Love Inspired Suspense April 2015 #2

by Dana Mentink

  All the chairs and computers were lined up in a row inside little library cubicles with instructional sheets tacked above the monitors. No, Shaun noted, not all the chairs. The final chair in the row sat slightly askew. His intuition urged him toward it.

  Shaun sat and shook the mouse to wake up the screen. A sudden coldness hit his core.

  Whomever had previously used this computer left in a hurry, because up on the screen—logged in, and with a list of files in clear view—was Lexie’s cloud storage account. The coldness spread and chilled his spine as he noted another open tab. Lexie’s email. He checked her account details, changed her password and logged out.

  It had to be the same person. Lexie’s attacker had been here minutes before. But what worried Shaun even more was that the attacker wasn’t here now. And Lexie was alone.

  THREE

  Shaun thought of the employee he’d passed in the hallway. The man might have seen who had used the computer. In fact, he might have been in such a hurry because he’d been held back by a recent guest. If Shaun moved now, maybe he could catch him and get a description.

  Shaun leaped up from the computer and raced through the glass doors, slowing his pace only when he reached the next hallway. He looked both ways, seeing several other people in white employee uniforms engaged by other guests. None looked familiar. The employee couldn’t have gone too far, though. There were too many curious and worried passengers around to have made it far without being stopped to answer questions.

  Excusing himself past groups of concerned faces, Shaun paced the corridors, scanning every hallway in both directions. The employee had vanished. After five minutes, Shaun had to admit he’d lost him. That made getting back to Lexie the next priority.

  He’d have to tell her what he’d found, but maybe she’d be able to tell if the hacker had had time to read any of her documents. The room attendant had to come back eventually. Shaun would question him then, or find one of the security guys and learn whose responsibility it was to keep an eye on the computer room.

  Shaun jogged down the stairs and hallways to get to Lexie’s room. He followed the pattern of knocks and, to his relief, she opened the door the moment he finished the final knock. She appeared unimpressed as her face tilted up expectantly, jaw set in defiance, a fire blazing in her eyes that was betrayed by the quiver in the corner of her delicate mouth. A knot formed in Shaun’s gut and he found himself suddenly conscious of how close she stood to him. He struggled to hold himself together, her vulnerability in the moment causing him to inexplicably yearn to hold her close and protect her from danger.

  Lexie’s emotions bubbled near the surface, about to spill over. It thrilled him. Intrigued him. His head screamed at him to run, that this pull toward her was ridiculous, but his feet remained firmly planted to the ground. What would she do if he pulled her into his arms and promised everything would be all right?

  Lexie seemed to sense a shift in the air between them and stepped back. “You found something?”

  He swallowed—cool it, buddy—and glanced both directions down the hall. “Yes, but you’d better come with me.”

  To his surprise, Lexie didn’t hesitate. She stepped out of the room and locked it, no questions asked. She must have noticed his shock, because she raised one eyebrow and tilted her head. “What? You wanted me to try trusting you.”

  Warmth returned to his center, easing the cold that had come with learning someone had accessed her private files—but following that came the regret that he couldn’t yet be honest about why he’d boarded the ferry. In his book, omission of information was as harmful as a lie. Would knowing the truth break her fragile trust? God, give me strength.

  She followed him in silence to the computer room, where he led her to the last terminal. He brought up the webpage to log into her email with the new password he’d given her, then pulled out a chair so she could sit down.

  Lexie stared in disbelief as her inbox loaded. “What…what’s this? How’d you get into my email?” She looked up at him with accusation, but he shook his head and reached across, clicking open the other tab.

  “I didn’t, Lexie. But I have a good idea who did.”

  She sputtered half words, eyes glued to the screen. “Someone hacked my account? But that doesn’t make any sense. Why would anyone want to read my messages?”

  “Check if anything is missing. Whatever you had in that folder gave someone enough information to hack your email and your online storage account. They want to know what you know.”

  She swallowed hard and closed her eyes. “I’ve been meaning to change my passwords to something more secure. I’ve been using my dog’s name. Easy to guess with a quick search on social media. Maybe we should call the police, have them meet us at the dock. They could dust this terminal for fingerprints or clues or something.”

  “I’d already touched it,” Shaun said. “And do you really want to make this area an active crime scene? We’d have to cordon the room off and guests will ask questions. There’s no way of being sure some kid or joker wouldn’t tamper with the area, and I have a feeling security doesn’t have enough manpower to post a guard outside.”

  Lexie scanned the contents of her accounts as Shaun paced the floor. Had someone been looking for additional, specific information? The more he thought about it, the more he grew certain that the same young woman Lexie was looking for had to be tied to the organization he hunted.

  “Have we stopped moving?”

  Shaun snapped out of his thoughts. Lexie jumped from her seat and jogged toward the doors at the same time as a blue-uniformed employee came toward them down the hallway. Shaun couldn’t make out his face due to the way the hall lights reflected on the glass doors, but the employee appeared to be moving at a very brisk pace.

  “Oh!” Lexie looked back over her shoulder. “I’ll ask this guy. Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems like we’ve stopped. Don’t you feel it?”

  An uneasiness rose in Shaun’s gut as the employee continued his approach, though Shaun couldn’t pinpoint why. The way he moved seemed wrong, like he had something else in mind beyond attending the computer terminals.

  The employee and Lexie reached the doors at the same time, Lexie still looking over her shoulder for an answer from Shaun. Shaun saw the man’s hand disappear, as though reaching into his belt for something.

  “Get away from there!” Shaun shouted and darted forward, ready to place himself in front of her as a human shield.

  Lexie stopped, but the employee had already opened the door and stepped inside. He glanced between Shaun and Lexie and then over his shoulder, where a group of giggling teenage girls followed behind. “Is something wrong, sir?”

  The tension in Shaun’s shoulders refused to unclench. “I don’t know. Is it?”

  “Shaun?” Lexie looked between him and the employee. “What’s going on?”

  “Come over here,” Shaun said, drawing his words out. “Toward me. Don’t turn around.”

  The employee’s eyes widened. “Sir?”

  The teens pushed through the glass doors and into the room, laughing and whispering in each other’s ears. Shaun’s tension eased as the employee gestured to the terminals. “Here you are, ladies. Twenty minute maximum per session, please.”

  “Sorry,” Shaun said, adding a brief laugh to diffuse the moment. “I thought you were someone else. I don’t suppose you know if there’s been anyone else in this room over the past hour or so, other than myself?”

  The man shook his head, and Shaun finally pulled his observations away from the man’s face to read the name tag. Josh.

  “Sorry, sir. I’ve come from a briefing, myself.” Josh divided his attention between Shaun and the teenagers. “Personnel are being shifted around at the moment.”

  “Do you know which staff member was stationed in this area on departure?”

  Josh pulled on the edge of his shirt, straightening out a rogue wrinkle. “We don’t typically station someone in this room for the
duration of the trip. We have a few staff members with IT experience who check in every so often, but there’s a call button at the back wall in case of any technical issues.”

  Shaun rubbed his chin, considering the best way to ask his question without alarming anyone. “Would you happen to know who’s on the schedule to do the first round of checks tonight?”

  Josh grinned and nodded. “Yes. That would be me, sir. Security does initial sweeps at departure, but Sheila has the bulk of the overnight run. I’m on call for this room until then.”

  “Did I see you down here earlier? Pass you in the hallway?”

  Josh’s smile disappeared. “No, that wasn’t me. Sorry I can’t be of more help.”

  Shaun gestured to Lexie, and she stepped closer to him as Josh vanished through a staff door. A physical attack, drugged coffee, stolen folder, hacked email and no leads. Complications would abound if he continued to exclude Lexie from his op, but she clearly had trust issues when it came to men. Or when it came to him, for some reason.

  “I have a theory about your hacked email, but we can’t talk about it here. We need either a public place with plenty of noise or a closed room where no one can overhear. Did you have enough time to see if anything is missing?”

  Lexie frowned and looked between the bank of computers and the door. “Oh no, you don’t. Mind telling me what that was about?”

  “I will, as soon as we get somewhere that isn’t full of listening ears.” He inclined his head toward the teens, who were involved in an apparently hilarious game on a social networking website.

  “Fine. Hang on a sec.” Lexie crossed her arms and returned to the computer. She tapped on the keyboard a few times before turning off the screen. “We can talk in my cabin, but I’d like to pick up another coffee since I didn’t get much out of that first one.”

  Shaun pressed his lips together. He wanted to get this conversation over with, but it would do no good if she stayed on the defensive. Maybe with another coffee and a snack, she’d be more amicable to discussing what had happened.

  “All right, but let’s make it quick.”

  She glanced at him over her shoulder, annoyance rippling through her features. “You don’t have to follow me. The halls are full of people. I can meet you at my cabin.”

  Instead of responding, he shook his head and kept pace behind her. No use trying to convince her of the necessity of teamwork before he’d had a chance to explain.

  “My case files were gone, by the way,” she said as they descended the stairs to the deck below. “Everything has been deleted. Somebody doesn’t want me having access to information while I’m on board.”

  *

  Lexie noticed Shaun startle and nearly miss the next step. He grabbed onto the railing to steady himself, but she didn’t regret the tone of her delivery—these halls were full of passengers already worried about the sounds coming from outside the ship. Showing alarm would just add to the high tensions in the air.

  They walked to the lounge in silence, where Lexie bought another cup of coffee and a bag of trail mix.

  “You’re sure stuff was deleted?” His voice was light and upbeat, following her cue as they made their way back to her room. “Just the files on the case or other things, too?”

  “Just the case,” she said, smiling as they passed a family of four in the hallway. The whole family wore fuzzy pajamas, and the two young children clutched plush toy characters from a recent animated film. The worried expressions on the parents’ faces suggested that no one knew yet what was going on. Lexie wished they’d make an announcement, but the calmness of the staff was mildly reassuring. If the situation were serious, surely they’d be evacuating people by now. “In fact,” Lexie continued, looking over her shoulder as they rounded the corner into her room’s hallway, “I think—”

  Without warning, Shaun jumped forward and flung his arm out in front of Lexie, grabbing her shoulder to push her behind him against the wall. She winced at the pain of being slammed against a hard surface, but gritted her teeth to stay silent.

  Lexie followed Shaun’s gaze to her doorway. It stood open about three inches, and though she’d intentionally left the light on before leaving for the computer room, no light shone through the door now.

  “Stay here,” Shaun whispered. He crept forward with slow, steady steps, but Lexie’s attention was drawn to his right hand. He’d placed his hand inside his puffy vest, next to his right hip. There was only one reason a person would position their hand that way in a threatening situation, and it caused Lexie’s heart to pound even faster.

  Why is he armed? She had to say something. Even if he had a perfectly good explanation, drawing a concealed weapon on board a Canadian passenger ferry could send him straight to prison. “Shaun.” Lexie’s voice wavered, but he ignored her, moving toward the door. “Shaun?”

  He stopped at the edge of her door, cocking his head to listen. He glanced back at her and gestured for her to move toward him. She stopped about three feet away and watched as Shaun, with the practiced grace of a professional, slid his back against the door and reached his left hand slowly through the crack. The light switch clicked on and Shaun simultaneously slammed his palm against the door, which flew open.

  Lexie peeked over Shaun’s shoulder to see an empty room. There were few places to hide in these small cabins, but Lexie waited in the doorway as Shaun checked the bathroom and closet.

  “It is safe? Can I come in?” Whether she wanted to come in was another question entirely. Shaun hadn’t told her the whole truth about himself, that much had become clear. But could she blame him? It wasn’t as though she’d asked the right questions. Or any questions at all.

  “All clear,” he called. The sound of a sliding shower curtain was followed by his reappearance. “You’d better check if anything was taken, though. You’re sure you locked the door when you left the room?”

  Lexie’s wide eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms, bristling at the implication. “Of course I did. You were standing right next to me and watched me do it.”

  He shrugged. “It doesn’t make sense that someone would break into your room and not touch anything—”

  Lexie crossed the room as he spoke. She lifted her bags off the bed—and screamed.

  The bags tumbled from her hands and she stumbled backward, bumping into Shaun, who had moved across the room to grip her shoulders. An empty hollow formed in her stomach as tears sprang forth. She tried without success to blink them away.

  Shaun’s grip tightened as he followed her gaze to the center of her bunk. Behind Lexie’s bags, someone had used a small, wood-handled hunting knife to spear the photo of Maria from the stolen folder to the bunk. Between the photo and the blade, a short braid of glossy black hair had been pinned to the image.

  Lexie willed herself to step closer. There was writing on the bottom of the photo, which she didn’t recall seeing before. “Shaun?” The effort to raise her voice above a whisper was too much, and the bruises along her throat began to throb from shock. Almost every time Lexie had seen Maria, the young woman had worn her hair in a beautiful long braid. This had to be hers. Someone had cut her hair. But why?

  Shaun turned her to face him, forcing her attentions away from the photo and threatening knife. To her surprise, Shaun had a hint of a smile on his face. “Breathe, Lexie. I know this is beyond scary, but it’s not as bad as it seems.”

  Fury rose in her gut. “Not as bad as it seems? What’s wrong with you? I’m trying to find a girl who has either run away from home or had something horrible happen to her and now there’s a lock of her hair on my bedspread—”

  Shaun placed gentle hands on her cheeks, commanding focus. “Yes, it’s terrible. But think about it this way. If that’s Maria’s hair? That means she’s on board this ship.”

  Lexie felt the blood drain from her face. She blinked against light-headedness, willing herself to focus on the man in front of her. “That means I can find her.”

  “We can find her
,” Shaun said, emphasizing the first word. “But there are a few things we need to talk about first. I’m going to call security and get them up here to secure the room.”

  She nodded, but her attention was drawn back to the photo. With her tears under control, she could now read what had been written at the bottom, in thick red paint. No, not paint. Lexie swallowed against the rising contents of her stomach as she read the two words smeared there: STOP SEARCHING.

  “Or what?” Lexie whispered, glancing back at Shaun. “Do you think they’ll hurt Maria?”

  Shaun’s shoulders drooped as he looked from the photo to Lexie. He scratched his chin and sighed in resignation. “No, Lexie. Think about it. Their target is you.”

  FOUR

  Lexie sank into the closest chair, Shaun’s deduction ringing in her ears. None of this made sense. Why target her? Sure, Lexie had her suspicions about Maria’s disappearance, but she’d honestly thought that her parents would have received a ransom note or message by now. The lack of communication from an abductor or kidnapper had only reinforced Maria’s parents’ belief that their daughter had run away, and Lexie had had to follow clues and an anonymous tip that led her on this trip. But with Lexie’s folder disappearing, the email hack and now the lopped-off braid and warning message, the whole thing spoke of something bigger going on. Had there been truth to Shaun’s warning, after all?

  He’d brought a gun on board, of that much she was certain, but it didn’t explain his involvement or the reason why someone would try to scare her off what should be an innocuous retrieval of a mildly rebellious young woman. Or even if it did turn out to be kidnapping, why hadn’t anyone asked for money? Lexie swallowed the urge to demand an explanation from Shaun. She’d get answers from him once the security team examined the strange mess on her bunk.

  “I think,” she began, striving to keep from staring at either the bunk or where she suspected the gun was tucked on Shaun’s belt, “that you have some explaining to do.” Before she could finish her thoughts, heat rushed from her belly to her forehead. A ringing in her ears drowned out Shaun’s response. Her lungs seemed to decide that breathing was optional, and beads of sweat broke out along her forehead.