“I saw Caleb’s boat,” Preston whispered.
It took a moment to register that he wasn’t whispering sweet nothings. Her fingers gripped his wrists to better block their conversation from the man watching with a gun. Was she really having a chat about her ex when their lives were on the line?
“What?”
“I’m going to attack Lee. You’re going to jump off the cliff and swim to Caleb’s boat.”
Her toes tingled back to life. He had a plan. She could do it, except she’d need Preston by her side. And not just in case her injured arm gave out. “You jump, too.”
“So one of us can get shot?”
“No,” she whispered fiercely, squeezing Preston’s wrists to let him know she wouldn’t leave him.
“Call the police from Caleb’s boat, if he hasn’t already.”
Her former fiancé wasn’t on her side. He was on his own side. But surely she could tell him what was really going on, and he’d see how the truth could benefit him. He’d get to be the one who rescued her for all the media to see. And though he would probably be more willing to do that for her than Preston, she still wasn’t going to leave Preston with a gunman as she went swimming to freedom. “I’m not going to go by myself.”
“You have to.” Preston glanced at her lips once more before shoving her toward the cliff and diving for Lee.
The force of his push sent her stumbling away from him against her will. She slowed her steps. Twisted. She’d run back to help him. Because two were better than one.
Preston rolled on the ground with Lee, reaching for the gun in the man’s outstretched hand. The barrel arced through the air toward Holly. Gunfire blasted. The ground exploded in front of her feet.
She instinctively ducked, though Preston had taught her to duck and run if she was being shot at, to make herself as small a target as possible.
“Run,” Preston confirmed as Lee rolled him over again. The gun slammed to the ground, still pointing her direction.
Preston said they were supposed to be a strand of three cords. That meant when she couldn’t help him, God could. But she felt so alone.
She tried to comfort herself with the verse as her feet carried her toward the cliff. But it wasn’t enough. Because she knew the pain of losing Preston.
A bullet zinged past her. She didn’t have a choice. If she didn’t leap off the rock wall into midair, he might be mourning her death.
She raced faster toward the spot she knew so well. Only this time there would be no giggling and hesitation in front of a waiting crowd of teenagers. She planted her foot on the last few inches of earth and bent her knee like a spring, coiled to release. She flexed through her thigh and sailed forward over the water far below.
* * *
Preston stiffened as he watched Holly disappear off the side of the cliff. But she’d be okay. She’d gotten away. That was what mattered. And now he could stop worrying about the direction the gun pointed.
Preston grunted and arched his back against the ground to flip Lee over. He rolled on top of the man and sat up.
Lee used the chance to pull his gun back in to point at Preston.
Trying to take the weapon away from a fully functioning enemy was not going to work. Preston balled his fist and smashed it into Lee’s cheek.
The man’s head dropped back. His arm fell to the side. The gun clattered away.
Finally. Preston scrambled after the weapon. His fingers curled around the solid handle. He pushed to his feet and spun to find Lee racing away. Though where could he go? He’d arrived by tour boat, and tour boats didn’t stick around very long.
Preston would head down to his Jet Ski and be long gone by the time the police arrived. But surely they’d catch Lee.
“Freeze. Police.”
Preston looked over his shoulder to find a row of cops with their guns all trained on him. Apparently Caleb hadn’t waited for Holly before calling the police. He must have spotted the Jet Ski. Might have even known where to look considering Holly had probably told him all about her childhood relationship.
Preston ran his free hand over his head. Was he ever going to catch a break?
“Drop your weapon.”
At least Holly was safe. Preston bent his knees slowly to place Lee’s gun on the ground. He stood up and raised his arms in the air for a fraction of a second before Shaw wrenched them behind his back and snapped handcuffs on his wrists.
“You have the right to remain silent.”
He’d been silent for too long. It was time he started talking. “That gun belongs to Lee Galloway. He killed Commander Long, and he was trying to kill Holly. He’s the one who set the bomb at her cabin.”
The cuffs tightened as Shaw turned him around for the hike down the rock. “We know about Lee Galloway. Though it looks like he was running away from you.”
Preston hung his head in exasperation. “Or he was running away from you.”
Shaw nodded toward Deputy Young. “Bring Galloway in for questioning. We want both sides to this story.”
If that was the best Preston could get, he’d take it.
Young holstered his gun to better traverse the hill.
Shaw pushed Preston forward. Preston glanced down to find the path, then looked back out to where Holly swam to Caleb’s boat. The small figure of a man reached down to help the tiny Holly climb on board. She’d made it safely despite her bullet wound. Maybe everything would work out after all.
“Hey,” Young shouted.
Preston returned his attention to the drama below. Lee shoved his way past the deputy, toward Preston’s Jet Ski. Had the man grabbed his keys in the scuffle? And now he was going to escape on Preston’s own watercraft?
Shaw released Preston and stepped next to him, aiming his gun down at the other man. “Stop. You’re under arrest.”
But Lee didn’t stop. He swung a leg over the seat and turned the ignition.
If he got away, Holly’s life could still be in danger. Would Lee ride out to Caleb’s cabin cruiser and kill her right there? It wouldn’t be good for his case, but neither was running from the cops. The man was desperate. And he might be out for revenge.
Every muscle in Preston’s body tensed. If he wasn’t handcuffed, he would run and jump off the cliff himself so he could swim out to save Holly.
Fire leaped from Preston’s Jet Ski. Lee disappeared in the explosion that echoed through the bay. The ground shook. Pieces and parts of the watercraft rained down into the lake. The stench of charcoal and burning plastic permeated the air.
Deputy Young leaped away from the flames, covering his face. Other officers shouted and ran to help. But Preston stood in shock, staring at what must have been the results of a bomb.
The bomb was on his Jet Ski, so it had been planted for him. But if Lee planted it, why would he set it off? Could he have simply forgotten he’d put it there? No. Because if Lee had planted it in the first place, he wouldn’t need to go after them with a gun. He could have simply let them die in the blast.
Preston couldn’t breathe. And not just because of the smoke in the air. But because there had to be another killer who’d set the bomb.
Hadn’t Commander Long told him there was something else? Could Lee have had a motive to kill Long after all? To hide what he knew? But Lee hadn’t been involved in the sabotage on Operation Desert Hope.
Preston turned his head toward the cabin cruiser. Caleb.
Caleb had been the JAG lawyer who’d proven the helicopter explosion to be an accident even though he’d said he suspected sabotage. What if he’d known about Long’s involvement and blackmailed the Commander? Or maybe Long had hired him to help cover it up. And what if Beatty hadn’t really killed himself after all? Could Caleb have hanged him?
That meant he’d known Preston was innocent from the beginning. He’d used Holly as bait to track him down to silence him for good.
That was where Lee came in. He wasn’t after Holly because Caleb refused to represent him. No, Caleb
must have agreed to represent him if he killed Preston and Holly. If Lee had let Caleb know he’d tracked them to the island, then Caleb could have followed and set the bomb to kill Lee after Lee killed Preston and Holly, covering all his tracks.
And the whole time they’d been trying to warn Caleb away from the hit man he’d hired.
“No,” Preston shouted, lunging toward the unveiled enemy who now had Holly in his clutches.
Shaw spun back to contain him.
Preston shouldered him away to push past. “Holly! Get off the boat.”
Shaw’s baton smashed into the back of his knee.
Preston ignored the throbbing pain pulsing down his calf and stumbled forward. “Holly, get away. You have to swim.”
A large body smashed into Preston from behind. He crashed down onto the rock without his hands to stop the fall. His chest hit first. He strained his neck to keep his face from connecting with stone. But Shaw jumped onto his back and pressed his head toward the ground.
Preston twisted to stare out at the water below—at what could have been a peaceful scene of a boat floating on the water had he not just sent Holly into the center of a whirlpool. There was no way to rescue her now.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Holly let go of her throbbing shoulder to cover her mouth. Had she really just seen the Jet Ski explode with Lee on it? At least it hadn’t been Preston. Because it very well could have been. Ironically, she was thankful Caleb had called the police soon enough to detain Preston and keep him from falling into Lee’s trap.
Wait. Lee couldn’t have set that bomb. If he had, he never would have gotten on the Jet Ski.
Denise sobbed silently next to her on board the deck.
Holly stepped away and studied her warily. Could the woman have set the explosion for Holly? And now she felt bad for killing someone else? But if her goal had been to kill Holly, why had she let Caleb help her on board?
Caleb blew out a big breath and stepped between the women. “I never would have expected Preston to go this far,” he said.
Holly rubbed her trembling arms to heat up. At least she wasn’t alone. But what was going on? Lee had just been blown up… Preston had been arrested…
It took a moment for Caleb’s words to register. He hadn’t expected Preston to go this far? “What do you mean?” She studied his cavalier expression.
Caleb motioned to the beach. “Preston blew up Lee.”
Holly’s jaw dropped. How could he make that statement with such certainty? His convincing tone almost had her doubting Preston, though she’d been with him the whole time they’d been at the island.
“That makes no sense.”
Caleb crossed his arms and turned to face her, the cold glint in his eyes causing her to shiver even more. “Make no mistake, that’s what Shaw is going to believe. You should have seen him salivate when I told him there was an old SOAR pilot playing dead in his jurisdiction.”
Dread clutched her like a giant claw. Why was Caleb doing this? “You went to the police to tell them Lee Galloway was after me because I’d convinced you to drop his case, right?”
“Of course.” Caleb chuckled. “Though Lee Galloway was actually after you because I agreed to take his case only if he took care of you like he did his wife. It’s a pity he didn’t finish the job before I had to get rid of him. I was sure he had you here.”
Holly’s heart jumped in her chest, knocking her backward. She stumbled into the cabin wall behind her. How had she ever thought she could marry this monster? “You wanted him to kill me because I broke off our engagement?”
Caleb smirked over at Denise as if she were part of an inside joke. “Hardly. You already know you were a pawn to bring Preston out of hiding. He didn’t reveal himself the way I thought he would, but who else would have sent you those photos? You suspected Denise. I knew better.”
Holly’s gaze slid to the other woman. Was this the plan she’d spoken about so casually at Thunderbird Lodge? Denise wouldn’t even make eye contact.
“I hired Galloway to raise the stakes, and it worked like a charm.”
Caleb had wanted to prosecute Preston so badly he’d been willing to kill her in the process? Something didn’t click. She inched sideways toward the water. “So why did Lee keep trying to kill me after Preston revealed himself at Thunderbird Lodge? Why didn’t you just notify the police to arrest Preston?”
Caleb waved his hand as if her life were a small matter. “I didn’t want to prosecute Preston. I wanted him dead. See, Commander Long paid me a small fortune to cover his mistake up during Operation Desert Hope, and I couldn’t let anyone find out.”
Thoughts raced. Images. Memories, really. That made all the pieces fall into place. And froze her blood. Caleb was pure evil. But how did he think he could win this? Did he still plan to kill her?
She pointed toward the island where Officer Shaw was wrestling Preston on board the police boat. “Preston is in police custody, and he’s going to tell them everything.”
Caleb stroked his chin. “Yeah, that wasn’t part of my plan. Someone else must have seen Lee on the island with a gun and alerted police. But look at the way Preston’s fighting authorities. I’m pretty sure that no matter what he says, I’m still going to be able to make a pretty good case against him.”
She didn’t want to believe it, but Preston was acting like a lunatic, knocking men over as the police hauled him onto the boat. What had gotten into him? He needed Shaw on his side.
Unless Preston had figured out Caleb had been the one to set the bomb for Lee. He was trying to warn her. But what could she do? They’d been a team. She wouldn’t be able to overpower Caleb and Denise on her own.
Caleb pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed. “Officer Shaw, it looks like you’ve got your hands full. Go ahead and take care of Tyler. I will meet you at the dock with Holly.”
“No.” Caleb was the one who’d been trying to kill her from the very beginning. She reached for the phone. “Officer Shaw—”
“You’re welcome, sir.” Caleb pressed the end button.
Holly yanked her hand away, but she couldn’t keep it from shaking. The trembling radiated from her very core like she could feel the vibrations of the police boat as it started its engine and jetted away. “You’re not going to take me to the dock like you said, are you?”
Caleb winked. “You’re going to go for a swim, sweetheart.”
A swim? Her breath caught. Normally that wouldn’t be so bad. But if Caleb dumped her in the middle of the lake, there was no way she could get to shore with her injury. She’d drown. Or worse, get run over by a boat.
If she was going to go for a swim and survive, she’d have to do it here. Holly charged toward the water.
Caleb caught her and shoved her back against the cabin and out of the line of sight from police. She opened her mouth to yell. Something hard and small poked into her belly.
A gun? Caleb had his own gun?
Her chest heaved as she fought to hold in her scream. She stared up into Caleb’s solemn eyes. She’d have a better chance of survival if he left her to drown. Though if he shot her, it would be harder for him to pin all his crimes on Preston.
“Don’t make me shoot you in self-defense.” He always had an excuse.
What did she do? Help, Lord.
A bright red shape rose behind Caleb’s head. It clanked down against his skull, knocking him overboard. He thrashed in the water and tried to swim toward the boat.
Holly sucked in a gulp of fresh oxygen and stared at Denise holding a fire extinguisher.
“I’m the one who called the police,” Denise said through tears. “He said he was going to help you out, and I didn’t realize he was setting a bomb on your boyfriend’s Jet Ski. I may not be a good person, but I would never kill anybody.”
Holly reached for the other woman and gave her a shaky hug. She’d once thought this woman was behind the bomb and hit man. “You…you saved my life.”
Denise squeezed
back, then wiped her nose to compose herself. She stepped out of Holly’s embrace and strode to the helm. “We better get away from Caleb if we want to stay alive.”
Holly nodded, still a little speechless. She hung on to the railing as Denise gunned the motor. Caleb remained treading water behind them. He punched the air and yelled something, but Holly was relieved not to be able to hear over the engine.
A second police boat pulled into the bay. She’d let the law enforcement retrieve Caleb from the water. He’d still lie to them, but he wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone else.
“Want me to take you to South Tahoe Police Department?” Denise asked.
Holly nodded and closed her eyes. Preston’s fear of going to jail might soon come true. If nothing else, he’d be in big trouble for resisting arrest. It was too bad nobody else could corroborate their story of Commander Long’s cover-up.
But what if there was someone? Someone who would want Caleb to go to jail for murder as badly as she did? Someone like Commander Long’s wife?
“Denise.” She pressed forward through the wind to join the other woman. “Take me to the Tahoe Keys. There’s someone I think we should take to STPD with us.”
Denise nodded numbly. Finding out her boyfriend was a killer had to be a lot to take in by itself. Holly let her process it. While she processed Preston’s defense.
She’d wanted a chance to get back on the internet to do more research. Maybe now was the time. On Caleb’s boat of all places. “You get me across the lake as quickly as possible. I’m going to use Caleb’s computer in the cabin.”
Holly rushed down the stairs and snapped open Caleb’s laptop as the boat jerked forward. She righted herself enough to run an internet search: Operation Desert Hope.
She scrolled through articles, scanning for whatever it was that had jumped out at her the day before in the business office of Cedar Glen lodge. But she’d read these articles many times after Preston’s supposed death, and she hadn’t caught anything then. What made her think she could catch something now?
Presumed Dead (Love Inspired Suspense) Page 13
