat engine was loud now. He struggled to sit up and saw that the vessel was a mere six feet from shore. Leland’s white teeth shone as he grinned and brought the gun up into firing position.

  Reuben summoned his last bit of strength and shoved her behind him. At least he could offer her some small protection with his own body. As he braced for the bullets, his senses were confused by the heavy chop of rotors that whirled the sand into a frenzy. It was a coast guard helicopter. Two boats sped into view seemingly out of nowhere, police sirens competing with the helicopter noise, armed officers shouting commands.

  For an endless moment, Leland appeared to be considering. Then his arms went up in a gesture of surrender along with his companion’s. One of the police boats pulled close to shore and disgorged a man who ran up the beach.

  Gavin dropped down next to him. His shoulder was bandaged, arm secured in a sling. He gave Reuben the once-over and spoke quietly into his radio, summoning medical help, Reuben imagined.

  “Well, Mr. Sandoval, it seems you have managed to survive. Silvio said things had gotten a bit tense around here. So much for a tropical island getaway.”

  Reuben fought to keep his eyes open. “Thought you were going to arrest Leland at the boathouse.”

  “Hector got away from me and went charging on in. My phone came back online so I called in the troops and went to meet them. No offense, but your brother is a real piece of work.”