by Janie Crouch
But now, after the past week, her perspective had changed. She had found her footing in the case and realized how much she truly enjoyed undercover work. She’d kept her wits about her and successfully completed a dangerous mission, possibly saving thousands of lives in the process.
Just as importantly, she’d found out she could still respond passionately to a man. At least when that man was Evan, whom she had known—somewhere in the depths of her subconscious—was in love with her. Had been in love with her for a long time.
Just as she had been with him.
They had been floating toward each other for years and things probably would’ve happened a lot quicker if it hadn’t been for the attack. But Juliet didn’t begrudge that anymore. The past was the past and she wasn’t going to let it control her. She and Evan were stronger together because of what had happened. And they would remain strong.
She got out of the Jeep and made her way inside her house. For the first time in eighteen months, she didn’t bolt all the multiple locks on her door when it closed behind her. She didn’t have to live in fear any longer.
Juliet looked around. She liked the thought of leaving this house for good. It held too many bad memories she didn’t want to battle anymore. Even if she wasn’t moving in with Evan she would’ve been looking for a new place. Moving forward.
She didn’t rush through her house. She knew Evan would be hours with Heath Morel. That was another part of her past she wanted to have done with. She was glad they’d arrested him. Her brothers would take care of this for her. For once their excessive overprotectiveness would come in handy. She didn’t expect to have much future trouble from Morel.
Juliet got a suitcase out and packed clothes and toiletries. Her house was still a disaster, even with the work she and Evan had done a few days ago. But she’d deal with that later.
She grabbed a soda from her fridge and decided to catch up on a little office work on her computer. She smiled. Once Evan got home, who knew when she’d be interested in checking emails again? She’d have better things to do.
She checked her own personal stuff first. Not much there. Then she decided to go ahead and check Lisa Sinclair’s emails. She knew there would be new ones. Undoubtedly Morel had sent her some since she’d turned off the email indicator chirps on her phone.
And there were. Juliet was aghast to see fifty-seven new messages in the past two days.
Oh my God. Morel was obviously more sick than they had thought. Being around Juliet and seeing her on the yacht must have made him downright crazy.
Fifty-seven messages.
At one time she would have read them all. Pored over each one, here alone, fighting and losing the battle to not let fear overwhelm her.
But she wasn’t going to do that. Not tonight. She’d wait until tomorrow, or the day after, when Evan, or even the entire Omega staff, was with her. Waiting didn’t make her weak or a coward. It meant she was growing, learning. Facing her fears in a better, more effective, way.
She would just go on over to Evan’s house. She didn’t need to stay here anymore. But as she scrolled up to close the email account, she noticed the date and time of the latest sweetheart email that had been sent.
Today. Five minutes ago.
What the hell? This one Juliet opened.
Just you and me together at last, sweetheart. We’ve had to wait a long time, haven’t we? You’re so beautiful.
She sat staring at the screen. If Heath Morel was in custody, there was no way he could’ve sent that email.
And then she smelled it, a sickly sweet odor coming from her hallway. One she recognized from just a few days before. The smell of a cigar.
Oh no, they’d made a horrible mistake. Juliet turned slowly in her chair and faced the doorway.
There stood Christopher Cady. “Hello, my sweetheart.”
* * *
EVAN WATCHED FROM the other side of the two-way mirror as Cameron and Sawyer questioned Morel. Dylan watched with him, since he wasn’t actually law enforcement.
For nearly forty-five minutes Cameron and Sawyer had been at it, at first drilling Morel about his criminal activities, although very specifically not mentioning Vince Cady, and then moving on to the emails sent to Lisa Sinclair. Morel had looked a little uncomfortable when they’d mentioned his shady activities, although he hadn’t said anything that incriminated himself. But his stare was completely blank when they mentioned the emails.
“I know I’ve been out of the game for a few years,” Dylan said to Evan as they both watched the action in the interrogation room. “But if I had to guess, I would say that Morel has no idea what they’re talking about with the emails.”
“But I’ve read them all, Dylan. They contain details that no one could know if they hadn’t been there or been communicating with Robert Avilo. And Avilo hasn’t been communicating with anyone. It has to be Morel.”
Through the glass, Cameron continued questioning the man, but Sawyer was looking at a text he’d just received. Confusion suffused his face and he glanced over at the two-way mirror. When he walked over to Cameron and showed him the text, his brother got the same befuddled look, then gestured with his head for Sawyer to go to the observation room.
“What’s going on?” Evan demanded as soon as he arrived.
“I just got a text from Megan. She’s still at the Omega computer lab. She said another email came in for Lisa Sinclair fifteen minutes ago.”
“Is it on a scheduled timer or something?” Dylan asked.
“No. It was actually sent then. No timer. Megan is sure.”
Nobody dismissed Sawyer’s fiancée. She was smarter than all three of them put together.
But if she was right, that meant Heath Morel wasn’t their perp. Damn it, Evan had really wanted this to be over with.
He rubbed his eyes. “Okay, I guess it’s not him, then. Tell Cam to ask a few more random questions to throw Morel off any scent and—”
Evan froze as his and every other phone in the room began buzzing. They all grabbed for them. Another text from Megan at the Omega office.
Juliet had just activated the emergency transmitter in her locket. She was in trouble.
Evan was running out the door before he even finished reading the message. Dylan and Sawyer were right behind him. Cameron would have to stay with Morel.
They made it to the car, Evan letting Dylan drive because of his shoulder. Sawyer was already on the phone with Megan. He put her on speaker.
“Honey, what’s going on?”
“Juliet pushed the panic button on the locket.” They could all hear Megan clicking away at the keyboard while speaking to them. Multitasking wasn’t a problem for her.
“Are you sure it wasn’t an accident or something? A mistake?”
“No, setting it off accidentally is nearly impossible. And I’ve already tried to call and text her. No response.”
“Is the tracker working, Megan?” Evan asked.
“Yes, Evan. She’s at her house. She hasn’t moved any significant distance since the transmitter was turned on.”
Evan tried not to panic. There was more than one reason Juliet could have hit the emergency button without it actually being a life-threatening situation. She’d gotten smacked around by the Ukrainians pretty hard. Maybe she was just having problems from that.
Evan could recognize the holes in his own theory, but he clung to it. He couldn’t stand the thought of her being hurt again.
As if Dylan could read Evan’s thoughts, he pushed down on the gas and the car shot forward.
Juliet wouldn’t have activated the device if it wasn’t truly an emergency. Everybody in the car knew that.
“Oh crap,” Megan said. Evan had forgotten they still had her on speakerphone.
“What?” All three men responde
d in unison.
“Hold. Processing.” Megan was a scientist to her core.
If she was telling them to wait, she had a good reason to do so, but those moments were some of the longest in Evan’s life.
“Oh crap,” she repeated.
Evan closed his eyes and forced himself not to scream at her.
“We’ve been digging more deeply into Robert Avilo, since he knew the most about Juliet’s rape. Details that were in the emails.”
“Yeah?” Evan replied. “Juliet talked to the warden at his prison and he said Avilo hadn’t had any contact—written, phone calls, visitors, anything—since he’d been in jail. Evidently Robert’s brother Marco was his only friend, and Marco’s dead.”
Good thing, too, because Evan was pretty sure he would’ve killed him for what he’d done to Juliet if the man wasn’t already in the ground.
“No, that looks correct. Robert Avilo hasn’t had any outside contact with anyone, as far as we can tell,” Megan confirmed.
“But…” Evan prodded.
“But Avilo’s cellmate sends out letters all the time. Sometimes two or three a week. All going to the same person and place. His cousin, a resident of a mental hospital–country club type place in Croatia.”
“Croatia? Like Europe Croatia?” Evan asked. And what the hell did this have to do with Juliet?
“It’s a place where rich parents send their bad teenagers and young adults when they’ve gotten into trouble, and they want to keep them out of prison or out of sight. Nonextradition. Of course, that’s interesting, because Croatia has traditionally been a democratic-supporting country at least in terms of socioeconomic—”
“Honey,” Sawyer said. “Focus.”
“I’m sorry,” Megan replied. “Anyway, Robert Avilo’s roommate writes to his cousin there all the time. We were able to get a scan of one of the letters, and although it doesn’t mention any names, it definitely includes some details about a rape.”
Evan could feel cold pooling in his chest. “Who is the cousin, Megan?”
“It’s not the cousin that’s a big deal. It’s the cousin’s BFF at the hospital, who was just released back to his family about six months ago.”
“Who?”
“Christopher Cady. Vince’s son. According to records I hacked, Cady sent him there five years ago at the ripe old age of seventeen, after a fourth woman claimed Christopher attacked her. The Cady family couldn’t buy her off, like they had the others, so needed him out of the country quick.”
“Juliet said the emails have been coming for about a year,” Evan stated. “Would Christopher have had access to email at this hospital place?”
“Without a doubt. It’s not a prison, it’s more of a retreat. And when Cady got home six months ago? That’s when the pickup in emails really started.”
So many things made sense. How the emails became more excitable a few days ago, after Cady met Juliet for the first time. And the looks Evan had seen on Christopher’s face while on the yacht.
Obsession.
A man obsessed with Juliet had her in his clutches. The cold in Evan’s chest spread further.
“Wait, she’s on the move now, actually headed toward you.” Megan provided them coordinates. “Do you want me to send in local PD?”
“No,” Evan told her. “Police might cause Christopher to do something desperate. But have them on standby.” Evan didn’t want to risk Juliet’s life.
“Hurry,” Megan said. “If she gets out of range, we’ll lose her. That transmitter is limited. I’ll keep giving you coordinates. Right now, she’s still headed north.”
“Drive faster,” Evan whispered to Dylan. He prayed they would get to her in time.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Christopher Cady was certifiably insane. Juliet wasn’t sure how she hadn’t seen it before. Now she wished when she’d flipped him on the yacht that he’d fallen overboard.
Because he was crazy. He really was.
He had found her by tracking her phone, Christopher had told her. They were in his car back at Annapolis Harbor. Juliet had driven, with Christopher pointing his gun at her and stroking her hair the entire way.
The gun didn’t freak her out nearly as much as the hair-stroking did. Every touch caused her to cringe, flinch, her flesh crawling.
She had to keep it together, keep her wits about her, and pray like never before that the emergency transmitter in her necklace was working.
Evan would get to her. He had to.
She couldn’t believe they were back at Annapolis Harbor. From where they were parked, Juliet could see the unique three-pronged flagpole in the middle of Susan Campbell Park. It was late; the harbor was empty. Juliet had tried to buy more time by driving as slowly as possible, but she could go only so slow without Christopher realizing she was stalling.
“I know you don’t love me now, sweetheart.” Christopher twisted a strand of her hair between his fingers as they sat in the parked car. “But you will. I have another boat, one that doesn’t require a staff. It will be just you and me.”
He got out of the car, keeping his gun pointed at her the entire time as he walked around to her door. He opened it and pulled her out.
“Christopher, what about Bob? I’m married. I can’t just leave him and run off with you.”
“Don’t worry. I’m going to get you situated in the boat, then come back and finish your husband for good.”
“What?”
“He doesn’t deserve to live, sweetheart. He didn’t protect you when you needed it most. Not eighteen months ago and not yesterday.”
“Christopher—” Juliet wanted to break through to her captor, but there didn’t seem to be much chance.
“It was me who protected you yesterday, not him. Because we are meant to be together, you and I.”
Juliet wasn’t prepared for Christopher’s kiss. Something snapped in her. She bit down on his lip and then pushed him away with all her strength.
But he was ready for that. She found herself being spun around and flung against the car, Christopher using his weight to hold her there while he yanked her arms behind her back and bound her wrists together with a zip tie. Juliet tried to breathe through the panic.
“I should be angry, but I’m not. You’re not ready yet, but you will be soon.” He tightened the tie. “This will just help me keep you on the boat until I can take care of Bob. I have to admit I was hoping he would be with you at your house, so I could get rid of him before even talking to you.”
Thank God they’d arrested Heath Morel and Evan had gone with her brothers to question him. Otherwise, Evan would probably be dead now.
Christopher grabbed Juliet by the arm and started marching her toward the pier. She knew she couldn’t allow him to get her on that boat. If she did it would cost both her and Evan their lives.
“Stay quiet. If you yell and someone comes to investigate, I’ll be forced to kill them. You don’t want that on your conscience, do you?”
No, she didn’t, but she didn’t want to get on that vessel with this lunatic, either. The docks were pretty quiet at this time of night and Juliet didn’t see anyone she could yell to, anyway.
They were nearing the boat slips now, Christopher angling her toward one of the last ones, where a large sailboat floated serenely in the water. Under other circumstances Juliet would have loved to climb aboard, but now she just wanted to get away. She kept testing the zip tie, hoping to find a way out of it, but to no avail.
She would have to try to fight Christopher with her arms restrained. Because she sure as hell wasn’t getting on the boat of her own accord.
Juliet tensed, about to make a move by throwing herself back at Christopher, when a voice called out from the darkness. “I’m not going to let you just take my wife, Christopher.”
Christopher immediately turned toward him, using Juliet as a shield. The two men pointed their weapons at each other.
“You don’t deserve her. You don’t take care of her. Don’t protect her. She deserves to be with me.” Christopher spat the words.
“Well…” Evan took a step forward, weapon still raised. “Why don’t we go sit down and talk about this, the three of us? If Lisa wants to leave me to be with you, I’m man enough to accept that.”
“No!” Christopher’s near hysteria echoed now. “You would try to trick her.”
He took another few steps backward, dragging Juliet with him until they were on the gangplank that led to the boat.
“Just put the gun down, Christopher, before someone gets hurt.” Evan tried to talk reason into the younger man, but he was far beyond that at this point.
“You’re the only one who’s going to get hurt!” he growled.
Juliet realized he was no longer waving his gun so wildly. He was taking aim at Evan, ready to shoot.
“No!” She screamed, throwing her weight into her captor, but he had already gotten off a shot.
Christopher crumpled onto her. He had been shot from a different angle, not by Evan. He seemed to be badly wounded, but wasn’t dead. His eyes fastened on hers as they hit the railing of the gangplank together.
“It’s over, Christopher. Bob’s never going to let you leave here with me. Just let me go,” she told the younger man.
Christopher looked over toward Evan, then back at her. He ran his fingers, now bloody, down her cheek. “We’re destined to be together, sweetheart. Even if it’s in death.”
Before Juliet could figure out what he meant to do, he threw all his weight forward over the railing, dragging her with him. She could hear Evan yelling for her as she fell with a splash into Annapolis Harbor.
The freezing water stole Juliet’s breath. Darkness and cold surrounded her, making orientation impossible. She fought to free herself from Christopher’s grip, but with her arms tied behind her back, there was little she could do. He didn’t fight, just wrapped his arms around her as they sank deeper and deeper. She finally hit the bottom of the harbor, landing face-first, with him on top of her.