Love Inspired Suspense July 2015 #1 (61 page)

Anger flared in his eyes. “If you're thinking about standing here and arguing with me, we'll go get the kid.”

“No.” The word came out loud and sharp, with much more strength than she was feeling. Edmund was going to drown her. And unlike her ordeal with Sally Ferguson, she couldn't even resist. If she did, Jayden would die.

She put one foot on the tile step. The other one followed. Then she bent and rested both hands on the edge of the tub, balancing herself as she swung one leg over the side.

“Hurry it up. I don't have all night.”

He gave her a push and she fell sideways, cracking her head on the opposite edge. Unfortunately, it wasn't hard enough to knock her out. That would have been preferable. She could have slipped into oblivion, relaxed and unaware as water filled her lungs.

Instead, she would experience every agonizing moment, fully and completely.

Edmund gripped the back of her neck, and panic shot through her. It was starting. And there was nothing she could do but submit.

But as he began to press her face toward the water, every muscle tensed of its own accord. She was on her hands and knees, her elbows locked. The tub continued to fill, the sound of the rushing water fraying the last of her nerves. If she didn't cooperate, Edmund would kill Jayden. But she couldn't overcome the terror that had gripped her.

Suddenly, Edmund's hold on her relaxed and he heaved a sigh. “So you're going to make me go get the kid.”

Her throat constricted, and her heart threatened to explode through her chest. “No.” She would do whatever she had to do to protect Jayden. “I'm lying down right now.”

With Edmund's hand still resting on the back of her neck, she slid her knees away from her hands, until her hips rested on the bottom of the tub, then slowly bent her elbows. Finally, she sucked in a huge breath of air, filling her lungs to capacity. How long could one go without breathing? One minute? Two?

If she stayed calm, she would be able to hold out longer. Whatever happened, she couldn't resist. She had to submit.

But as her face dipped beneath the surface, all thoughts about remaining calm fled. Renewed panic pounded through her. She couldn't do this.

But she had to. For Jayden.

She reined in her spiraling thoughts and once again willed herself to relax. By holding her breath, she was only delaying the inevitable. No one was coming. There was no one to help her.

But the longer she held on, the more time she gave Darci's little boy. Edmund had said he wouldn't hurt him if she cooperated. Chances were good that he was lying.

If Hunter can't get here in time to save me, please let him save Jayden.

* * *

Hunter blew through the stop sign at Fifth and G, slowing just enough to check for traffic. Worry pulled every muscle in his body taut. He'd been trying to reach Meagan, and each time, the call went to voice mail. Maybe her phone was on vibrate.

The problem was, he had tried to call Darci several times and had had the same experience. What were the odds that they
both
had their phones on vibrate?

When he left for Ocala early that afternoon, he'd been confident that Meagan would be safe. A detective would be with her at the store. Then she was going from work to church with Darci, and having Blake take her home. And a detective would be watching her house.

Except she never made it home.

Actually, she never made it to church, either. According to Blake, she had volunteered to babysit a sick Jayden so Darci could teach her class.

Hunter whipped into the Tuckers' drive and jammed on the brakes. If Darci and Meagan were inside chatting, their phones silenced, he would shake them both. If not, he would call 911. He wasn't handling this alone.

He jammed the transmission into Park and scanned his surroundings. Darci's car was there, but the house was dark. The worry swirling through him congealed into a solid knot of fear. Darci and Meagan wouldn't be sitting inside conversing without lights. Something was terribly wrong.

He pulled his weapon from the console and jumped from the truck. After calling for backup, he jogged toward the house. A thud sounded next to him, and he spun, weapon raised. No one was there. Then a series of thuds came from Darci's trunk.

Realization slammed into him. His greatest fear was coming to pass. Edmund had found Meagan and was at that very moment inside with her. Darci would have to wait. For the time being, she was safe, albeit a little uncomfortable.

Meagan and Jayden weren't. For them, seconds could count. Backup would arrive shortly. And judging from the concern in his friend's voice when Hunter had talked to him minutes earlier, Blake would be among them.

But Hunter couldn't wait. He tried the front door, then circled the house, peering in windows, trying to figure out his best course of action. Lacy curtains hung behind the glass, the heavier drapes pulled back on each side.

When he reached the dining room window, the back porch light cast a soft glow into the room. There was a small figure in one of the chairs. Jayden. He sat in profile, but his head was turned away, leaning against the back of the chair. Something trailed around his hip. Was that rope? Was he tied to the chair?

Then Jayden's head turned toward him. Duct tape covered the lower portion of his face. Hunter clenched his fists as anger surged through him. If he could get his hands on Edmund at that moment, he would punch him in the face for touching Jayden. Then he would break one bone in his body for each and every time he had hurt Meagan.

He closed his eyes and willed himself to calm down.
God, help me handle this correctly.
He needed to keep a clear head.

So where were Meagan and Edmund? Hunter jogged the rest of the way around the house, looking in windows. The bedroom ones had shades. That had to be where they were. What was Edmund doing to her? Whatever it was, something told him her time was running out.

He hurried back to the rear door and kicked it in. Jayden looked at him with wide, fear-filled eyes, and he gave him a reassuring smile, trying to convey to him that everything would be all right. Hopefully, he would be able to keep that unspoken promise.

He slipped down the hall, his sneakers hardly making a sound against the tile floor. Two bedroom doors were open. The third was closed. All was silent except...the sound of running water.

Panic pounded up his spine. Edmund was trying to drown her. She had faked her death by drowning, so that was the death he had chosen for her.

Hunter tried the knob, hoping to at least have the element of surprise on his side. It was locked. If Edmund was smart, he'd locked the bathroom door, too.

Hunter stepped back. If he couldn't have surprise, he would have speed. He charged across the room and threw his body against the door, then hit the second one without breaking his momentum.

The scene in front of him played out so quickly, he barely had time to react. Edmund was on his knees in front of the tub. He snatched his gun, sprang to his feet and spun around. Meagan rose up, gasping and coughing. A gunshot exploded in Hunter's ear, accompanied by a searing pain in his right upper arm. His weapon fell to the floor, and he dived for it, grabbing it with his other hand. Could he fire left-handed and not risk hitting Meagan?

Edmund didn't leave him a choice. He was already preparing to take a second shot. At the same moment, Meagan sprang to her feet and snatched a metal vase from the back corner of the tub. In one smooth motion, she stepped over the side and swung with both hands, bringing the vase down hard on Edmund's head. He staggered forward and dropped to his knees. His weapon discharged, the bullet lodging in the door casing a few inches from Hunter's head.

Now Edmund was far enough from the tub that Meagan was well out of harm's way. Hunter raised his weapon and aimed it at the man's chest. But he didn't have to shoot. Edmund's arm dropped and the pistol clattered to the floor. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he fell face-first onto the tile.

Hunter laid his weapon on the nearest counter and leaned against the doorjamb, trying to steel himself against the pain that seemed to rack his entire right side. Blackness encroached, and somewhere behind him, footsteps sounded. Backup had arrived.

Meagan climbed from the tub and hurried toward him, slipping and sliding on the wet tile. She threw herself into his arms. Or one, anyway. His right hung limp at his side. This shot had done more damage than the arrow had.

Hunter's knees gave out, and he began to slide down the doorjamb. Strong arms caught him from behind and eased him to the floor. Darkness closed in further, wiping out the last of the light, and the voices around him faded, then disappeared altogether.

His last conscious thoughts were that Meagan was finally safe.

And that he was bleeding all over the Tuckers' new tile.

ELEVEN

T
here was so much blood.

And she wasn't good with blood.

Meagan pressed a fist to her mouth and fought back nausea. Joe had eased Hunter to the floor and was working on getting him stabilized until the ambulance could arrive. The best thing she could do for him was to stay out of Joe's way.

Her eyes shifted to Gary, then to Steve, another Cedar Key officer. They had just stepped around Hunter and Joe and were putting handcuffs on Edmund.

She dropped her hand from her mouth and crossed her arms. She was dripping wet and starting to shiver. “Did you guys find Darci?”

Gary's eyes widened. “Is she missing?”

“She came home but never made it inside. Edmund got to her first.”

The concern that flashed across Gary's face put a solid knot of fear in her gut.
God, please let her be okay.

And please let Hunter be okay.
If he lost too much blood, or if his arm was damaged beyond repair... It was his dominant arm. He could be permanently injured. And it would be her fault. She had left California to escape danger, and instead had brought it with her.

Gary dashed out the door and down the hall, where he met Blake coming in from the living room. They almost collided.

Blake held up a hand. “You got the lockout kit?”

Gary cocked a brow. “Sure do. Why?”

“We've got someone who needs it. I heard noise coming from the trunk of the Corolla, like someone was inside. I knocked and hollered, and no one answered, but the thumps got louder and faster. As tiny as that trunk is, I'm guessing it's Darci in there. You couldn't fit someone like me or you in that suitcase-sized space.”

Instead of following them, Meagan continued to the dining room. When she flipped on the light and approached Jayden, fear filled his eyes. She pushed her still dripping hair away from her face and dropped to her knees in front of him. He shrank away from her, kicking his feet.

“It's okay, sweetie. Miss Meagan won't hurt you. Miss Meagan is going to rescue you. We're not going to play this game anymore.”

She reached for the tape. Okay, this
would
hurt. “I'm going to take the tape off your face. It's going to sting when I do, but not for long. Then I'm going to untie you and take you to Mommy.” Once she knew for sure that Mommy was okay.

Meagan grasped a corner of the tape and pulled, wincing in sympathy as she did. Jayden squeezed his eyes shut and drew in a deep breath. Then he let out an ear-piercing, bone-jarring scream. It wasn't the scream of frustration so common among autistic children. It was a scream of pure terror.

As she untied the ropes, she tried to soothe him. But nothing she said penetrated. He alternated between sobbing and screaming, until her own frayed nerves were ready to snap. Before she could get the rope untied from his wrists, he squirmed out of her grasp and ran down the hall and into the master suite.

Where Hunter was lying unconscious and bleeding. And where Edmund lay facedown on the floor, also unconscious and likely with a bloody nose.

She ran after him. He didn't need any more trauma tonight. She caught up to him in the doorway of the bathroom and scooped him up, gasping when her cold, wet T-shirt molded against her stomach. As she hurried down the hall toward the front of the house, he put up as much of a fight as his little body could muster, all the while continuing to scream and sob.

By now, Gary would have Darci's car open. The Cedar Key Police Department had a lockout kit and regularly helped tourists and residents who locked their keys in their cars. According to Hunter, they hadn't found a car yet that they couldn't get into. An older Toyota Corolla would be a piece of cake.

When she stepped onto the front porch, Gary was standing at Darci's open driver's door, bent at the waist, as if looking for the trunk release. Apparently he found it, because it suddenly exploded open. Blake stood at the back, ready to assist.

Meagan sprinted down the porch steps and hit the driveway at a run. Judging by the force with which Darci had kicked that trunk open, she wasn't incapacitated. And Jayden needed his mother.

When Meagan reached the car, Darci was sitting up, but her mouth was taped and her hands were tied behind her back. Her ankles were bound, too. Blake pulled the tape from her face.

Jayden's screams immediately stopped, but the sobs intensified. He leaned so far to the side, arms outstretched toward his mother, that Meagan was afraid she would drop him.

“It's okay, baby.” Darci's voice cracked. “Mommy's okay. And you're okay.”

As soon as Blake untied her hands and feet, Darci sprang out of the trunk and grasped her son. For several moments she crooned in his ear, rocking back and forth, until his sobs became nothing more than jagged breaths. Finally, he rested against her shoulder, and she looked at them past his little blond head.

“It was Edmund, wasn't it? I didn't even see him. I had just gotten out of my car. Before I could close the door, someone grabbed me from behind, wrapped his arm around my neck and squeezed.”

She put a hand to her throat and shook her head. “He wasn't strangling me. I could still breathe. But within a few seconds everything went black.”

Blake frowned. “I think you experienced a wrestler's choke hold.”

“Whatever it was, the next thing I remember is waking up in the dark, bound and gagged. It took me a few minutes to figure out where I was.” Creases settled between her brows, and her eyes locked with Meagan's. “I was sure Edmund was the one who attacked me, and all I could think about was that you and Jayden were inside with him.”

Two ambulances arrived, and first Hunter, then Edmund were brought out. Hunter was now conscious. Edmund wasn't. Meagan had put more strength behind that blow than she'd realized.

She moved to the gurney carrying Hunter. His tanned face was blanched and lined with pain. Guilt stabbed through her. “I'm so sorry. This is my fault.”

He reached for her hand as she walked beside him. “I know I'm a little out of it, but I thought it was Edmund who did this.”

Warmth filled her chest, accompanied by longing. Despite everything that had happened tonight, he could still tease her.

But she wasn't letting herself off the hook that easily. “If I had gone ahead and left when I was planning to, you wouldn't have gotten hurt.”

The paramedics stopped at the open doors of the ambulance, but Hunter didn't release her hand. “If you remember, I'm the one who brought you back. So if my getting hurt is anyone's fault other than Edmund's, it would have to be mine.”

She gave him a weak smile. “You saved my life. Thank you.”

“And you saved mine. So we're even.” He tried to return her smile, but his was more of a grimace. “You're pretty dangerous with a vase. Remind me to never make you mad.”

He dropped her hand and the paramedics loaded him into the back of the ambulance.

“I'm getting a ride to the hospital.” She hollered the words just before the doors closed, then stepped back and crossed her arms. She was even colder than before. Now her teeth were chattering. Whether from being soaking wet, or in a delayed reaction to almost dying tonight, she wasn't sure. But she was chilled all the way to the core.

She needed to get into some dry clothes. Then maybe she could get Blake to take her to the hospital. The doctors likely wouldn't let her see Hunter for some time. He would probably have to have surgery, at least to have the bullet removed. He might even have to have reconstructive surgery on the arm, a pin inserted if there was damage to the bone.

Whatever would have to be done, she would be there when he awoke. Because regardless of what he said, his injury was her fault.

But more than anything, she would be there for him because she loved him.

Once he recovered, she would have decisions to make. Such as whether to remain in Cedar Key, seeing Hunter on a regular basis, hoping that he would somehow come to feel the same way about her that she felt about him. Or accepting the fact that she and Hunter were destined to be nothing more than good friends. Or giving up on life in Cedar Key altogether and moving back to California.

Those were the decisions she would have to face eventually.

But not tonight. Tonight she would remember the kiss on his boat and how cherished she had felt in those moments. And how he often looked at her with emotion swimming in his blue eyes.

She clasped her hands and brought them to her chest. Yes, tonight she would hold on to that warmth.

And cling to her impossible dreams.

* * *

Moody.

That was how Meagan would describe Hunter over these past two weeks. And uncomfortable. At least around her.

The problem was, he knew how she felt about him. At least he had to have a strong suspicion. She never was that good at hiding her emotions. And now that she had become part of his inner circle—Blake, Allison, Sydney, Wade and Darci—he couldn't avoid her.

But he didn't have anything to worry about. She wasn't stalker material. She wouldn't try to force someone to feel something for her that wasn't there, no matter how much she cared for him. She would just quietly walk away.

And that was exactly what she was doing.

She sighed and placed the small stack of folded clothes into one side of the duffel bag. She was leaving with all the items she'd come with, plus some art supplies, her camera and a few extra changes of clothes.

But, she had traded the fear and uncertainty for an overwhelming sense of loss. Which was ridiculous. She couldn't lose something she'd never had.

Last night at church, she had said goodbye to everyone. There had been lots of hugs and more than a few tears. Even Jayden had given her a tentative wave. She hadn't been able to coax a hug from him. But that was okay. Since his ordeal, he had been exceptionally clingy, only turning loose of Darci to go to her mother. Hopefully, in time, he would forget. He was only two.

Amidst all the goodbyes, though, Hunter had stood silently to the side, his blue eyes impossible to read. She had hoped he would try to talk her into staying. It wouldn't have taken much.

But he hadn't. She shouldn't have expected anything different. It wasn't just losing his fiancée. It was the fact that Hunter had impossibly high standards. And she didn't meet them.

She stuffed the last of her belongings into her bag, then laid the house key on the counter and went to wait on the porch. The cab would arrive any minute to take her to the bus station. But there was one person who deserved a special final goodbye on her way out.

When Meagan walked into Darci's Collectibles and Gifts, her throat tightened. Darci had been so much more than an employer.

“I couldn't leave without saying bye one more time. Thank you for everything you've done for me.”

Darci came out from behind the counter and wrapped her in a crushing hug that belied her small size. “I wish you didn't have to go. But I understand why. Your mom and sister are going to be happy to have you home.”

Yes, they would be. At the time they came to visit, she hadn't yet decided whether she would stay. And not knowing when they would see each other again, they had all cried when they'd parted at the bus station.

Darci frowned. “I had really hoped that you and Hunter would get together. He cares about you. A lot. In the four years I've known him, this is the first time anyone has gotten past his barriers.”

“A lot of good it's done. I believe his mind understands that I was left with no choice, but his heart can't get past the fact that I lied to him. He'll never fully trust me. Even if he did decide to give a relationship a try, I can't live like that.”

“I don't blame you. I couldn't, either.” Darci stepped forward and gave her another hug. When she released her, there were tears in her eyes. “You're going to find a church when you get home, right?”

“Definitely. And I'm going to stay in touch. Who knows? Maybe someday I'll find my way back to Cedar Key, at least for a vacation.”

As Meagan walked out the door and got into the cab, she was fighting back tears herself. In a little over four months, Darci had become closer to her than any of her childhood friends. And she hadn't just grown to love Darci and Hunter and the others. She had grown to love Cedar Key itself—the quaintness, the tranquility, the Old Florida charm. The thought of going away left her with a big hole in her heart.

The cabdriver turned into the parking lot of the bus station and eased to a stop. After paying the fare, Meagan removed her items from the car—her purse, backpack and duffel bag, all her worldly possessions. Now that she was going to be able to put down deep roots, she could start acquiring some comforts of life rather than just the bare necessities.

As she approached the ticket counter, the clerk looked up, and her eyes lit with recognition, followed by disappointment. “I guess it didn't work out.”

“No, I'm afraid it didn't.”

“Sorry to hear that. He seemed like a nice young man.”

Yeah, too nice.

“So where to?”

“Napa, California.”

Meagan paid for the ticket, then settled onto a chair to read. The bus wouldn't leave for another three hours. She glanced at the door. No, Hunter wasn't going to show up this time. He'd come after her the first time because he had a case to solve. Now everything was neatly wrapped up. And he was ready to go back to his ordered life. No, today no one would stop her.

She pulled a paperback book out of her duffel and frowned at the cover. It was a romantic suspense. She had lived enough suspense during the past few months to last a lifetime. And romance? Well, she just wasn't in the mood.

Instead, she chose the book of poetry that had belonged to Charlie. Maybe it would help keep her mind off Hunter. Soon she would be on her way, each minute carrying her closer to the life she had left four and a half months ago, a life she'd never thought she would see again.