As soon as he got a close look at the safe, he knew he wouldn’t be opening it…at least not that night. Another of Gable’s unique security features. That left only the computer. He turned it on, but didn’t hold out much hope for success. As expected, the entire system was password protected. He attempted to hack past it and gain access only to run into an even more sophisticated password protected security wall, a program he had never seen before and didn’t have the vaguest idea how to manipulate. Gable Talbot definitely knew his way around computers, too.
Brian quickly removed all signs that he had been in the room and hurried back to the security office. He slowly shook his head as he mumbled his thoughts out loud while reaching for his cell phone. “Damn! He’s not going to like this.”
****
Lexi slowly opened her eyes. The bright, early morning sun filtered in around the edges of the drapes. She stretched her legs, wiggled her toes, then threw back the covers and climbed out of bed. Her lips still tingled from Gable’s kisses and the memory of his touch continued to warm her skin. The evening had been a strange one…part mutual seduction and part tender moments of quiet togetherness. Sexual tension had filled the air and that wasn’t all.
Regardless of whether she wanted it to be so or not, she couldn’t deny that her emotions had become involved. Gable Talbot—a virtual stranger, a man she had just met, a man of mystery hiding dark secrets behind a false identity. Yet a man who had managed to invade more than just her thoughts. A man who touched her emotions as surely as the sun rose in the east.
What would this new day bring? Would it be like the first time…neither of them mentioning it as if the passion hadn’t erupted between them? Knowing they could have just as easily ended up in bed, but hadn’t? She wasn’t ready to face Gable that morning. The confusion continued to swirl around in her head as she showered and dressed. Instead of going to the kitchen for breakfast, she went to the small kitchenette area in the guest wing. She made some coffee and poured a glass of orange juice. The sunny morning provided the first nice weather since her arrival and she intended to explore the island.
The images exploded in her mind, sending her reeling backward a couple of steps. Get out! She squeezed her eyes tightly shut while pressing her hands against her temples and shaking her head from side to side. Get the hell out of my head! But the images refused to leave. The out of focus face, only this time it had more definition to it before morphing into the skull, enough so that it had recognizable features but not any that looked familiar to her—a face she did not know. A wall of mud sliding toward her, holding her captive. One skeleton, then a second one. Her heart pounded. Her breath came in quick gasps to the point where she almost felt light-headed. The intensity…the urgency…the frightening reality. Images much more vivid than the previous ones. Panic tried to grab her, to fill her consciousness. To warn her. But warn her of what? The vision kept repeating, always the same images, but each time a little more clearly defined. Slow deep breaths…one after another…control her breathing. Stave off the mounting panic. The images finally faded away.
Somehow Gable fit into the puzzle, a key piece that could go toward explaining what seemed to be unexplainable. She felt it. She knew it as surely as she knew her own name. It was her initial meeting with Gable—the moment they shook hands while standing on the dock—that had triggered the first vision. If only she could figure out where and how that incident fit into the overall scheme of things.
Forcing the thoughts from her mind, she slipped into her jacket, then shoved her camera and mini-recorder into her pockets. She set out on her exploration, starting along the same route she had taken the day before when she went to the old mansion. She took a few minutes to snap some pictures of Gable’s house and then the mansion with its incredible Victorian architecture. The main road led ahead toward the dock. A foot path branched off and turned inland, away from the edge of the cliff.
Her step quickened as she made her way along the path, although she wasn’t sure exactly why she felt the need to hurry. After all, she wasn’t going anywhere specific and she certainly didn’t need to adhere to a time schedule. She looked around. This was the location where it happened yesterday. A brief moment of anxiety resurrected the uneasy sensation of being watched, the flash of panic that warned of danger. Then the memory of being enfolded in the security of Gable’s arms shoved away the uncomfortable feeling. She pushed the reminiscence aside. No way could she allow the distraction of the sexiest and most handsome man she had ever encountered to keep her from her goal.
A man who made her insides quiver with desire.
Quiver with desire? She came to an abrupt halt. A tremor of anxiety jittered its way through her body. That thought had to be banished immediately before it took hold and became a reality, one she couldn’t afford to entertain. At least not at the present time.
Lexi resumed her stroll. The foot path meandered across a small meadow, then passed through a wooded area. Sunlight glistened off the wet leaves. Mottled patterns of light and shadow covered the ground. She paused to take some more pictures of the beautiful scenery, then continued her walk. The path emerged from the woods along the edge of a shallow ravine on the other side of the mansion.
A moment of shock paralyzed her. The breath caught in her lungs. She fought to maintain her balance while the world crashed around her. Then the ground gave way beneath her feet. Panic grabbed every corner of her existence. A cold shiver started small and grew with each passing second. She tumbled into the ravine, totally out of control both physically and emotionally.
Panic turned to utter terror. The blood pounded in her ears. Her heart beat hit her chest with the booming thud of a timpani drum. An ear piercing scream filled the air. It took a moment for her to realize the scream had come from her throat.
Her mind tried to assimilate everything as the surreal scene unfolded in front of her in a bizarre form of slow motion déjà vu. She looked up from the bottom of the ravine. The wall of mud cascading down the side filled her view. Mud sliding toward her, engulfing her feet and legs, trapping her like wet cement. Her legs refused to obey her mind’s commands. She froze to the spot. The out of focus face that had earlier plagued her visions sharpened into a face with distinctive and clearly defined features for a fleeting second before morphing into a skull.
Then the bones appeared.
It seemed so real. It felt so real, but was it still a vision solely in her mind? A cold, clammy sensation crept across her skin. A frightening chill invaded every conscious fiber of her body. A skeleton tumbled from the side of the embankment, falling toward her. A moment later a second skeleton emerged from the gaping hole in the side of the ravine. Another scream ripped from her lungs and throat, filling the air with her terror.
Her heart pounded so hard it literally hurt. She attempted to scramble to her feet, but the more she struggled the tighter the mud held her. Then the most horrifying moment of all. The skeleton landed on top of her. Not a vision. Not a dream. Not her imagination. Not a hallucination.
A very real skeleton.
Lexi flailed wildly in an attempt to escape the terrifying nightmare that engulfed her. Only it wasn’t a nightmare. Her vision had become a frightening reality.
Mud. Bones. The more she struggled, the more enmeshed she became. Focus…focus…stop struggling…think…think…calm down. She fought the panic rapidly stealing her logic and common sense. Almost as an involuntary action, she forced her breathing into a slower rhythm, taking deep breaths and holding them for a couple of seconds before exhaling. A partial sense of control finally settled over her. She called for help. But was there anyone within earshot? Anyone who could hear her?
Then her newfound control dissolved into another jolt of panic when her gaze fell on Brian Cookson. She frantically scanned the surrounding area, as much of it as she could see from the bottom on the ravine, but didn’t see anyone else. Totally at the physical mercy of whoever found her, the last person she wanted to see stood at
the top of the ravine looking down at her.
“You all right, Miss Caldwell?”
An unnatural calm surrounded his words, one that definitely rattled her nerves even more than they already were. He stood there, not making any attempt to help her. His voice contained an unusual monotone that left her even more on edge than she had been. It took all her resolve to keep even a modicum of rational control. Hell no! Any damn fool could see that I’m most certainly not all right! She did her best to bring a semblance of control to her words, one she definitely did not feel. “I…I don’t know…I think so. I’ll know better when I get out of this mud. I can’t pull myself free.”
Then the most wonderful sound reached her ears, a sound that shot a welcomed wave of relief through her consciousness.
“Hurry, Hank. It’s Miss Caldwell. She’s had an accident.” Dolly appeared on the scene a moment after Lexi heard her voice.
An unmistakable shock spread across Dolly’s face, then all the color drained away. Her features twisted into a mask displaying all the horror coursing through her veins. Her hand flew to her mouth, but not in time to stop the startled gasp from escaping her throat.
Then a moment of absolute clarity hit Lexi. Dolly’s attention was not on her and her plight. It had become fixated on the skeletons.
“Dolly!” Hank’s sharp voice brought his wife back to the here and now. “Go fetch Mr. Talbot.”
Dolly stared at Hank without responding to his orders, her eyes wide with fear. A mask of confusion covered her face. She didn’t make any effort to move as if she hadn’t heard what he said.
Hank grabbed her arm. “Dolly! I told you to fetch Mr. Talbot. Right now, go!”
Dolly shook her head, as if to clear her thoughts. “Uh…yes, of course.” She turned and hurried away.
Hank focused his attention on Lexi. “You be calm, Miz Caldwell. We’ll have you outta there straight away.”
He glanced at Brian. “You gonna stand there like some dumb ass or you gonna give me a hand here?”
Brian paused for a second as if unsure about what to do. Then the two men jumped down into the ravine. Using their hands, they scooped mud away from her body. Without any tools and mud continuing to ooze from the gaping hole, it took about fifteen minutes to clear her legs and the lower part of her body. Hank grabbed her under the arms to pull her clear.
“Lexi!” Gable charged toward the ravine at full run. Dolly followed close behind driving one of the electric carts. He immediately took charge.
“We’ll get you out of there, Lexi. Stay calm. Everything’s going to be okay.” A moment later Gable stood in the ravine, up to his ankles in squishy mud. He picked her up in his arms, gently lifted her out, and set her on the surrounding ground. He quickly scrambled out of the ravine. After helping her to her feet, he escorted her to the cart and wrapped her in a warm blanket. “Will you be all right here for a few minutes before going back to the house?”
“Yes. I’m fine now.” She attempted to lighten the moment. “I think my heart has started to beat again, but I must look a mess.”
He extended a relieved smile as he wiped some mud from her cheek. His voice teased. “You look lovely…in an interesting sort of way.” Then his manner turned serious. “Are you sure you’re okay? Nothing broken or sprained?”
“Nothing I’m aware of.”
“You stay put. I’ll be right back.”
While Gable used his cell phone to call the Sheriff’s Department and report the discovery of the skeletons, Lexi rummaged around in her jacket pockets looking for her camera. Hopefully it hadn’t been damaged. Ignoring Gable’s orders to remain in the cart, she ventured toward the ravine. A moment of apprehension caught her as she approached the edge, but she gathered her determination and continued.
She snapped several pictures of the skeletons including close-ups of the skull, pieces of clothing tangled with the bones, and some other items she didn’t immediately recognize even though they seemed to belong with the skeletons. And while she was at it, she grabbed some candid shots of Gable, Brian, Hank, and Dolly…although she couldn’t say why she felt compelled to do it.
Gable disconnected from his call to the sheriff’s office. His attitude all business, his demeanor saying he had control of the situation, he turned toward Brian. “Call me on my cell phone as soon as the deputies arrive. And don’t touch anything here. I don’t know what Lexi fell into. It could be some sort of centuries-old Native American burial site. There might be several more skeletons in this area. Whatever it is, we can’t compromise the scene. If the crime lab determines that the bones are truly old and there isn’t anything connected to illegal activity requiring the sheriff’s attention, the anthropology department at the university would most likely be interested. And that will undoubtedly bring in the attention of the local Native American tribes. The one thing I want to do is keep this as quiet and low profile as possible. I don’t want any more press coverage than we’ve already had…” An angry look crossed his face, “…especially from the tabloids.”
Gable directed his attention to Hank. “Check the rest of the path along the ravine for any other unstable areas.”
After giving Hank his instructions, he focused on Lexi. He didn’t like what he saw. He had left her safely ensconced in the cart, but there she stood at the edge of the ravine. “I thought I told you to wait in the cart.”
Raising a questioning eyebrow, she cocked her head to one side. “Told me? As in issuing an order as if I was one of your employees?”
Even though she sounded tough and in control, he could see the confusion and anxiety in the depth of her eyes, an emotional chaos that touched him on all levels. “No, not as if you were my employee. Rather as someone who is concerned about you. Not only have you had a jarring physical accident, falling into a ravine and being half buried in mud, there’s also the psychological impact. The fear of being buried alive. The horrific reality of the skeletons…”
A hint of an embarrassed smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “If you’re trying to soothe my rattled nerves, you need to rethink your method. Talk of being buried alive doesn’t quite get it.”
He ignored her attempt to put him off. “What you’ve been through is enough to unnerve the strongest of people.”
He grabbed her hand, led her back to the cart, and drove to the house. Every few seconds he shot her a sideways glance. More than her safety swirled through his mind. When Dolly had located him in his backyard and told him about the skeletons, it all exploded in his mind so clearly. His comments about an ancient burial ground were nothing more than window dressing. He didn’t want to be the one who stated a connection to the disappearances. Didn’t want to suggest that the case had been solved…well, not really solved. But finding the skeletons proved the disappearances were not voluntary. Two people had been buried and the notion that they buried themselves was ludicrous. The door to the past he had been searching for had finally been opened and he intended to take full advantage of it.
But before anything else, he needed to make sure Lexi was really okay and not just telling him what she thought he wanted to hear.
“The first thing we need to do is get you out of those muddy clothes and into a nice hot shower.”
“Oh? We need to do that, do we?” Was he purposely making suggestive comments to distract her? To keep her from dwelling on the magnitude of the accident? Her literal brush with death? A quick shiver told her just how close she had come to serious injury…or worse.
“Stop being difficult. You know perfectly well what I mean. Although…”
A teasing twinkle in his eyes and a sexy grin did nothing to calm the sudden rush of desire that flooded through her. A steamy shower, wet skin against wet skin, more hot kisses that took her breath away. Making love…
Lexi forced her thoughts to the pictures she had taken, especially the ones at the ravine. She definitely wanted out of her muddy clothes and into a nice shower and clean clothes. But what she really wanted was t
o download the pictures into her computer to confirm that her camera had been functional and the memory card protected.
Gable drove the electric cart into the garage and plugged it in to recharge. They each kicked off their muddy shoes, then he escorted her into the house. He insisted on walking her all the way to her bedroom. Once inside, he closed the door, then pulled her into his arms.
“Are you sure you’re all right?”
“Yes. Just a little banged up, that’s all. Nothing broken or apparently even sprained. But I’m sure I’ll be sore in the morning.”
“I want you to get in a nice hot shower right now. Give me your muddy clothes and I’ll have Dolly launder them for you.”
“There’s no reason to inconvenience Dolly with this. With all the mud on my clothes, it’s not like they can be thrown in with some laundry she’s doing anyway. I’ll get in the shower with these clothes and rinse them that way before taking them off. Then after I take a shower, I can run them through the washer and dryer myself.”
“Well…tonight, before you go to bed, I’m going to insist that you soak in the hot tub. It will help ease tomorrow’s aching muscles.”
She flashed a warm smile. “Now that’s a suggestion I can agree with.”
As soon as Gable left, Lexi rushed to put her plan into play. She pulled off her muddy clothes and threw them into the shower, then washed the mud from her hands, arms, face, and neck. After cleaning the exterior of her camera, she removed the memory card and made sure it was clean. Fifteen minutes later, she had showered and washed her hair, hung her wet clothes over the bath tub, and dressed in clean clothes. She glanced at the clock. According to what Gable had said, it would still be another half hour before the sheriff’s deputies arrived to investigate. Enough time to download her pictures…if there were any pictures available to download.
To her relief, the memory card had not been damaged. After transferring the pictures from the card to her computer hard drive, she did a cursory check of what she had captured but did not study them. She would save that for later. She wanted to be present when the deputies arrived on the scene.
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