by Regan Black
Carter kept scanning the area. His discomfort was mounting and he’d learned to heed his instincts. “Head for the market,” he said. He abruptly wanted these women surrounded by an unpredictable crowd and a quicker police response.
Paige turned, gave him a curious look, but didn’t argue the choice.
“It’s plausible Yost and Yvette conspired to double their money,” Jayne said.
“Plausible?” Paige stopped short and Carter nudged her along. “That’s horrific.”
Jayne shrugged. “She wasn’t a nice woman. From what I can tell, your dad is one of the good ones.”
“Our dad,” Paige said, emphatically. “I wish we hadn’t grown up so differently.”
“We’re in control of where we go from here,” Jayne said.
They reached the market and Carter guided them into the flow of foot traffic. It prevented further conversation and gave him a little time to think and time for Jenna to work.
Sure enough, his phone hummed. His assistant had spotted a man shadowing their steps on the sidewalk just outside the market. She could not confirm if he had any tattoos. Regardless it was time to move. He said, “I have more questions, Jayne. But we can’t talk here.”
“The safe house?” Paige offered.
“No.” He sent Jayne a look. “Her safety is my first priority.” And now whoever was following them—probably the same man who had attacked Jayne—had seen her with Paige. Carter might as well have painted a new target on Paige’s back himself. Why had he let her talk him into this?
“Jayne should come with us,” Paige began.
“Paige, no.” Carter shook his head, relieved to see Jayne doing the same.
As similar as the women were, there was a harder edge to the younger twin. A grittiness of experience that he recognized and respected. He would just like some solid confirmation she could be trusted.
“We’re being followed. Can you get safely to your car?” he asked Jayne.
“Yes.” Her confidence was a weight off his shoulders.
“The Cokers have a boathouse.” It was the most private, inaccessible place he could think of. “Can you meet us there in two hours?” The tight timing would eliminate any chance that someone could get in place before they arrived if Jayne was working against them.
“I’ll be there,” she promised.
“It’s a test, not a trap,” he added.
“I’ll pass.” She gave him a firm nod and a tight smile. “See you soon.” She gave Paige a fast hug and moved along between the vendors, quickly blending in with the other shoppers and out of sight.
He moved in the opposite direction with Paige and called Jenna. “Is he following her?”
“Give it time.” Jenna paused. “He’s on you.”
He stifled the oath on the tip of his tongue. “Thanks.” He ended the call and pulled up a rideshare app. Within a few seconds, he had a car ready to pick them up a block over. “We’re catching a lift out,” he said, taking her hand.
“Why?”
“Because the person is following us, not your sister.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’m not sure yet,” he replied. “But this meeting feels like a big mistake.”
“You don’t trust Jayne.” It wasn’t a question.
“Right now I don’t trust anyone but my team and you,” he admitted. “Just because the two of you look alike doesn’t mean you are alike.” Realizing she was nearly running to keep up with him, he slowed down just a bit. “We don’t know her motives.”
“Can someone from your agency watch out for her or vet her or something? I’ll cover the expense.”
“They’re already on it,” he said. “On her and Yost. The Guardian Agency is the best at research and background. They’ll give us a clear picture soon.”
“Is that why you asked for two hours before we talk to her again?”
He appreciated her curiosity about the work involved with clearing her name. “Yes. I want some time to confirm her story. I also want to speak with your father if possible. Meeting at the boathouse should give us some privacy, even with the police sitting out front.”
“We can go by boat. It might be faster,” she said. “We have a slip at the yacht club.”
He’d been watching the street but turned now and shot her a long look. She consistently surprised him. The club was only a few blocks in the other direction, but too far to go on foot without backup. “When the car gets here, give him that address.”
“For what it’s worth, I believe her,” Paige said. “And you don’t have to say it, I’m well aware that my instant faith in her is probably because she’s my twin.”
“You’re allowed to believe her,” he said. “You’re just not allowed to put yourself in harm’s way because you believe her.”
He checked the app. The car should be here any second. “You’re not as angry as I expected,” he said.
“Angry with Jayne? Why? None of this is her fault. She had no reason to kill Melissa.”
“Maybe she didn’t mean to kill Melissa. Or maybe she told us the truth. It’s possible she came to Charleston to disrupt or discredit the family of the man who left her behind.”
“If she was that kind of person wouldn’t she just simply go after Dad?” Paige challenged.
“She said her first stop was Yost. The man she thought was her father.” He saw that sink in as Paige’s vivid blue eyes went round.
“You’ve made your point. I’ll try to stay objective until we know more.”
“Thank you,” he said as the car rolled to a stop in front of them. He double-checked the license plate and driver’s name before he reached to open the rear door for Paige.
She stopped the gesture and pushed him back. “Look out!”
Something whizzed by his head and struck the car with a loud crunch. Carter twisted as the man raised the metal bat for another strike.
The front windows were rolled down and Carter heard the driver shouting, voice-dialing 911. He ducked another blow and rushed into the attacker’s chest, too close for the bat to be effective. Still, the knob glanced off his head as they struggled.
Where was Paige?
He heard her voice, talking rapidly with someone. The man threw a punch, Carter blocked it, and the sleeve pushed back enough to reveal tattoos. Maybe this was the guy who’d gone after Jayne, maybe it wasn’t. The police could sort it out.
A siren wailed nearby and the man shoved Carter back in an effort to escape. Carter leaped after him, catching his jacket. It was enough to slow him down and Carter quickly gained the advantage, spinning him around and driving a punch into the man’s midsection. The attacker doubled over, gasping for air and Carter landed another punch on his jaw. The man dropped to the ground, unconscious. He pulled handcuffs from his back pocket and looped the man’s arms around the light pole at the corner.
“Paige!”
“Here.” She was tucked down near the curb, but not nearly safe enough to suit Carter. “I’m okay. I saw the tattoos near his wrist. Detectives Lewis and Cruz are on the way.”
Carter’s mind was spinning through the ramifications. An attack in broad daylight, in such a public place smacked of desperation. People were crowding around them and plenty of cell phones were aimed at the scene. He pulled Paige close to his side.
She eased back and searched his face. “Are you okay?”
“Fine.” It wasn’t much of a lie. They had to get out of here. He handed his business card to the driver. “The police will know where to reach us,” he assured the man and hurried Paige away.
He wasn’t excited about making a run for the marina several blocks away on foot, but they couldn’t stick around and wait for someone else to jump them.
“Bicycle rickshaw,” she suggested as they cut through the market.
Better than nothing. The skinny kid in the seat was more than eager for the fare and as soon as they were underway Carter’s cell phone rang.
“It’s Jenna,�
�� he told Paige as he answered.
“Are you all right? You know I hate asking that,” Jenna said.
“We’re fine,” he assured her. “Can you call ahead to the yacht club and tell them—”
“It’s handled,” Paige said, her head bent over her phone.
“Did you find anything?” he asked his assistant.
“Yost has been practicing law in Charleston since he passed the bar. I can’t find anything that closely ties him to Jack Coker. So far just a picture of the two of them in the same charity golf tournament the year before Paige was born.” She paused. “Nothing obvious contradicts what Jayne told you. Thanks for recording that, by the way.”
“You’ve taught me well,” he said. “No recent ties between Yost and Coker?”
“Nothing that made news,” she said. “Makes sense if they did something as seedy as purchase a child, they might not really stay chummy.”
But as Paige had said, why not purchase both children?
“Something has spooked him if he’s sending out people to harass the twins,” Carter said quietly.
“Do you want me to let the cops know where to pick up Jayne? I’m still tracking her phone.”
Carter had a moment as they approached the yacht club. It would be easy to give Jayne over, but it would completely destroy the trust between him and Paige. He didn’t want to break that trust and he sure didn’t want to examine why. Not right now.
His gut instinct, backed by Jenna’s initial report, said she wasn’t the culprit, just caught in an untenable situation. “No,” he finally decided. “Keep digging. I hope to speak with Jack next. I’ll let you know what shakes loose.”
Paige did her best not to make any assumptions about the bits and pieces of Carter’s conversation she could hear during the short trip to the yacht club. It was his job to handle the investigation, his job to keep her safe. In her opinion, he was fulfilling both roles admirably. Especially now that they’d come to an understanding that she wouldn’t sit on the sidelines waiting for answers.
She worried that he thought Jayne was behind the attack. It was possible. Paige didn’t truly know Jayne at all. It had been hard to learn her biological mother was so awful and calculating. So cruel. She wanted—needed—to believe her sister was a better person than Yvette.
Carter ended his call just as they reached the club and all of her new questions had to wait until they had some privacy. He paid the bicyclist and then she slipped her hand into Carter’s. “Let me take the lead,” she said.
Every time she touched him, it felt like she was exactly where she should be. Was that infatuation, or was she simply reading too much into his innate skill as a bodyguard?
He gave her a nod and that intriguing half smile that never failed to send a tingle through her system. Trust was a cornerstone of any good relationship and with every passing hour she had more trust in Carter than anyone else.
Admittedly that was part of his appeal and possibly it was a byproduct of all the turmoil swirling around her. He was separate and objective when it seemed as if everyone else in her life had something to hide. Her own parents had been lying to her all her life.
Did that make her a hypocrite, standing here throwing around the full weight of her last name and her most charming smile to bluff her way onto her father’s fishing boat? Probably, but this was about survival and avoiding another attack. Watching Carter go after the man with the bat had scared her. He could handle himself, but she didn’t want him hurt because of her.
“Wow, this Cabo is in excellent condition,” he said as they boarded the forty-foot yacht.
“You know your fishing boats,” she said, impressed.
“That I do. Does your dad take her out often?”
“Not as often as he’d like. He’s hoping to take her out more once he’s retired.”
“I bet. I love my boat and get out on the water every chance I get. It’s a big step down from this.” He was grinning like a little kid. “I’m an ocean kind of guy.”
“When I first saw you at the house, I thought you’d stepped out of a sailing magazine.”
His eyebrows lifted over his sunglasses. “Is that so?”
“Before I remembered you’d been a lifeguard.” She moved to the second helm chair. “Go ahead and take the wheel.”
“You’re serious.”
“I am. Go on.” Whatever happened with her family crisis, she’d never forget the joy on his face as he took control. It gave her so much pleasure to see him happy.
He handled the yacht like an expert and soon they were out of the no-wake zone, Charleston behind them as they headed for her parents’ place.
“Is it normal to feel so guilty about Jayne? She had it so rough and I had it so easy.”
“It’s probably a normal reaction,” he allowed. “But you didn’t have any more control than she did over which parent did what.”
“Unfortunately, logic is not easing anything around my heart.” She pressed a hand to her chest. Her sister had had heart surgery as an infant. “I ache for her. No child should have to hear all the crap her mother dumped on her head.”
Carter touched her hand, taking away some of the persistent chill. “Having two parents who love you, who are stable and accepting of who you are, isn’t as common as it should be.”
“I guess not.” And that, too, broke her heart a little bit.
“My mom raised me alone, but she loved me. We were a team.”
“I’m glad.” Until she’d found the truth, she’d thought she and her parents were a team too. “Did I hear you say you want to talk to Dad?” she asked, shifting the subject.
“Yes. I want as much information as possible before we go back to Yost. I’m hoping the police will match up the thug who jumped us with Melissa’s murder. I forgot to look for any scratches on the man who attacked me. Jenna will coordinate with the police if she notices something helpful.”
“I hope Detective Lewis listens to her,” she grumbled.
“We’re missing something, Paige. I don’t understand how this escalated so quickly. Either Yost’s hired gun got confused, or he has orders to hurt you, too. Jenna is digging up background information as fast as she can. If Jayne is telling the truth, then we need to figure out what Yost is so afraid of.”
“Carter.”
“I know you believe her,” he said. “But what if the gunman is on Jayne’s trail because of some other illegal activity? We need verification. I won’t let her use you as a distraction or a patsy.”
Paige didn’t want to think about those scenarios at all, though she didn’t bother saying it. It was Carter’s job to be skeptical. She’d felt a natural, immediate kinship while talking to Jayne and she couldn’t imagine her twin being manipulative.
“I know you want to like her.” He’d raised his voice to be heard over the engine. “Honestly, I want to like her, but I also need to know she isn’t trying to hurt you.”
They were out of sight of the marina and no one else on the water seemed interested in them so she reached over and throttled down, letting the boat drift along in this illusion of privacy.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“We have a little time,” she said. “Are you sure you’re okay?” She lifted her hand, ruffling his hair. He had a goose egg swelling at the back of his head.
“I’m fine.”
Her heart hammered, but it wasn’t about danger anymore. They were standing so close she could smell the sunshine in his hair. She liked Carter. Liked him. Not just because he’d become a shield between her and the rest of the world. He had integrity, a good sense of humor, and that rare, innate kindness more people needed.
She was fully aware she was naïve about the situation, especially compared to his experience as a professional bodyguard and investigator. Instead of mocking her, he’d found ways to make the worst days of her life bearable. That was priceless.
“Paige?”
She was staring at his mouth, wondering if
she dared to kiss him. “I was sure he was going to crush you with that bat.”
“You weren’t the only one,” he confessed, his voice rough. “If he’d knocked me out, what would have happened to you?”
“I would’ve fought for both of us,” she said.
He shook his head. “The correct answer is ‘I would’ve run to safety’.”
“Noted.” But he was her safety. She’d never felt so certain about anyone else. And she’d never felt so certain that if she didn’t kiss him right now, she’d regret it for the rest of her life. He was the one who’d said everyone was responsible for their own happiness. With one hand on his shoulder for balance, she pressed up on her toes and kissed him.
His lips were warm and firm. The tender contact shimmered through her softly like the first glow of a sunrise. Oh, yes, she’d been right to take this chance. She started to ease back, worried she hadn’t just crossed the line, but obliterated it, when his arm banded around her and pulled her back in.
The next kiss was sweeter, better, and she let herself get lost in the sheer pleasure of the man holding her. The last of her fear subsided and all of the questions and secrets faded away, all of her attention centered on the two of them in this wonderful moment.
Reluctantly she eased back, her lips tingling. Only the memory could last. Jayne was expecting them soon and the police would have more questions after they’d left the scene of the last attack.
“Should I apologize?”
“Please don’t.” Carter brushed his knuckles across her cheek. “This isn’t normal for me,” he said.
Her heart skipped. It was more than a normal kiss for her too. “You’re not mad or offended that I, um…” Good grief, just own it. “That I made a move?”
“No. As long as you understand that this isn’t how I typically operate. Keeping it professional has never been a struggle.” He smoothed a loose tendril of hair behind her ear. “You’re different, Paige. Believe me.”
Her heart soared. As long as different was a good thing. Judging by the heat in his golden-brown eyes, different was very good indeed. Maybe, when the family drama and this mess of being a murder suspect was behind her, he’d be open to going out with her on a more traditional type of date.
