by Diane Rapp
Steven looked exhausted, dressed in wrinkled clothes smeared with dried mud. Seeing Kayla awake, a grin wiped fatigue from his face. He squeezed her hand lightly, avoiding the tube taped to her arm.
She moved and a needle-sharp pain jarred her body.
“Stay still, darling. You’ve got a flesh wound.”
“A flesh wound? I feel like an elephant ran over me. How long have I been here?” she asked.
“Since yesterday. The bullet passed through your shoulder but the bleeding wasn’t too bad. You had a lung infection from swallowing gallons of river water.”
Kayla coughed. “Cross river rafting off my bucket list. I’ll never look at rapids the same way again.”
“Done!” Steven stroked her fingertips. “Promise that you’ll never get shot again. I couldn’t stand it!”
“Okay, I promise. What happened to Bryanne and Gary?”
He rolled his eyes. “Jillian swooped in, like a mother hawk protecting her brood, and issued threats until the police yielded. Island police prefer to deport foreigners rather than waste money on trials. They ushered the fugitives to the airport this morning.”
“Good. If I saw Bryanne, I’d be tempted to shoot her myself!” Kayla eyed the bandage. “Just a flesh wound—TV detectives say that line like it’s not supposed to hurt! Believe me, it hurts like crazy!”
“I’m in strict sympathy, luv.” Steven pulled a letter from his pocket. “Bryanne left you a note of apology.”
“I’d like to punch her face, but she told us the truth. I remember seeing Patrick use his toothpick in the van after we left the restaurant.”
He nodded. “Genny found the second knife wedged in a crevice under the place Patrick hung his pants.”
“Was the ceramic blade broken?” Kayla asked.
Steven pulled out the knife and opened the blade. “It’s broken and the toothpick’s still inside. Patrick’s were the only prints and there’s no hint of toxin.”
“It fell out of the pocket when he hung his pants over the rock. Later he used the knife in his jacket pocket by accident.”
Steven closed the blade with a nod.
“Do you consider the case closed?”
“Except for the paperwork,” Steven said. “I’ll file a complete report and my superiors will be happy.”
Kayla read Bryanne’s note. “She’s sorry about shooting me—so am I—and Jillian wants us to visit them in England.”
“Not bloody likely,” Steven said.
“Genny didn’t get hurt?” Kayla asked.
“No. Her dad’s sending her straight off to school, said that she’s safer in England than guiding tours for you!”
“I don’t blame him. First I got Genny involved with a murder investigation, and then I nearly got her shot trying to solve it. I hope she adjusts to big city life.”
“Genny can take care of herself. She practically broke Bryanne’s arm when she wrestled her to the ground, and then she kept watch until the police arrived.”
He brushed hair from Kayla’s forehead and asked, “You weren’t delirious when you agreed to marry me?”
“No. I was in my right mind.”
“Good. I won’t need to learn baseball.”
She inhaled the scent of fresh soap on his hand. “You’ll still need to wear a baseball cap. I kept dry all day.”
Steven rolled his eyes. “Rubbish! You hardly looked dry when we dragged you from the river.”
“Swimming doesn’t count! Since I’ve lost my two favorite baseball caps, it’s time to go home and replenish my supply. Do you have any vacation coming?”
“They’ll give me a holiday or I’ll quit,” he said, stroking her cheek.
She leaned into the caress. “We’ll go to a Rockies game and buy a proper baseball cap for you.”
“Anything you say, darling.” He nibbled her ear. “I’m under your command.”
“You bet your life,” Kayla said and kissed him soundly.
“Brilliant,” Steven said. “I think I’m going to enjoy being ordered about by a sexy author.”
“Sexy? I’m limp and bedraggled with tubes sticking out of my arm.”
“Don’t argue with your marketing director,” he said and leaned in to kiss her again.
She tasted mint tea on his lips and felt loved for the first time in years.
FREE Offer From Diane Rapp
Thank you so much for choosing to read this novel. If you enjoyed the story, please write a brief review to encourage other readers to purchase the novel. Just a few short sentences can make a real impact on potential buyers and help the book qualify for extra promotion by Amazon.
Reviews also provide encouragement to an author struggling to dream up new adventures. Since writers work alone, we often wonder if anyone out there is paying attention. Therefore, if you post a review and e-mail me with the permalink to the review, I will send you a FREE short story to enjoy. My e-mail link is available through:
Quick Silver Novels Website:
http://www.quicksilvernovels.com
Feel free to connect with me on my Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/quicksilvernovels
Follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/DianeRapp
About the Author
Diane Rapp became an entrepreneur when she started her own dog grooming salon in Santa Barbara, California. She spent the next thirty years as a small business owner; she sold real estate, started an office supply/copy center, and performed free-lance advertising design. During all those years Diane wrote stories as a cure for insomnia. After Diane and her daughter finished writing a tour guide to the Caribbean, her daughter suggested the idea of writing a mystery set on cruise ships in the Caribbean.
"Murder Caribbean-Style" and "Murder on a Ghost Ship" are the first two novels of a High Seas Mystery series. Readers meet the main characters of the series and learn about life aboard a ship while solving murders. There is danger and romance mixed in with the action. "Murder for Glacier Blue" was released in August of 2013. It takes the reader on a cruise to Alaska with an art heist, murder, and a wedding planned for Glacier Bay. Now a new novel “Golden Legacy” follows the characters to the gold mining town of Ouray, Colorado. Kayla must follow the clues laid out in an ancestor’s journal from 1888 to find a gold mine and pass an inheritance test. There is action and adventure as well as a historical romance involved in the plot line.
Other books by Diane:
"The Alphas" is the prequel to the Heirs to the Throne Trilogy. It introduces the dogs and wolves that eventually formed the pack that travel through space to inhabit Drako. The story is also a mystery, in which the heroine solves the murder of an old friend and discovers why her beloved German Shepherd was stolen.
"Howl of the Wolf" is the first book in Diane's science-fantasy trilogy, Heirs to the Throne. It introduces the planet Drako, telepathic wolves, and the crew of the space ship that took sanctuary on a planet that banned technology. In the second book, "The Havenshire Resistance", Queen Krystal's teenage daughters learn to use inherited powers. They join an army of Samurai women, telepathic wolves, and commoners to save the kingdom from an evil usurper. The third book of the trilogy is "Dragon Defense". The planet is under threat by an Institute battleship. King Donovan must train teenagers to operate forbidden defense technology while his daughters make friends with a flock of wild dragons.
Diane's fractured fairy tale is "Dragon Knight and the Heart's Blood Curse". It is a modern fantasy that adults will enjoy reading to their kids, or just have fun reading for themselves. When a witch turns a magnificent dragon into a knight, he must complete a quest to regain his dragon form. A demon is stealing dead musicians from the mundane world and forcing them to sing songs that change people into evil beings. Now he plans to steal a living musician, Jimmy Buffett. If he succeeds, he can destroy the barriers between the worlds and the underworld will rule everyone. Dragon is the only creature who can destroy the demon.
E-mail Diane or find Links
to all her books at the Quick Silver Novels website: http://www.quicksilvernovels.com
