Presumed Dead (Love Inspired Suspense)

by Angela Ruth Strong

  Preston pulled a blue T-shirt off a hanger. It read Keep Calm and Jet Ski On. If they were going to put on all new apparel, the shirt would certainly be appropriate. She grabbed a smaller size in red, along with a pair of cheap denim shorts and flip-flops.

  Preston took the tags and nodded for her to change as he paid.

  Holly pulled the bathroom door closed behind her and scrambled into the stiff new clothing. She wouldn’t think about what would happen once she stepped back out of the bathroom. Instead, she’d keep moving. Keep doing the next right thing. She’d slide her toes into the new shoes. Then she’d stuff the outfit she’d bought the day before into the overflowing trash can. Then she’d…

  She’d stare at her reflection in the mirror. “Am I doing the right thing, Lord?”

  No answer. Maybe she should pray with Preston. They used to pray together over Skype whenever he’d call her from the military. And what was that verse he used to recite? It was from Matthew 18:20. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

  Yes. They needed to pray together. They needed God’s help.

  She rolled her shoulders back to fake confidence before opening the bathroom door. A guy in glasses and a hat holding two ice cream cones waited for her. She blinked as a memory mixed with reality. They’d been here before. In a simpler time.

  He handed her the cone. “You ready?”

  She licked the sweet vanilla drip running toward her trembling fingers. In a few more licks, her tongue would go numb from the cold and not be able to taste the dessert anymore. Which could be considered symbolic of how her whole body already felt.

  “I can pretend.”

  Preston tilted his head toward the door. “You’ve got me fooled.”

  She gave a small smile and led him, the cooler and a couple new beach towels out into the sunshine. The heat sped up the melting process on her ice cream. She continued to lick as they headed in the direction of the crosswalk. Hopefully, the treat would last long enough to hide her face until they reached the beach.

  Holly pressed the button for the walk signal at the corner since Preston’s arms were full. Then she ducked to take another lick of her ice cream as a different cop car pulled into the gas station parking lot. The police were everywhere. Would the officers question the store clerk this time?

  Two officers climbed out of the vehicle. One began talking to customers while the second placed his hands on his hips and looked their way. Was he looking at them or past them?

  Preston looped the cooler onto one elbow so he could pass his ice cream cone to the same hand and wrap the other arm around her shoulders. “Relax, Holly. Smile and flirt with me.”

  Flirt? Like make up a nickname for him the way he had for her and tell him how his touch made goose bumps cover her skin even on a warm day? Or maybe that was the ice cream. Or the threat of going to jail.

  “You wish.”

  His teeth flashed in a grin. His chest bounced against her shoulder in a chuckle.

  “Excuse me.” An officer stepped in their direction.

  Her heart rate took off like a sprinter at the sound of a starter pistol. What were they going to do now?

  “I’m looking for—”

  “Hey.” The other cop stepped out from behind the gas station. “Young, I found something.”

  The bikes. Holly held her breath.

  Young lifted a hand to excuse himself. The walk signal flashed to a white stick figure.

  “Come on.” Preston stepped into the street. “We don’t want them to realize who we are until they can kick themselves for letting us get away.”

  Holly trotted after him, cringing in expectation of Deputy Young turning around and chasing them down. Her legs seemed to move in slow motion. Halfway there.

  “Your ice cream’s dripping, Holly.”

  Drops of cream splattered at her feet. Her fingers were covered, as well. That wasn’t suspicious at all.

  She stuck out her tongue to clean up the mess. First the sticky cone, then the sweet scoop. Ouch. Her temples cramped in a brain freeze.

  They stepped onto the curb. Her chest heaved in relief. They’d made it. She tossed the cone into the nearest trash can and offered up a prayer of thanksgiving.

  * * *

  Preston stashed the small cooler underneath the Jet Ski seat. How had he ended up in this situation? Now that he was finally willing to turn himself in, he was running from more people than ever.

  He looked at Holly in her silly outfit. She’d asked him to run with her. She’d asked him to give her a chance to prove them both innocent. He didn’t know what she hoped to find, but he’d do anything for her. Obviously.

  He scanned their surroundings one last time before climbing onto the watercraft. No uniforms on the beach yet, but police would be there soon. He’d get them out to Fannette Island before they could be followed. Then they’d have a little time to eat and rest and regroup. And pray. Because he had no idea where to go from here.

  Holly scooted close and clutched his sides. “I’m not sure I can keep calm, but I’m definitely ready to Jet Ski on.”

  Preston turned the key. Maybe one day they’d be able to have some calm in their lives again. For the moment, he’d be thankful for a means to escape the craziness. They zipped past the resort where they’d rented the bikes and headed out into deeper water, beyond paddleboarders and a tour boat leaving the dock.

  Robert Long had been ready to confess, so he might have considered Tahoe to be his last vacation before getting locked behind bars. But had he known it would lead to his death, he never would have come. Was Preston getting himself into the same situation?

  He wasn’t as worried about getting killed anymore now that the police knew about Lee, but if Holly didn’t find evidence that Commander Long had actually hired a mechanic to sabotage the op, they would likely go to jail. This could be one of his last days riding in the wind, bouncing on the waves and burning in the sunshine. It could also be one of Holly’s last days of freedom.

  Preston gritted his teeth. She deserved so much more. And he’d tried so hard not to drag her into his mess.

  He rounded the bend into Emerald Bay and looked back to check for police boats. All clear. Though it was definitely a lot different from the last time he’d come to Fannette Island with Holly, in search of a geocache. They’d taken a picture of themselves with the disposable camera stored in the metal lunch box behind the crumbling ruins of an old teahouse and signed their names to the notebook. The lunch box could still be there for all he knew—one of the few things that hadn’t changed since his tour overseas.

  Preston eased off the throttle, wishing he could slow down the guilt trip, as well. “I’m so sorry, Holly.”

  Her heartbeat pulsed against his back the way it used to. The way it was supposed to. The way it might never get the chance to again.

  Holly pulled away as he cut the engine and glided to a stop. “What are you sorry for?”

  Preston ran both hands over his head. A better question would be, what wasn’t he sorry for? He looked into her eyes as she splashed down into the shallow water. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to come here with you for the past four years. I’m sorry we’re only here now because we’re hiding from police. I’m sorry you might not get to come back here for a long, long time.”

  “Preston.” She surveyed their surroundings as if she was just as scared of being followed as he was. Then she focused on him. “You’re not the bad guy here, so stop acting like it.”

  Was he acting like the bad guy? He certainly felt responsible for the death of his special-ops team. He’d hid out to avoid being thrown in jail. And he even kept his distance from Holly so she wouldn’t get hurt. Not just Holly, though. He’d isolated himself from everyone because he was afraid his presence would bring pain to anyone involved with him.

  Afraid. Holly’s words from the night before roared back into his consciousness. He was afraid to love. He acted out of fear ins
tead of love. Which was pretty much what separated the good guys from the bad guys, wasn’t it?

  The hard shell around his heart cracked enough for the softness inside to throb through. He didn’t want it to throb. He didn’t want to feel the ache that came with exposing emotion.

  He swung a leg over the seat to join Holly in the water. Was this a discussion he wanted to have with her? Because it would be so much easier to give his full attention to retrieving the cooler and finding an out-of-sight place to eat than it would be to admit she’d been right about him.

  But he couldn’t patch the protective covering over his heart quick enough. The throb intensified as he led her into the trees and up the side of the island. He wanted to love her, but the shadow clouding their future kept him from making that move. “How do you do it? How do you believe God is going to work everything out for good?”

  She stopped at the top and looked out over the cliff they used to jump from as children. “I’m afraid to not trust God.”

  So she had fear, too. But hers was on the other extreme. And it sounded a little like naïveté to him. “How does that work?”

  “Oh, sometimes it doesn’t. It’s like jumping off this rock without checking to make sure the water is deep enough first.”

  They both knew it was deep enough. Though Dad had still checked every year.

  She sat down on a boulder. “After you didn’t come home from the Middle East, I felt like God had let me down. But rather than be honest about it, I decided to be a good little Christian who never questioned Him. And that’s why I didn’t question Him about Caleb. I was just going to assume God’s ways were better than my own and take whatever life brought me.”

  Preston lowered next to her. Her confession pricked his soul. And not only with knowledge that Holly had never loved Caleb. She’d broken through the bondage of complacency. She wanted more. And he wanted more for her. In fact, for the first time in a long time, he could also admit he wanted more for himself.

  “But then you came back into my life, Preston,” she continued. “God never let me down in the first place. And if I’d talked to Him about it and listened to His response, He probably would have kept me out of this mess we’re in. So really, it’s as much my fault as it is yours. And saying sorry isn’t going to help anything. Whether we are here because of my blind faith or your refusal to have faith, we were both wrong. We’ve got to ask God for help. And we have to listen for direction. Because He knew we were going to end up here all along.”

  His breath caught. He stared into her clear eyes and teetered on the edge of hope. Could God possibly have brought them together for a reason? Were they created like puzzle pieces so when they worked together they could see the bigger picture of His love for them? Was this what Preston had been missing when he’d been living his life like a puzzle piece that fell off the table?

  As much as he wanted to recommit to a relationship right there, they still needed to have a few more prayers answered to make it work. Their puzzle pieces didn’t fit together yet.

  “I really want to believe you, Holly.”

  She reached for his hand. “But?”

  He held on despite the fact he’d soon have to let her go. “But we still aren’t safe.”

  She studied him until he had to either look away or open up. He looked away. And when he looked back, her eyes were closed.

  “Father God, Help us to trust You and Your plan for our lives. Show us where to go next. Thank You for providing this food and this moment of rest. May Your will be done. In Jesus’s name, Amen.”

  Preston squeezed her hand before letting her go so she could eat. It was a sweet prayer, but did God care? What if it wasn’t God’s will to avenge his enemies?

  God had allowed Lee to kill Commander Long. He’d allowed Caleb to report Preston as the possible murder suspect, not to mention the way the CID would soon be coming down on him for the sabotage of Operation Desert Hope. Preston would clarify Holly’s prayer to be on the safe side. “And avenge me of mine adversary.”

  “Amen,” Holly said again as she unwrapped her sandwich. They ate in silence, obviously both hungrier than they realized. She focused back on him after swallowing her last bite. “You don’t think avenging you of your adversary is God’s will?”

  How did she read his mind like that? He swallowed. “It hasn’t felt like it.”

  She twisted the top off her water and took a sip. “You went the opposite direction I did. While I decided to accept whatever came my way as God’s will, you simply refused to believe God had anything good for you.”

  She saw it, too. He nodded at her conclusion.

  “That’s why we need others in our lives—to help us focus on God’s truths. Like the scripture verse I was telling you about how two are better than one. When one falls, the other can lift him up.”

  He twisted his own bottle top open and guzzled the cool liquid to soothe his parched throat. Her words could be just as refreshing if he chose to swallow them. But how could he not? He’d seen with his own eyes how the two of them needed each other to balance out their individual flaws. They made each other stronger. Exactly the way the Bible promised. “‘A threefold cord is not quickly broken.’” He quoted the verse he’d preferred to ignore.

  She contemplated scripture while polishing off her bag of chips. “Are we a threefold cord?”

  He wanted to be. But was God really on their side? “If God answers prayer.”

  Her face softened. “God brought you back to life, Preston. He can do anything.”

  Preston could almost believe her when he gazed into her eyes. Then his gaze shifted to the lanky man climbing up the hill behind her with a gun in his hand, and all hope was lost.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Holly followed Preston’s line of sight, and she leaped to her feet. How had Lee found them again? She’d worry about that later. At the moment, they just had to get away. She reached for Preston as her feet automatically took off for the rock. They could jump…

  “Stop.”

  Gunfire exploded. A bullet pinged off a stone only a few feet in front of her. Her heart froze along with her body.

  Preston’s arms wrapped around her waist and smoothly pulled her behind him. “Let her go, Lee. Caleb already went to police, so shooting her is only going to make this worse for you.”

  She clenched the back of Preston’s T-shirt in her hands. Why was he suggesting Lee only let her go? She wouldn’t leave him. “No—”

  Preston held up a hand to silence her. She’d argue with him later. If she got a chance.

  Lee frowned. “Caleb went to the police?”

  She peered over Preston’s shoulder. “What did you expect when Caleb took off from Thunderbird Lodge while you were chasing me with a gun?”

  Lee frowned, then shook his head. “Police aren’t looking for me. They’re looking for you.” He motioned toward them with the gun. “I saw you riding your bikes away from the cops. When you disappeared, I figured I’d check with the bike rental shop, which is where I saw you hop on your Jet Ski. Then, when I bought a ticket for a tour boat to follow you here, I overheard the police radioing the captain to ask about a couple matching your description.”

  Her heart sank. This would be the kind of situation that would make Preston have trouble trusting God. But she wouldn’t give up. “If you kill us, they’ll come after you just as hard as they’re coming after us.”

  The gunman circled around Preston to get a better aim at her. “Come on, lawyer lady. I’ve already proved I’m smarter than the police. They’ll think I’m a hero for catching you. Not only did the commander’s wife see your boyfriend here at Eagle Falls, but I don’t have a motive to kill some guy I’ve never met.” Lee nodded toward Preston. “While I heard he does.”

  What had Lee heard? Did he already know Preston’s identity? Was it on the local news? Possibly the national news? Holly didn’t expect the government to be able to keep the press out of the story for long, but this was faster tha
n expected. Or had the police told the captain of the tour boat what was going on, and Lee overheard that, as well?

  No matter how he’d found out, he had no right to accuse Preston of a murder she’d just watched Lee commit. “How many people are you going to kill for your wife’s inheritance, Lee? You’re just making this worse on yourself.”

  Lee’s eyes narrowed. “You’re making it worse.” He straightened his arm holding the gun and used his other hand to steady it for better aim.

  Her pulse pounded in her ears as she watched in slow motion. Then the back of Preston’s head blocked the gun from view once again.

  “Wait,” he said.

  No gunshot.

  But her heart still leaped into her throat. Preston had been willing to play dead to keep her safe, and now he was willing to actually give his life.

  She ducked under his arm to stand by his side. They were a team. She wouldn’t let him face a cold-blooded killer alone.

  Lee rolled his eyes. “Did you want to kiss the girl goodbye before I shoot her?”

  A goodbye kiss? That couldn’t be God’s will for bringing Preston back into her life. No matter how hopeless Preston felt, he would never give up so easily, would he?

  “Uh…yeah.”

  Her soul screamed. Her spastic breathing made it hard to talk as Preston turned her toward him. “Preston, you can’t give up.”

  His hands slid to her face. His gaze bored into hers. How could his eyes seem so calm? So steady? “Holly,” he whispered.

  She could feel her pulse in the bottom of her feet the same way she had when he’d first kissed her all those years ago. But this was so much more. Like a first and last kiss rolled into one. Memories of their moments together faded in and out. Was this what it felt like to know you were going to die? She didn’t want to die, but even more she didn’t want to watch him die. “Don’t give up.”

  “It’s okay.” He leaned forward. His lips were almost to hers.

  Would Lee let him finish kissing her before he fired, or would one of them be killed as Preston held her? It was like that feeling at the top of the free fall ride at the amusement park when she knew she was going to plummet to the earth any second.