Or maybe especially if it meant hurting Wes.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Paige saw the commotion beneath the water. The turbulence. A disturbance in the rhythm of the current.
What was going on? Even more—how could she help without getting herself hurt?
Her first impulse was to jump in. But she couldn’t see beneath the surface. Who knew what she’d be facing? Sharks sometimes wandered into these waters. Or what if Wes had gotten caught underwater somehow while trying to string up the anchor? What if he needed help?
Or what if . . . Jennifer had found them?
Paige wasn’t sure how Jennifer would have done that. But she wouldn’t put it past the woman.
Making a split-second choice, Paige grabbed a paddle and pushed the boat closer to the commotion.
Just as she did, a head emerged from the surface.
Wes.
He gasped in a deep breath of air and threw his goggles off.
Something was wrong. Really wrong.
Before Paige could ask him what had happened, another face emerged only a couple feet away.
Jennifer. Only her dark hair was gone. Blonde hair—just like in the pictures Wes had shown her—dripped around her face.
The woman tore off her snorkel gear and held up a gun.
A gun?
A spear gun, Paige realized. Her dad had used them on occasion, so she recognized it.
Wes’s hand went to one of his arms. Blood dripped from a cut. More blood seeped from a matching wound on his other arm.
He’d been injured. Cut with one of the sharp ends of the spear?
Panic raced through her.
“You thought you were going to get away with all of this, didn’t you?” Jennifer said.
Her face had taken on a new look. Gone was the scorned woman who wanted to protect other potential “victims” of Wes’s violent ways. This woman’s nostrils flared, her eyes were wide and showed strong emotions—misplaced passion. Her teeth were clenched.
“Jennifer, you don’t have to do this.” Wes bounced his hands in the air as if to say, calm down.
“Yes, I do. I gave you the chance to come back to me. But that was never real, was it? You never wanted me back.” Jennifer’s nostrils flared.
“Jennifer, why don’t you put the spear gun down and we can talk?” Wes said, his voice still placating.
“I’m beyond talking,” she growled, her hand gripping the gun. “I gave you the one chance. And now it has to end.”
“Jennifer . . .”
“Stop Jennifering me! I don’t want to hear it. You and I were supposed to be together.”
Paige watched, holding her breath. Where was everyone? The other volunteers had just been in another boat within eyesight. And Cassidy? How much longer until she arrived?
They needed help and they needed it now. But all Paige saw was an open expanse of water.
“We didn’t work out,” Wes said. “That happens with relationships sometimes. We only dated a month.”
Paige looked around, trying to find something to help them. She had a first aid kit in the boat. An oar. A walkie talkie.
Cassidy was on her way. But would she get here in time? Besides, Cassidy would need to get out to them on the water. Jennifer would see her coming.
Despair clamped down hard inside her.
Paige needed to think of something. But she wasn’t sure if inserting herself into the conversation would help or hinder the situation. Seeing Paige might only fuel Jennifer’s anger.
“Let Paige go,” Wes said, blood still running down his arms. “She never did anything to you.”
“She was supposed to leave. Yet here she is, still hanging around.” Jennifer glanced at Paige, her wide eyes showing instability. “I’m sorry, Paige. You seem nice. But you can’t take a hint.”
“She didn’t do anything,” Wes repeated. “I’m the one you have the problem with.”
“I need you to stop talking!”
Paige froze. Just what was this woman’s plan? To kill them both and then escape before she got caught?
A shiver went up her spine. It was the only thing that made sense. The whole “If I can’t have you no one can” type of mentality.
Paige had to think of something.
Now.
Before this water became their graves.
Wes felt his panic rising as he realized the difficulty of the situation.
Jennifer had murder in her eyes. And there was nowhere to run for shelter out here. Only the water—which her spear gun could slice right through.
How had she even gotten back to the island? How had she found them? How had she gotten over here without anyone noticing?
He didn’t know.
“All I wanted was you, Wes,” Jennifer said, her voice trembling with emotion. “Was that too much?”
“Jennifer, you need to put the gun down.” That was his first priority. He had to get that weapon away from her.
“I don’t want to put the gun down!” Her voice rose. “I want to finish this.”
“How are you going to finish this?” He almost didn’t want to ask the question. But he had to know. He had to figure out her plan.
“You’ve got to die.” Jennifer stared at him still, not a hint of humor on her face. She meant the words. She’d come here dead set on killing him.
In fact, if she’d been a better shot under water, he might be dead right now. Instead, those spears had just brushed his arms.
“There are better ways,” Wes said, careful to keep his voice even. “You don’t have to end this with death.”
“You don’t understand.” Her voice climbed. “I’ve tried to forget about you. To pretend we didn’t happen. To move on. I can’t. This is the only thing that makes sense. It’s the only way I’ll have closure.”
“Jennifer, you and I both know that’s not true.” Wes stepped closer, playing with the idea of grabbing her gun. But that could backfire. He had to be careful. “There are other ways. You can get help.”
“I don’t need help! I just needed you! But everyone leaves me. My dad. My mom. Then you. I needed forever with you! And don’t tell me we can make it work. You never looked at me the way you looked at her.” Jennifer glared at Paige.
Wes glanced back at Paige but only for a second. Her skin had gone pale. Her eyes were wide. Her gaze was fastened on the scene in front of her.
She could try to get away. Turn the motor on. Speed away.
But it wouldn’t work. He knew that just as well as Jennifer did.
Wes had to figure out some way to get out of this situation and to keep Paige alive.
“You beat yourself up, didn’t you?” Paige asked, her eyes on the spear gun. “In those photos. You wanted me to believe that Wes had done it. But he would never do that to a woman.”
She shrugged, unfazed. “Desperate times call for desperate measures. What can I say?”
“Jennifer—” Wes started.
“Enough talking!” She raised her gun, the end pointed at his heart. “I’m sorry, Wes. This isn’t the way I wanted this to end.”
“Jennifer—”
She adjusted the gun, her finger on the trigger.
Wes braced himself for the impact.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Paige knew she had to act and quickly. She could only think of one thing to do. She raised her oar and swung it like a bat, hitting Jennifer on the head.
The woman dropped her spear gun, thrown off guard.
The next instant, Wes dove under water—looking for the speargun, no doubt.
Jennifer opened her eyes, and anger shot from her gaze. Anger at Paige.
Oh, no.
Paige glanced down, looking for something else to defend herself with. The oar had fallen into the water behind her.
Before she could grab anything, Jennifer reached the boat. Pushed on the side until it began tipping over.
Paige tried to balance herself. But it was too late. She fell into
the water.
Jennifer tackled her. Pressed on her shoulders. Plunged her underwater. Held her there.
A surge of panic raced through Paige as she lost control. She couldn’t panic. She had to think clearly.
That’s what her dad had always taught her to do in emergencies—and while on the water.
She had to stay focused.
Jennifer continued to press down on her shoulders, determined to hold her under until water filled her lungs.
Paige opened her eyes and glanced around beneath the murky surface.
Wes swam in the distance. He grabbed the spear gun and looked back.
His eyes went to her, widening.
He torpedoed himself through the water toward them, and his arms went around Jennifer. He pulled her off, allowing Paige to shoot back to the surface. She sucked in a quick breath of air, her body weak with fear.
She didn’t have long. This situation was far from over.
Water splashed beside her.
Jennifer was fighting Wes, Paige realized.
They surfaced long enough for Wes to moan.
Then they both fell back into the water, still struggling.
Where was the spear gun? Paige needed to find it. That gun . . . it would be deadly. Whoever had it would have control.
Paige took a deep breath and went back underwater.
Wes and Jennifer wrestled only a couple feet away.
Her gaze searched the bottom of the water. The spear gun was nowhere in sight.
But a piece of metal near her feet caught her gaze. Was that a . . . crowbar?
It was small enough to lift. But heavy enough to use.
Paige grabbed it and turned back toward the scene just as Jennifer raised the speargun again.
She raised it. Toward Wes. Her finger remained poised on the trigger.
Without wasting any more time, Paige swung the crowbar, giving it every ounce of strength she had left inside her.
It hit Jennifer on the back of the head, and she went limp.
The speargun fell from her hands, dropping to the wet sand below.
Wes’s gaze met hers, and he nodded his appreciation.
He wrapped his arms around Jennifer and brought her limp body to the surface. As he did, Paige grabbed the speargun.
She broke through the water and sucked in another breath.
Cassidy and Officer Bradshaw pulled up in a police boat beside them.
Help was here.
Maybe this finally was over.
For real this time.
At least, Paige prayed that was the case.
The next several hours were a blur.
Wes had gone to the clinic and gotten ten stitches—six in one arm and four in the other.
Jennifer had been arrested. She’d all but admitted to doing everything, without apology. Wes wasn’t sure if she’d go to jail or if she’d get help. Part of him hoped she’d do both.
The woman had tried to kill him and Paige. She was a danger to society right now. Maybe that would change one day. But she had a long way to go.
Thankfully, Cassidy had sensed something was wrong and had come out in a boat to help. Between that and Paige’s quick thinking, the situation had turned out okay.
But it could have turned out so much differently. Wes was grateful for the happy ending.
And he was anxious to see Paige again.
She’d been giving her statement to Cassidy last he heard.
He wanted to see with his own eyes that she was okay. To tell her how sorry he was again. To hopefully make things right.
It had been close out there. Really close. Too close.
Doc Clemson stepped into the room. “It looks like you’re good to go. Just watch those cuts for any sign of infection.”
“Will do.”
He cast a concerned expression toward Wes. “You do realize that if that spear had gone four inches to the left or right that you wouldn’t be here right now, right?”
Wes nodded. The cold reality of the situation hadn’t left him. It wouldn’t for a long time. “I do realize that. I’m thankful that Jennifer was such a bad shot.”
“I’m glad you’re okay. There’s someone in the hallway who’s waiting to see you.”
His heart skipped a beat.
Paige. He wanted more than anything for it to be Paige waiting for him there.
“Thanks again, Doc.” Wes hopped down from the examination table.
Now he was going to do what he should have done right from the start.
He was going to tell Paige how he felt, and he prayed she felt the same way.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Paige stood when the door opened. She nodded to Doc Clemson as he scurried past, trying not to show her disappointment. She’d been hoping for Wes. She’d been anxious to see him since everything that had transpired.
Just as she sank back down into the stiff seat outside the room, someone else stepped out. Paige sucked in a breath.
Wes.
She felt her eyes light up upon seeing him. Seeing him alive. A glow had returned to his skin and a sparkle to his gaze.
She’d been so worried while they were out on the water. She’d been certain something was going to happen to him. That there would be no happy ending.
“Paige.” Wes stepped toward her, a new look in his eyes. “You’re here.”
She stood again, feeling a momentary rush of nerves. “Of course I’m here. How are you?”
He shrugged, his gaze never leaving hers. “Sore, but I’ll be okay.”
She smiled. “I’m glad.”
“You want to take a walk to the beach?”
She supposed the beach seemed like a better place to talk than in the hallway at the clinic. “Sure, that would be great.”
“Maybe we could get that ice cream we talked about getting a few days ago before all the craziness began.”
“I’d like that.”
Without saying anything else, Wes took her hand into his, and they left the clinic. She’d already talked to Cassidy, so they’d been cleared. Cassidy would be in touch if needed, but with Jennifer’s confession, that might not be necessary.
Instead of walking to the beach, Wes paused outside the clinic and turned toward her. The sun was beginning to set, casting hues of pink and pale blue around them.
Paige’s heart skipped a beat when she saw the look in Wes’s eyes.
“I know this is going to sound crazy, Paige, but I love you.”
Her eyes widened, uncertain if she’d heard correctly. “What—”
“No, don’t say anything else. I know I’ve been stupid. I know I shouldn’t have let my fears hold me back. And I definitely realize that I shouldn’t have tried to send you away with your parents. I know it might be too little too late. But I only did those things because I cared about you. I could have shown that so much better, though.”
“Wes—”
“Wait. Just a little more. Please.”
She clamped her mouth shut when she saw his earnest expression, and instead she waited.
“I can’t imagine my future without you, Paige Henderson. You’re everything I’ve ever looked for in a best friend and in a soulmate. I desperately want you to stay here with me on Lantern Beach. I want to see where you and I go together. As a couple.”
A smile stretched across her face as he finally paused, but she said nothing for a minute. She needed to be certain she’d been cleared to speak. She cocked an eyebrow up before asking, “Can I talk now?”
He swallowed hard, as if he understood the tension she felt, both inside her and between them. “I would love it if you talked now.”
Her grin grew, and Cassidy’s words flooded in her mind.
Sometimes, the most rewarding thing we can do is to go against the current. It’s challenging. It’s hard. But you can make your own way . . . and sometimes that’s exactly what we need to do.
Suddenly, Paige knew exactly what she wanted for her future. It wasn’t based on a
whim. On other people’s expectations for her. Life was short . . . and she wanted to choose which direction her future would head.
Paige cleared her throat and began, a tremble of emotion in her voice. “As you know, I’ve made some bad decisions in my life. But when I thought you were going to die back there, my future was the only thing I could think about. My future with you. I knew that I couldn’t see my tomorrows without you by my side. I didn’t mean for it to happen, but I’ve fallen in love with you too, Wes O’Neill.”
A smile spread across his face, and he stepped closer, seemingly oblivious to anyone around them. His hands went to her waist, and he pulled her toward him. “That makes me very happy to hear.”
“I’m glad.” She raised her gaze to meet his.
Without any more words, he leaned toward her. Their lips met, slowly and tentatively at first before exploding with a sweet passion that Paige didn’t even realize she had inside her.
She wanted to do this forever. With Wes.
Finally, Wes stepped back, the affection in his gaze taking her breath away. He cared about her. He really did. And she cared about him also.
“Now, how about that ice cream?” He took her hand.
She laced her fingers with his. “Let’s go.”
Maybe second chances were possible. Maybe mistakes weren’t permanent. And maybe her plans to stay here on Lantern Beach with the man of her dreams wasn’t crazy after all.
And, for that, Paige was forever grateful.
Also by Christy Barritt:
Other Books in the Lantern Beach Series:
LANTERN BEACH MYSTERIES
Hidden Currents
You can take the detective out of the investigation, but you can't take the investigator out of the detective. A notorious gang puts a bounty on Detective Cady Matthews’s head after she takes down their leader, leaving her no choice but to hide until she can testify at trial. But her temporary home across the country on a remote North Carolina island isn’t as peaceful as she initially thinks. Living under the new identity of Cassidy Livingston, she struggles to keep her investigative skills tucked away, especially after a body washes ashore. When local police bungle the murder investigation, she can’t resist stepping in. But Cassidy is supposed to be keeping a low profile. One wrong move could lead to both her discovery and her demise. Can she bring justice to the island . . . or will the hidden currents surrounding her pull her under for good?
Winds of Danger Page 13
