They cut through an alley toward the main highway. As soon as they emerged on the other side, Elsa came into view. The pink truck was in a parking lot, music cheerily blaring.
But the crowds had thinned.
And Serena was nowhere in sight.
Cassidy stormed toward the vehicle, ready to give Serena a piece of her mind.
But when she peered inside, the truck was empty.
“Where is she?” Cassidy muttered.
Ty glanced around. “Did she just leave the ice cream truck with the music playing?”
“I knew she could be irresponsible, but I never thought it would go this far.” This was totally coming out of Serena’s paycheck. Cassidy had never agreed to give away free ice cream like this.
She reached inside and turned the music off before looking around again. Seriously—how far could the girl have gone since this song started playing?
Before she could search the parking lot, screams sounded in the distance. Ty and Cassidy glanced at each other before they hurried back toward the boardwalk, trying to see what was wrong.
When they reached the escalating crowds, Cassidy squinted, unsure if her eyes were deceiving her.
Three men were coming down the boardwalk. They were foaming at the mouth, flailing wildly, and looking all-together rabid.
In fact, some people might say they looked like . . . zombies.
Chapter Sixteen
“Cassidy?” Ty asked, looking as shocked as she felt.
She shook her head, unable to believe what she was seeing. “It’s flakka, Ty. It’s gotta be.”
Flakka was the newest designer drug—and DH-7 had their hand in it. It was just recently beginning to reach the East Coast. But the psychedelic drug made most users lose their minds—and any good sense they had.
Some people gnawed their own flesh off. They hissed. They were a danger not only to themselves, but to others as well.
“Those guys are weirding me out,” Ty said. “And I’ve seen some scary guys.”
Cassidy watched as one of the “zombies” got on all fours, acting almost like a lion, and went after a teenage girl. She screamed and tried to run away.
But he caught her leg.
Ty darted toward them. He was faster than Cassidy—and stronger.
He reached the girl, but the man held onto her leg. Ty punched him in the face until the blond guy let go and staggered backward.
The girl crawled away. Cassidy grabbed her, pulling her into a nearby T-shirt store, where she’d be safe.
“Everyone, clear the area,” Cassidy yelled, wondering why people were sticking around, waiting to become victims themselves.
Tourists scrambled to get away. A few remained with their cell phones raised. A couple remained frozen in shock where they stood.
The blond guy looked dazed as he crouched in front of Ty. Ty stood on guard, his body poised to fight back, if necessary.
With a quick shake, the blond sprang back to life and squatted in front of Ty. He hissed again, the sound sending a shiver up Cassidy’s spine.
Cassidy held her breath, watching for his next move.
The man lunged at Ty.
Cassidy spotted a broom that had been left outside by a business owner. She grabbed it. Using it like a javelin, she charged toward the man.
The stick hit him in the gut, and the man fell to the ground, gasping for air.
Ty grabbed him, pulled his arms behind his back, and pulled out some zip ties—which he apparently carried with him. He secured the man’s wrists.
One down, but there were two more of these guys still on the loose.
“Go,” Ty said, jerking the zip tie tighter. “I’ve got this one.”
Cassidy nodded, hesitating only a minute, before darting toward one of the other men.
This man—a redhead—grabbed a woman who’d been recording the scene on her cell. She screamed in terror, and her phone clattered to the ground.
Cassidy’s eyes widened when she saw the man open his mouth and lunge at the woman’s neck. Drool escaped from his mouth, beckoning images of a wild and savage caveman.
“Hey!” Cassidy shouted, starting toward him.
The man jerked his head toward her. His wild eyes reminded her of a feral dog in search of food. The drool dripping from his mouth only enhanced the image.
“Get off her.” Cassidy drew herself to full height.
Redhead chuckled—long and slow. This man wasn’t in his right mind.
Cassidy didn’t want to pull her gun out—not with so many civilians around. Not when she was supposed to be undercover. She’d use all her other resources first.
She grabbed the broom again. Using all her momentum, she charged at the man, holding the broom as a shield of sorts as she tackled him to the ground. He hit the cement with a crash. Cassidy landed beside him.
The woman he’d grabbed rolled on her side, and some bystanders rushed to help her.
Cassidy straddled the man on the ground, pinning him in place, while Ty rushed over to help.
Just then, Chief Bozeman and Officer Quinton ran onto the scene. “Go get the other one!” Bozeman shouted.
Quinton took off down the boardwalk.
“What in the world . . . ?” Bozeman muttered, staring at the scene as if it had been a setup for a reality show. He bent down and took the redheaded man from her custody.
“That’s a great question,” Cassidy said, standing and readjusting her hat. She glanced around and saw the cell cameras recording all of this. What if someone else from DH-7 recognized her from these videos? “Thank goodness for all those CrossFit classes I’ve taken.”
She had to be proactive, to reinforce her cover. Even though danger was closing in, she couldn’t blow it now.
“You can say that again.” Bozeman jerked the man to his feet, just as Quinton returned, towing the third man behind him. The blond was being guarded by a six-foot-plus man with a long beard and black leather jacket bearing a motorcycle emblem on the side.
It looked as though the situation here was under control.
However, that could have turned out much worse.
Cassidy and Ty spent the next hour at the police station giving their statements. The zombie-like men were in lockup, and officers were waiting for the drugs to wear off before questioning them. Cassidy and Ty waited in the lobby for the chief to say they were free to go.
“You sure you’re okay?” Ty asked, his gaze going to her forehead. “You have a little cut.”
“I’m fine.” She stared at the wall across the room, feeling more pensive than she’d like to admit. “Orion has to be behind this. Flakka . . . it’s his calling card.”
“But we’ve had the drug on the island before.”
“There are different strains of it,” she said. “And nothing like this has ever happened here before.”
“I’ve never seen people act so out of their minds,” Ty said. “I felt like I’d stepped into a horror flick.”
“You and me both.”
At that moment, Quinton rushed toward the chief’s office, excitement dancing in his eyes. The small building made it easy to overhear conversations—something Cassidy was grateful for at the moment.
“Check this out, boss,” Quinton said. “We just found their van. Turns out there’s a lot of stolen electronics in the back.”
Cassidy and Ty exchanged a glance.
“These are the guys behind the break-ins?” Chief Bozeman asked.
“That’s how it appears,” Quinton said.
“At least we can close that case.” The chief stepped out and turned to them. “Thanks again for your help—for running toward trouble instead of away. This could have been a lot uglier.”
“Any time.” Ty paused. “I know you’re busy, chief, but could I have a quick word with you?”
Ty was going to mention Orion to him. He and Cassidy had talked about it again and agreed that this was for the best. He would leave out the details about Cassidy’s connection
to the man.
As Ty disappeared with the chief, Cassidy pulled out her phone and tried to call Serena again. No answer.
Strange. The girl always answered.
A growing sense of worry formed in Cassidy’s stomach.
She must have still been frowning when Ty came back out.
“What’s wrong?” He paused in front of her, his hands on his hips and his ever-perceptive eyes on hers.
“I haven’t been able to catch up with Serena. I’ve tried her phone several times.”
“Maybe she’s driving Elsa and can’t hear it over the music.”
“I don’t know. She always answers. And the fact that she wasn’t at the ice cream truck earlier bothers me.”
“Why don’t we go see if we can track her down? I know it will put your mind at ease.”
They climbed into Ty’s truck and took off down the road. At the parking lot near the boardwalk, they found Elsa still unmanned. Had Serena taken off with a friend and left the truck there? Had she caught a ride back to her car and gone on her merry way?
“Let’s check my place and see if her car is still there,” Cassidy said. “At least it’s something.”
Halfway there, her phone rang. Cassidy glanced at the screen, her heart accelerating with hope at the possibility it could be Serena. It was Mac instead.
“I’ve been at the courthouse. My connections let me in, even though it’s a Sunday. Anyway, I’ve been looking for a marriage license dating back three years ago this week. There are plenty of them, but I haven’t found one with any Rich or Richard on it. I just wanted to let you know.”
Disappointment bit down. “Thanks for looking. This is pointing to Orion more and more.”
“What do you mean?”
Cassidy filled him in on the incident at the boardwalk.
“Be safe, guys.” Mac’s voice took on a rare seriousness for the cutup. “If it’s who you think behind this, I don’t like the games he’s playing.”
“None of us do. I just wanted to keep you updated.”
Ty pulled up to her place a few minutes later, and Cassidy’s heart lurched. Serena’s car still sat in her driveway. She hadn’t come back to get it. Cassidy had hoped this was just a display of irresponsibility on the college student’s part.
But, like a storm on the horizon, a bad feeling loomed in Cassidy’s gut.
Cassidy pulled out her phone and tried calling again.
As expected, there was no answer.
She hit End, shoved the phone back in her pocket, and let out a sigh. “My gut is telling me something is wrong.”
“Trust your gut,” Ty said.
“Let’s go back to the boardwalk. I want to see the truck again. I need to inspect it more closely.”
They headed back to Elsa. When they reached her, Cassidy climbed in the driver’s seat and glanced around, trying to get insight on Serena’s last time in here. Something on the floor beside the front seat caught her eye.
A piece of paper.
Cassidy grabbed it, her hands trembling as the words came into focus.
“I’ve got your friend,” she read. “Do anything rash or tell the police, and she dies. Wait for further instructions . . . Cady Matthews.”
Chapter Seventeen
Ty’s chest tightened as he stared at the words. Each was scribbled neatly, purposefully, steadily—all signs of someone who was too comfortable with this situation. His gut churned at that realization. They were dealing with one twisted individual.
“We’ve got to alert Bozeman,” he said.
Cassidy’s entire face tightened with anxiety. “I’m not sure that’s a great idea. If Orion finds out we involved the police, he’ll carry through with his threat. I wish I had more faith in Bozeman’s ability to handle something like this correctly, but I don’t.”
He agreed with her assessment, but they just couldn’t stay quiet. “Then we should tell Mac. The three of us together are more capable anyway. We’ll find Serena.”
Cassidy looked as though her mind was hundreds of miles away. “Orion probably sold the flakka to those guys and set them loose to distract us. This has all been a setup, and I fell for it. How could I have been so stupid?”
Ty’s heart lurched as he watched Cassidy, as he saw the struggle inside her. “Hey, come here.”
He pulled her toward him and folded her in his arms.
“This is my fault.” She stiffened in his embrace, as if she didn’t deserve the luxury of being comforted.
“It’s not your fault, Cassidy. This is Orion’s doing. All of it.”
“I knew I shouldn’t have gotten close to anyone here. Getting close to people puts them in danger.” Cassidy pulled away from him and crossed her arms, constructing an invisible wall.
“Hey, don’t go there.” Ty reached for her hand, trying to use touch to bring her back to reality. He’d dealt with PTSD before, after being on the battlefield. He suspected that Cassidy was dealing with her own version of it now, and he wanted to help her more than anything. “Pushing me away isn’t going to help you right now.”
Cassidy squeezed the skin between her eyes. “My duty is to protect people, Ty.”
“Protecting other people doesn’t mean you have to get yourself killed.”
She drew in a few deep breaths. Tugged at the baseball cap she wore. Closed her eyes briefly.
“So what do we do?” She finally snapped from her stupor. “I’m thinking with my emotions here. I need your objectivity.”
“Let’s drive by Orion’s house. See if he’s there. If Serena is. I doubt either will be, but we should check.”
“Let’s go.”
They pulled up to Orion’s cottage ten minutes later. His SUV was gone, signaling no one was here.
It didn’t matter. They’d check it out anyway. Ty parked on the street, and he and Cassidy headed up the steps to the front door.
Cassidy didn’t waste any time. She peered in the windows, looking for any sign of Serena.
“Anything?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
Ty jiggled the door handle, but it was locked as he’d suspected. He knocked, knowing there would be no answer. He had another way of getting in, though.
“What are you doing?” Cassidy asked, her eyebrows knit together.
“If we break in, Orion is going to turn this back on us. Press charges. Make us appear suspect. I don’t want to give him any leverage. I’m calling Wes.”
“Why Wes?”
“He has keys to half these rentals. He has to in order to get in and fix things when the owners aren’t around.” Just as he finished his explanation, Wes answered.
He said he was right down the street, picking up some kayaks. He arrived a few minutes later, his truck pulling a trailer loaded with colorful boats that he’d probably rented out.
Wes took the steps by twos to reach them quickly, a look of concern on his face. “What’s going on?”
“We think the person staying here has Serena,” Ty said.
Wes’s eyes widened. “You think she’s here? Why would she be here? What’s going on?”
“It’s a long story, and we don’t have much time,” Cassidy said. “But I think that man in town who was looking for me—”
“Your ex?” Wes questioned.
“Yes, him,” Cassidy said. “I think he took her.”
“Just trust us,” Ty said. “Please. We need to get inside. It’s life-or-death. I wouldn’t have called you otherwise.”
Wes hesitated a moment. “You did call the cops, right? This sounds serious.”
“This guy threatened us, said that we shouldn’t or there would be consequences,” Ty said. “In this case, we should listen. I think he’s serious about killing Serena if we don’t follow his rules.”
Wes asked no more questions. He slipped the key in the lock, and the door opened. Without hesitation, Ty and Cassidy rushed inside.
“I’ll keep lookout out here,” Wes said.
Cassidy rushe
d the house, her gun drawn as she searched for Serena.
But the place was empty.
They paused in the living room and glanced around. Everything looked so ordinary. There weren’t any guns. Any drugs. No incriminating photos even.
It was what he expected—but not what he wanted.
“Let’s get out of here,” Ty said.
They stepped onto the deck when Ty remembered another question, the one based on his conversation with Jimmy James this morning. “Wes, did you see anyone else here when you worked on his hot tub? A woman, maybe?”
Wes shook his head. “No, it was just him. Sorry.”
Ty bit back his disappointment. They’d find answers . . . one way or another.
Cassidy and Ty went back to Mac’s place to regroup. They’d called him and explained what was going on, and he promised to meet them right away. However, Mac’s police scanner indicated a fender bender had stopped traffic near the center of town, so Mac might be a while.
Ty had also called Skye and let her know what happened. She’d insisted on coming over as well. It was only fair to update her—Serena was her niece.
Cassidy couldn’t sit still. She paced, trying to organize her thoughts. It didn’t matter what Ty had told her. This was entirely her fault. Serena would never have been involved with this if it weren’t for Cassidy.
Why was hindsight always 20/20?
Use your mistakes as stepping stones. More Day-at-a-Glance wisdom.
The problem was when Cassidy’s mistakes became someone else’s heartaches. That wasn’t okay.
Someone knocked at the door, pulling Cassidy from her stupor. Ty answered. Skye stood there. Her face looked pale, her eyes red, and her hands trembled.
She rushed inside, talking at a rapid-fire pace. “What happened? Where’s Serena?”
“Someone has her.” Ty stood and spoke before Cassidy could. It was probably better that way. “They left a note.”
“Is it your ex?” Fire filled her gaze as she turned toward Cassidy.
“I think so. But it’s actually—” Cassidy needed to tell the truth, needed to come clean about what was going on.
Dangerous Waters (Lantern Beach Book 4) Page 11
