Tides of Deception (Lantern Beach Romantic Suspense Book 1)

by Christy Barritt

  After he and Skye stepped inside, Austin turned toward her. “Do you want to talk?”

  She sniffed and looked away, her arms still drawn and her disposition signaling defeat. “They said that Briar isn’t my son and that wherever my son is, he’s better off without me. That I’m basically a walking disaster with no future.”

  A small sob escaped. They’d gotten into her head. They’d spoken lies as if it was the truth until Skye’s confidence had become battered and bruised. Words could be such a powerful weapon.

  “Oh, Skye.” Austin pulled her into his arms. “You know that’s not true, right?”

  “No, actually, I don’t. What if they’re right? What if I am worthless?”

  He stroked her back. “Skye, that’s not true. You’ve got to know that.”

  She shook her head, stiff in his arms. “But I don’t. I’ve got a track record to prove what they said is accurate. I can deny it all I want, but maybe they really were doing me a favor.”

  Austin pulled back so he could look her in the eye. “Skye, listen to me. People like the Winthrops determine a person’s importance by their wealth. We know that’s not true. There are far more important things in life than the numbers in a person’s checking account.”

  “I dropped out of high school. I took drugs. I got pregnant and gave up my baby. It sounds like I’ve gotten all the important things wrong.”

  “Skye . . .” Austin had to get through to her. “I know you give away your produce to families in this area who need help. I know you put out water and food for some of the stray dogs at the campground. When I got the flu last winter, you sat with me for three days to make sure I was okay. Those are the things that show who you really are. We’ve all made mistakes in our past.”

  “Even you?”

  “Even me. I’ve held onto bitterness and resentment. I’ve blamed my problems on other people. I’ve struggled with forgiveness. I’ve done stupid stuff, Skye. And I’m so glad I can be a new person through Christ. That I can put those old parts of me behind me. Sure, they’re still a part of me, but they don’t define me. Your past doesn’t have to define you either.”

  Skye finally made eye contact with him, maybe a sliver of hope there in her eyes. But before she could say anything, a crack sounded outside.

  Austin jerked his head toward the window just in time to see a figure standing there.

  As soon as their eyes met, the man—clothed from head to toe in black—took off in a run.

  “Skye, stay here,” Austin said. “Lock the doors.”

  She nodded, almost as if she was unable to argue.

  Then Austin went out the door, ready to get some answers once and for all.

  Please, Lord, watch over him. Protect him. End this insanity.

  Skye paced the floor, unable to stop thinking about what might be going on out there.

  Disasters.

  They did follow her everywhere.

  She wanted to believe Austin’s words, but she wasn’t ready to yet. No, the bad in her life had definitely outweighed the good.

  As much as she wanted to be with Austin, she would only ruin his life also. She was better off alone. She’d thought Lantern Beach was the place for her, but maybe she should move on. Go somewhere new. Put up more walls and not get close to anyone.

  Then again, maybe what Austin said was right. She was a new person in Christ. For the first time in her life, she’d had hope these past few months. But lately, it seemed as if she’d forgotten all of that. Her emotions had consumed her life.

  She had to do better. Not only for herself. But for Briar.

  She couldn’t let herself spiral into self-loathing. Self-doubt. Insecurity.

  No, Briar needed her to be strong. Austin needed her to be strong.

  And, by God’s grace, Skye could do it. She could pull herself together and be the person she needed to be in this situation.

  That was what always got her in trouble—her tendency to fall back on emotion, on the easy way, on a whim. Instead, Skye was going to rely on the truth. On doing things the hard—but right—way.

  As she heard a creak behind her, she started to turn.

  Before she could, a gloved hand covered her mouth.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Austin kept the man in his sights as he pushed through the maritime forest around him. The area was thick with shrubby, short plants and trees. Between the trees, vats of swamp water collected in the lowest lying areas. Mosquitoes swarmed around him, even though it was October.

  But that man in black seemed to know exactly what he was doing and where he was going.

  What had the man been doing? Spying on them? Had he been about to carry out some devious plan?

  Austin continued to push forward, careful not to trip on the thick underbrush and roots.

  The man he chased dodged around another tree. Where was he going? There was nothing on the other side of this brush . . . nothing but—water?

  Was he headed toward the sound?

  Austin didn’t like this. With every new revelation and action against Skye, the feeling in his gut cinched tighter and tighter. Someone wasn’t going to stop until they got what they wanted.

  Finally, the trees cleared ahead.

  Austin pushed himself with one last burst of energy.

  But just as he reached the water, he saw the man jump into a boat. The motor roared to life, and the man raced away.

  Austin stopped and caught his breath a moment as he watched the figure disappear from sight.

  Who was that man?

  He’d have to figure that out later. For now, he had to go check on Skye.

  “You need to stay out of things,” the voice behind her growled. “I tried to warn you.”

  Whose voice was that? Skye wasn’t sure. She wasn’t even sure if it sounded familiar or not.

  She only knew her entire body was tense with fear. What was this man going to do to her? How had he gotten inside? Would Austin get back here in time?

  The man propelled her toward the table and forced her into a chair. “Take that pen and paper. And listen carefully. I need you to write these words.”

  She wanted to argue. To ask questions. But his hand remained over her mouth, pressing so hard her teeth hurt.

  Skye did as he said, picking up paper and pen, knowing she had no choice. But she had no idea where he was going with this.

  “Write these words: ‘I’m a screwup. Nothing’s ever going to change. You’re all better off without me.’”

  Wait . . . was he . . .?

  She realized exactly what he was doing—and she couldn’t go along with his plan. No way.

  Something hard pressed into her head. “Do it or I’ll kill your little boyfriend.”

  Austin? He was going to kill Austin?

  “He’ll come back in here, and I’ll pull the trigger,” the man continued. “Write the note, and I won’t. Understand?”

  Tears rushed to Skye’s eyes. Again. Would they ever stop coming?

  “Write it! ‘I’m a screwup. Nothing’s ever going to change. You’re all better off without me.’”

  Skye’s hands trembled as she gripped the pen. Carefully, she wrote the words, and then braced herself for whatever would happen next.

  When Skye put the pen down, the man thrust something else into her hands. “Take these.”

  She stared at the bottle of pain relievers.

  He wanted her to overdose? And make it look a suicide?

  Skye’s heart rate surged. No! She couldn’t do this.

  Then she pictured the man shooting Austin. She couldn’t let that happen either. She . . . she loved him too much.

  “Take them!” the man growled.

  Skye’s hands shook so badly that she could hardly open the bottle. But she did. And six pills stared back.

  Maybe she could throw them across the room. Buy some time.

  But would that mean Austin would come back and the man would just shoot him?

  “Put them
in your mouth,” the man ordered. “If you scream, you know what will happen.”

  Lord, forgive me.

  Skye poured the pills into her hand. Stared at them. And with one more prayer, she put her hand to her mouth and threw her head back.

  “Don’t try to trick me. Swallow them.”

  Her throat burned. She nearly choked. She gagged.

  But she swallowed the pills.

  Now everyone would think she took her own life.

  “Open your mouth.”

  The man grabbed her face and squeezed until Skye did as he asked. He checked for any hidden pills. There were none.

  “Good girl,” the man said.

  Skye tried to steal a glance at the man. All she saw was a black mask.

  Was it Ian? She didn’t think so. Atticus? She doubted it. A member of their security? Most likely.

  “Give it a few minutes to take effect,” he said. “I hope this won’t be too painful for you. This will probably be better for everyone if you’re gone. At least, that’s what I hear.”

  His words rang in her head. Better for everyone if she was gone? There were times Skye had thought that herself. What if he was right? What if she did die? No one’s life would really change. It would be like she didn’t matter . . . because part of her felt like she didn’t.

  Her head started to spin.

  The pills. They were taking effect already.

  Her mind wobbled. Austin’s face. Briar’s.

  No.

  This man was filling her with more lies. She did have something to live for. And her importance didn’t come from anything she did or didn’t do. It came from being a child of God.

  The room swayed around her again.

  “Good, everything is working according to plan. Now I need to leave before your boyfriend gets back. Try not to fight it. It will be easier if you don’t. Good night, Skye. I hope you were a good girl. You’ll find out soon where you’ll be spending eternity.”

  Lord, help me.

  Then everything went black.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Austin grumbled as he tromped back toward his house. He hadn’t caught whoever was outside. Just what was that guy up to?

  He climbed back onto his porch and knocked. “Skye. It’s me. Open up.”

  He heard nothing.

  Weird. Maybe she hadn’t heard him.

  He knocked again. “Skye, it’s me. Austin.”

  Still nothing.

  A bad feeling nudged his gut.

  No, Skye was probably hiding. Maybe scared. Why else wouldn’t she answer the door?

  Answers he didn’t want to consider tried to get his attention. But he wouldn’t go there. Not yet.

  He knocked one more time. Still nothing.

  He moved to the window and cupped his hands around his eyes to see through the glare of the glass.

  The first window showed his living area with his couch, chair, and TV. Nothing out of the ordinary.

  He moved to the other side of the door and peered inside the window there at the kitchen.

  He squinted.

  Were those feet on the floor?

  His heart rate surged.

  Skye. Was that Skye?

  He rushed to the door and shoved his shoulder against it. It took three more times until the wood splintered, and the door flew open.

  He darted inside.

  Skye lay on the floor. Unconscious. An empty pill bottle beside her.

  “No, no, no. Skye, come back.”

  He put his hand to her neck. Her heart was still beating.

  He grabbed his phone and called 911. As he did, his eyes fell on a paper on the kitchen table.

  I’m a screwup. Nothing’s ever going to change. You’re all better off without me.

  Had Skye done this to herself?

  Had she overdosed?

  No, Skye wouldn’t do something like that.

  She wouldn’t. Austin knew her better than that.

  Lord, help her. Please don’t let it end this way.

  Austin looked up as Ty and Cassidy came down the hallway toward him at the clinic.

  Doc Clemson had pulled up some chairs across from the door to Skye’s room to give Austin some privacy. He supposed there were some perks to being friends with the town’s doctor.

  Still, the sound of beeping hospital machines and the smell of rubbing alcohol always made Austin’s blood pressure climb. Life or death could hang in the balance here, and it was a realization that wasn’t lost on Austin.

  Ty sat beside him and placed a hand on his back while Cassidy sat on the other side of him. He appreciated his friends coming. No one stands alone. That’s what they’d talked about at Bible study last week, and his friends were living it.

  “How is everything?” Ty asked, dropping a bag of chocolate covered raisins beside him.

  “Yes, any updates?” Cassidy peered at him from the other side.

  Austin shook his head, grateful that his friends were here. “No. Nothing. Not yet. Doc Clemson is in there with her. They pumped her stomach. I think she’ll be okay, but . . .”

  He’d thought he might lose her. Again. The thought made his insides tear apart.

  Cassidy shifted beside him and lowered her voice. “Where did she get those pills?”

  “To my knowledge, Skye didn’t take any medications. You know Skye. As much as possible, she likes to keep things all natural. She hesitated to even take Tylenol.”

  “Austin, I went into her camper . . .” Cassidy licked her lips.

  He twisted his head, not understanding where Cassidy was going with this. “Okay . . .”

  “After you guys saw the intruder there, I checked everything out. She had bottles of prescription pain killers in one of her drawers.”

  Austin shook his head, not buying it. “If Skye had them there, it’s because the intruder planted them. I’m telling you, she hates taking any kind of drug. Was her name on the bottles?”

  “No, the labels had been pulled off.”

  “Just like at my house. There was no name on that bottle either.”

  “I saw the note, Austin,” Cassidy said, her voice still low. “Was that her handwriting?”

  Austin’s throat burned. He didn’t want to answer the question. But Cassidy was waiting. And he couldn’t avoid her forever.

  Finally, he nodded. “Yeah, it looked like her handwriting.”

  “You think she wrote it under duress?” Ty leaned forward, his elbows on his knees.

  Austin shrugged, his head pounding. “I don’t know what to think. I know she’s taking everything really hard—the fact that she gave up her son for adoption. That the Winthrops may have manipulated her into doing it so their daughter could have the child she’d always wanted. Skye feels a lot of guilt and shame.”

  Cassidy frowned, and Austin wasn’t sure if she was in cop mode or friend mode. Most likely, both. But he didn’t like these questions.

  “That’s what I thought,” she finally said. “She’s having trouble forgiving herself.”

  “Exactly. But I don’t think she would have tried to end it all. She wanted to know if Briar was hers. She wanted answers. Justice.” He knew Skye better than this. She was a fighter.

  “I don’t think Skye did this to herself either,” Cassidy said.

  Relief filled Austin. Good. Someone else believed in her.

  “We’re going to find out what happened,” Ty added.

  Cassidy nodded. “Until then, could you go over everything one more time?”

  Austin told them about the noise outside. The figure fleeing through the woods. How he’d chased him.

  Had that just been a distraction? Had this person’s goal all along been to draw Austin out so they could enact this part of their plan?

  “So you’re thinking there are two people involved?” Cassidy said.

  Austin nodded. “I know I followed that man for as long as I could. He didn’t have time to do this after I finished chasing him. There are two people i
nvolved here.”

  “I tried to talk to the Winthrops this morning,” Cassidy said. “They weren’t home, but the security team and maid said the family was all home last night.”

  “Convenient.”

  “I know. However, at this point, there’s nothing to prove they’re behind this or trying to run her off the road or even your scaffolding accident. But I’m not giving up on that lead. These people have money and resources.”

  “Skye had lunch with them today,” Austin said. “She looked pretty upset afterward. They were rough on her, and I don’t trust them.”

  “We’ll get to the bottom of this.” Cassidy laid a hand on his arm and leveled her voice. “I have to say that whoever is behind this is clever. Each of these incidents could be written off as accidents or as self-inflicted. Sometimes, these are the worst kind of people to deal with.”

  Austin’s stomach clenched. He agreed with Cassidy’s assessment—he just didn’t like it.

  At that moment, a figure appeared at the end of the hallway.

  Austin stood. It was Ian.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Why in the world would that man show his face here?

  “Austin, don’t do anything foolish,” Ty said, standing beside him.

  Austin couldn’t promise that.

  “You have a lot of nerve showing up here.” Austin stopped Ian before he reached Skye’s door.

  Ian raised his hands in the air and took a step back. “I’m not here to start trouble.”

  “Then why are you here?”

  “I heard what happened, and I came to check on Skye.”

  “How’d you hear?” Cassidy asked. “This hasn’t been made public in any way.”

  “I know, I know. But my sister cut herself on a broken shell while walking on the beach. We were in the waiting room, and I thought I heard Skye’s name.”

  Waiting room? Cut herself?

  What if it hadn’t been a broken shell that had caused her injury?

  Could his sister have been the person Austin chased?

  Austin couldn’t say for sure. He hadn’t gotten a good look at the man outside his house, and he’d just assumed it had been a man he chased. But the figure was thin and lithe. Could it have been a woman?