Ripple Effect: Lantern Beach Blackout, Book 3

by Barritt, Christy

  He, Griff, and Colton had gathered in Colton’s cabana. The space was tight but worked for what they needed. Plus, Griff was close to Bethany and Ada. His place was next door, less than fifteen feet away.

  Benjamin had volunteered to sit outside Griff’s cabana and keep an eye on Bethany and Ada until Griff could get back. But Griff was anxious to put his eyes on them again.

  “The police identified the license plate of a car that fled the scene as belonging to someone associated with the terrorist group.” Griff leaned forward, elbows perched on his legs as he shared what he knew. “I put in a call to see if they’d give me a name, but I haven’t heard back yet.”

  “Why would a member of the Savages want Ada?” Colton shook his head. “It doesn’t make sense.”

  That question was all Griff had been able to think about since Bethany told him what happened at the park.

  “There’s only one reason I can think of—leverage.” Nausea churned in Griff’s stomach as he said the words. He didn’t want to believe they were true, but he’d regret not considering the option. Being in denial of the truth would only get them killed.

  “You think they’re targeting Ada so they can use her as leverage?” Colton’s jaw flexed, but his voice made it clear he didn’t disagree.

  “Think about it.” Griff straightened. “Out of all of us, I’m the only one who has a child. If you want to target anyone, a child is the most vulnerable.”

  Anger burned through his veins at the thought. Anyone who preyed on the innocent, the helpless . . . they were despicable. If anyone ever hurt Ada, Griff would make sure they paid. There were some boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed.

  “But leverage for what?” Dez rubbed the rosary tattoo on his arm, almost as if he was lifting up silent prayers. “Jason is behind bars. We’re out of their hair, right?”

  A few months ago, the Blackout team had discovered a traitor at the command their SEAL team had been based out of. This man, Jason Perkins, had been planted by the Savages to feed information to the group.

  His actions had resulted in Daniel Oliver being killed. When Elise had discovered a secret box of information her husband had left behind, she’d become a target. The Savages were desperate to get that information back.

  Though Jason was behind bars, Griff and his colleagues still suspected there was an enemy working within the confines of their old command.

  “I’ve always wondered if we just skimmed the surface when Jason was arrested.” A shadow hooded Colton’s gaze as he said the words. “I didn’t want to say anything. I was hoping I was reading too much into things.”

  Griff frowned. “Me too.”

  “The thought crossed my mind also.” Dez glanced at all of them, his expression matching theirs. “So what do we do now?”

  “The people behind this . . . they’re going to come back. I have no doubt that they’re not done yet.” Griff explained what had happened on the ferry. Last he’d heard, the body of the man who’d jumped overboard had not been found. It probably wouldn’t be. The man had most likely managed to escape. “They know where we are.”

  “Then we’ll need to hunker down and protect Bethany and Ada here,” Colton said.

  “They’re safer with us in Lantern Beach than they are anywhere else,” Dez agreed.

  Griff didn’t argue. Sometimes running wasn’t the solution and hiding wasn’t an option. The best thing a person could do was prepare and execute a plan.

  “Bethany and Ada shouldn’t go anywhere without one of us,” Colton said. “Two of us is even better.”

  “I agree,” Griff said. “In the meantime, I’ll follow up with Anderson Bryant and see if he’s heard anything yet.”

  Griff had put out some feelers with one of his friends who was still a SEAL. He wanted to know what the scuttlebutt was around the Savages right now. Anderson seemed like a good source to get that information from, and Griff knew he could trust the man.

  They ended the meeting and stood, ready to retire back to their cabanas for the evening. Before Griff left, Colton called to him.

  Based on the look on his leader’s face, Griff wasn’t going to like this conversation.

  Colton lowered his voice. “You going to be okay having Bethany and Ada here? I know the split has been hard on you.”

  Griff hesitated a moment. He wanted to deny his friend’s words, but he knew it would do no good. His friends knew him. They’d been there for him throughout everything.

  But Griff could handle this. There was no way he wasn’t going to protect Bethany and Ada—even if being around them was like torture for his heart and soul.

  Finally, he nodded. “Yeah, of course. I’ll be fine.”

  The gleam in Colton’s eyes clearly stated he didn’t believe him. But his friend didn’t call him out. Not yet, at least.

  “If you’re not, let me know,” Colton said. “Okay?”

  Griff nodded again. “Sure.”

  Now it was time for Griff to get back to his cabana and attempt to have a conversation with Bethany.

  He had a lot to tell her. He only hoped she received the information well.

  Griff dismissed Benjamin from guard duty, stood in front of his cabana door, and braced himself for his upcoming conversation.

  Bethany was the sweetest girl in the entire world. But Griff seemed to bring out a fire in her. He’d be remiss if he didn’t admit that he loved seeing the sparks ignite in her eyes.

  Maybe he even instigated the reaction sometimes.

  But he couldn’t stand to see her truly mad at him. It was his weakness.

  Bethany was the good girl. The preacher’s daughter. A sweetheart to everyone she met.

  Her family had been afraid Griff would corrupt her. After all, he was from a dysfunctional household. His parents were divorced. His mom was an alcoholic, and his dad had been absent. Griff had nearly been kicked out of high school after getting in with the party crowd.

  Joining the Navy had saved Griff from going down a very bad path.

  But meeting Bethany had changed him into a better man. At least, it had until Daniel died. His leader’s death had flipped his world upside down.

  After another moment of hesitation, Griff pushed the door to his cabana open, prepared for a verbal lashing—one that he deserved.

  Instead, Bethany was curled up in his bed asleep with Ada snoozing beside her. The two of them looked so peaceful and cozy as they snuggled next to each other.

  Emotion clogged his throat.

  Had there ever been a more beautiful sight?

  He didn’t think so.

  Seeing them reminded Griff of everything he’d given up, and a pang echoed in his heart. He’d missed them so much.

  These two were never supposed to wander back into his life like this.

  Yet here they were.

  He shook his head.

  None of that mattered. The only thing Griff needed to focus on was keeping them safe. And that’s exactly what he planned on doing.

  With that thought in mind, he found a spare blanket in the closet and draped it over them. Then he slipped onto his cot. He would attempt to get some sleep tonight.

  But, between the danger and Bethany and Ada being here, he knew it would be nearly impossible.

  Chapter Six

  Cassidy Chambers was quiet as she walked into her house that evening. It had been a long day at work, and she couldn’t wait to kick back and relax for a few minutes.

  The last session of Hope House had ended yesterday, so she and Ty had the house to themselves tonight. The only other person staying here right now was the house manager Ty had recently hired, but CJ had taken a couple days off.

  All was quiet and dark in the house as Cassidy crept down the hallway and softly opened the door to their bedroom. Ty sat at a small desk in the corner, staring at the computer screen when she walked in. She leaned in from behind him and kissed his cheek.

  “Hey, honey.” Ty turned away from the computer long enough to reach up a
nd peck her cheek. “How are you doing?”

  “It’s been a day. Based on how tense you look, it’s been a day for you also.” She placed her gun in the safe below her nightstand. “What’s going on?”

  Ty turned around in the chair to face her, and Cassidy saw the exhaustion on his face. “You heard about the jumper on the ferry?”

  “Of course.” She sat on the edge of the bed. “It was all the talk for the day. At least, it was all the talk for part of the day. That’s another story.”

  “Yeah, well that guy may have tried to abduct Griff’s daughter . . .”

  Cassidy’s eyes widened. “Why didn’t I hear about this? There were no police reports.”

  “It didn’t happen here. It happened in Virginia Beach. Bethany and Ada came here to get away. Griff met them on Hatteras, but he saw someone suspicious on the ferry ride over. When he tried to confront him, the man jumped in the water.”

  Cassidy ran a hand over her face. “Wow. That was Griff who reported it? I sent Officer Banks over to take a statement from the crew. Nothing about the kidnapping attempt was mentioned.”

  “Griff’s trying to keep Bethany’s presence here on the down low,” Ty said. “We were all surprised when we heard what happened.”

  “Where are Bethany and Ada now?”

  “They’re staying in the cabana with Griff.”

  Cassidy raised her eyebrows. “I thought the two of them had a pretty contentious relationship.”

  “I don’t know if I would say contentious. You know how Griff is. On a good day, he’s aggravating and contrary. And Bethany doesn’t take it. She gives it right back to him. But when their daughter is around, both of them seem to forget all their differences and become different people.”

  “I guess children can do that to you. Hopefully, they won’t have any more trouble now that they’re here.”

  “That’s something I wanted to talk to you about.” Ty pulled an object from his drawer. “This was found in Ada’s bag. Griff asked me to give it to you.”

  He held up a bag containing a knife with dried blood on its serrated edges.

  Cassidy’s eyes widened as she took the bag from him and examined the knife. “They have no idea where this came from?”

  “No idea. Ada goes to daycare, so someone could have potentially put it in her bag there. They were also at the park when Ada was nearly abducted, and apparently the bag was sitting on a bench for a while unattended. Basically, Bethany doesn’t know.”

  Cassidy continued to stare at the knife. “I’m assuming it was left there as a threat.”

  “That’s my guess also.”

  “First thing in the morning, I’ll run this for prints and see if we can pick up anything from the blood.”

  “Thanks.”

  “And whatever you guys need to keep this little girl safe, just let me know. A child predator has no place on this island.” As the words left her lips, Cassidy felt sick to her stomach. Whoever had tried to grab Ada had been brazen. What else did this person have planned?

  Ty leaned back and closed his eyes a moment. “I guess you and your guys have a lot on your hands with the hotel situation. I hardly heard from you today, which usually means you’re busy.”

  Cassidy frowned as a replay of her day buzzed through her mind. “You can say that again. Ever since the measure to stop the hotel from being built was shot down by the county and the developer decided to go ahead with the project, people have been all up in arms again.”

  Islanders were opposed to a new six-story hotel that had just been approved to be built on the island. It would be the first establishment in Lantern Beach that wasn’t locally owned. The infrastructure here wasn’t ready for that kind of growth. That’s what those opposed said. Those in favor looked forward to the extra money the additional tourists would bring.

  The whole issue had been a hot topic since the site was proposed several months ago.

  “Have they made any progress yet?” Ty asked.

  “They began dredging.”

  Ty’s eyes widened. “Filling in the marsh?”

  Cassidy frowned and nodded. “Yep.”

  “I can’t believe the environmentalists haven’t stepped in.”

  “Me too. It’s a shame to see the marsh being destroyed. We need that area to filter the water in the bay and keep wildlife alive. But money wins. At least, that’s all too often what happens.”

  “I wish I could argue that fact,” Ty said. “But I can’t.”

  “The project manager is about as unfriendly as they come. They’ve also started digging a big hole. I’m assuming that’s where the septic system and pipes and foundation for the hotel will be.” She shrugged. “I’m not really sure. But we’ve gotten so many calls from the developer about this that I’ve basically assigned Officer Dillinger to stay at the hotel property for his shift each day. Too many people are going to the site and trying to protest. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

  “I can’t believe the hotel is being built. It just blows my mind.”

  “I know. Me too.”

  Ty stood and ran a hand over his face. “I guess that’s enough working for me tonight.”

  “What have you been doing on that computer?”

  “We believe that this attempted kidnapping had something to do with the Savages. Even though the last incident with Jason Perkins was reported to the command, I haven’t heard anything about it since then. I was checking to see if any news articles have come out.”

  “And have they?”

  “Not that I can find.”

  “Maybe some sleep would do you good.”

  “Some sleep sounds like just what the doctor ordered.” But instead of reaching for his pajamas, Ty reached for Cassidy and pulled her into a long, lingering kiss.

  Chapter Seven

  Bethany jolted upright in bed, a cold sweat covering her skin.

  She glanced around. Saw the cabana. Saw Ada snoozing beside her. Spotted the blue sky through a skylight and the cheerful sunlight flooding into the room.

  She really was here. In Lantern Beach. With Griff.

  None of that had been a nightmare.

  Her little girl had almost been kidnapped.

  And it wasn’t over yet.

  Bethany squeezed her eyes shut. She’d had a brief moment of hoping—believing—it was all just a bad dream.

  But it wasn’t.

  She opened her eyes again and scanned everything around her one more time, trying to get her bearings. Ada still slept soundly, cuddled up next to her in bed. Their bags were still near the door. Bethany had fallen asleep before she could unpack.

  Her gaze stopped across the room to where Griff slept on a cot.

  He seemed to sense her eyes on him and pushed himself up. His hair fell into his face, and his eyes were hazy with sleep. For a moment, Bethany was whisked back in time. Whisked back to when the two of them had been happily married. To the lazy mornings they’d spent together in bed.

  Those times had been so happy, so full of hope. Now they were all a bittersweet memory of what could have been . . . if Griff hadn’t turned his back on them.

  As the blanket fell around his waist, Bethany’s mouth dropped open.

  “Where’s your shirt?” Bethany whispered as loudly as she could without waking Ada.

  Griff glanced down and shrugged, as laid-back as ever. “I never sleep with a shirt. You know that.”

  “But shouldn’t you sleep with a shirt on when we’re here?” Seriously, they were on the same page, right?

  Maybe not.

  “I didn’t think it was a big deal.” He shrugged.

  “Well, it is. Boundaries and everything.”

  “Okay, okay. I get it. I just didn’t think much of it.”

  “Of course you didn’t.”

  A gleam appeared in his gaze. “I mean, we have made a baby together. It’s not like you’ve never seen my chest before.”

  Bethany’s cheeks flushed, and she narrowed her eyes. “I�
��m well aware. But that was different.”

  “Touché.” He grabbed a T-shirt from beside him and pulled it on. “Better?”

  Bethany swallowed hard. “Yes. Thank you.”

  She looked away. Was it the fact that Griff didn’t have a shirt on that bothered her? Or the fact that he looked so good without a shirt on? His finely sculpted chest was a sight to behold.

  Which was exactly why she didn’t want to admire it. All the good looks in the world meant nothing without a person of character embodying them.

  “After we get ready, we can have breakfast in the cottage,” Griff said. “Are you okay with that?”

  Bethany nodded and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Getting out of this small cabin she shared with Griff sounded great.

  Besides, she desperately wanted updates, something that pointed at an end to this nightmare. If she had to walk through the fire to get there, she would. “Sure. We do have a lot to talk about.”

  “You were sleeping when I got back last night.”

  “I didn’t think I would be able to sleep. I guess I was wrong.” She’d been out cold.

  “After your burst of adrenaline, you crashed. Totally normal.”

  Griff sounded like he really cared—though Bethany was certain he didn’t. In fact, something about this whole conversation rubbed her the wrong way. It felt too normal when nothing was normal.

  Instantly, her guard went back up. She had to be more careful. She needed to protect herself.

  Bethany stood and grabbed her bag. “I guess I need to get ready. Somewhere private.”

  Griff nodded toward the door. “How about if I wait on the porch?”

  “Perfect.”

  Some space from the man was exactly what Bethany needed. But the fact that they were on the same island meant she wouldn’t be getting nearly enough any time soon.

  * * *

  Griff couldn’t help but marvel at Bethany and Ada during breakfast. He did his best not to stare, not to show how thrilled he was to see them again. Instead, he tried to concentrate on the French toast and sausage that Dez had awoken early to make.

  His colleagues were busy amusing Ada by making faces and pretending to sneak her food. Her giggles filled the room and made everything in the world feel right, if only for a minute.