The Secret She Keeps EPB

by HelenKay Dimon

  “Just make sure you don’t hit Maddie.” Connor refused to let that happen. “You’re the one who just made that point.”

  “I’m not sending a civilian in.”

  “I’m not asking, Ben. This is happening. I’m the decoy. I distract. You shoot.”

  “Okay, wait.” Jenna stepped between them and looked at Connor. “One of those flying bullets could hit you, too. You’re not immune.”

  Connor heard the pleading in Jenna’s voice. Saw it in Sylvia’s eyes. None of them got it.

  He glared at Ben because he knew the history. Every sick detail of how his sister died and how neither he nor Hansen stopped it. One shove off a cliff by the man she was married to. A failure neither of them could live with. “Do you honestly think I am going to let another man kill a woman I care about?”

  Ben closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them again they were filled with frustration. “Connor, come on.”

  “You would do the same thing.”

  Ben exhaled. “I’ll be the decoy.”

  “You’re a better shot than any of us.” Connor had turned the facts upside down and examined them from every angle. This was the right answer. The only one. “There isn’t a choice.”

  Ben stood there for a few seconds. He glanced over his shoulders in the direction of where Maddie stood when they last saw her. Then he unzipped his jacket.

  Jenna held up a hand to stop him. “What are you doing?”

  “He wears the vest.” Ben had stripped down to a thin shirt and started working on the bulletproof vest’s Velcro straps.

  Sylvia shifted her weight from foot to foot. “Ben, is this a good idea?”

  Jenna answered. “No, it’s a terrible idea.”

  “It’s the only idea we have. We can’t wait and hope reinforcements arrive on time.” Connor would keep saying it until they got the point. “And Evan isn’t the type to be inclined to wait around and give us the chance to come up with something better.”

  Connor wrestled with the vest and got it on. Keeping low, they made their way back to the edge closest to Maddie’s position. Whatever conversation they were having ended. Evan took her by the arm and shoved her inside an open doorway and out of sight.

  The adrenaline pumped faster. His sole focus was on getting her out of there.

  He’d seen enough to get him moving. “He’s dragging her inside. You don’t have a shot now. Decoy is the only option.”

  When he started for the stairs, Ben stopped him. “No games, Connor. Do not be a martyr. Maddie will fucking kill me if you get as much as a scratch on you.”

  “I’m not looking to be a hero.” He was buying time. That’s all. “You move in and fire. I’ll grab her and duck.”

  Jenna made a face. “That’s not a strategy.”

  “It’s barely a plan,” Sylvia said right after.

  They were both right. “For Maddie’s sake, let’s hope this works.”

  Connor moved then. He jogged down the stairs, careful to dodge the crumbling parts and rusty screws sticking out at random places.

  Ben caught up with him on the bottom level. “If there was another way or if I thought Evan had the sense to wait for the weather to clear we wouldn’t be doing this.”

  “I know.” Connor checked to make sure Jenna and Sylvia weren’t standing right there. “Look, one thing we need to agree on.”

  “I’m going to hate whatever you say next.”

  Maybe, but it had to be said. Connor needed this to be clear. “If you can save one of us, you pick her.”

  Ben shook his head. “We’re not having this conversation.”

  “Promise me.”

  “Connor.”

  He stood there wasting precious seconds Maddie didn’t have. That’s how much this point mattered. “Do it, Ben.”

  “Done.”

  Chapter 33

  The rough edge of the boat frame dug into Maddie’s palms. She struggled to drag the unwieldy mass out of its hiding place. It was awkward to carry. Her shoulders slumped under its weight.

  The scrape of the metal against the rocky ground made for a bumpy ride and a loud one. She just needed this done, so she carried it the last few feet into the open air. Alone. Evan was smart enough to leave his gun hand free and make her do all the work.

  She held on for the last few steps, heaving the front end of the boat higher on her hip as she maneuvered it through the patchwork of leftover walls and fallen rocks. They barely cleared the building when her anger swamped her. At him. At the situation. At her luck.

  “This is a terrible plan.” She meant to think the words and not say them but they tumbled out of her. The longer this day dragged on, the less of a filter she possessed.

  “It will work.” He barked out the assessment as he slammed the door shut behind them.

  “Once the storm passes, maybe.” She hitched the side of the boat higher on her hip. Let it dig into her side. “Until then it’s a suicide mission.”

  “That’s enough whining.”

  She wasn’t nearly done. There was a lot left inside her. “We don’t even know if this will float.”

  “We will test it. Case closed.” He sounded exasperated now.

  She shut her eyes, trying to think this situation through. She would not drown today. “What if we—”

  “I’ll decide what we do and . . .” Pebbles crunched under Evan’s feet as he came to a stop. “You. I wouldn’t have said you had it in you.”

  She opened her eyes. Connor stood there, wearing a protective vest and holding his hands in the air. He practically begged to get shot.

  “No!” She dropped the boat with a crack and lunged for him.

  “Stop right there.”

  Evan grabbed her arm, wrenching it behind her as he yanked her to his side. He took a few steps back, bringing them under the framework of an old doorway. Connor stood out in the open. Evan didn’t have that risk.

  Icy pain raced up her arm and tears sprang into her eyes. She didn’t care. He could pull her arm off so long as Connor got out of there.

  What the hell was he doing?

  “Run!” She screamed the word and heard it bounce off the walls and trees around them.

  Evan wrapped an arm around her waist and squeezed. “That’s enough helping.”

  The vise-like grip choked off her breath. She gasped, trying to drag in air as she pounded her fists against the arm banded across her middle.

  “Connor.” His name came out on a harsh whisper. She didn’t have the strength to break Evan’s hold or loosen the constriction.

  Connor glanced at her face and held her gaze for a few seconds before he looked behind her to Evan. “There’s no way off this island. You’re a smart man. You have to know that.”

  Evan just laughed. “Says the businessman who doesn’t know shit about survival. Though I am impressed with your attempt to compliment me. That’s Negotiation Tactics 101.”

  “You’d be surprised about the things I know.”

  “You think you’re an expert on survival because you’re upset about your dead sister.” Evan pointed the gun at Maddie’s head. “How about her? Do you want another death on your conscience?”

  A gasp escaped her throat when the cold metal made contact with her skin. She shifted and squirmed to get away from the barrel but his grip did not ease.

  “Tell me why I shouldn’t shoot you in the head.” Evan pointed the gun at Connor, then back at her. “Or Maddie.”

  “Shoot me, and Ben or one of his men will shoot you.” His firm voice made it hard to ignore him.

  She was so proud of his bravery. Any other circumstance and she would have been charmed. But right now she was ticked off that he walked into this danger. That Ben let him. She would clunk their heads together if they survived this.

  “Men?” Evan looked around but didn’t seem impressed. “If you’re going to lie you should make sure there isn’t an island website that talks about the one—single—lawman on the island.”

>   Connor shook his head. “That was before.”

  “Don’t try—”

  “You think after the murders here last summer there’s still just one? The Board fixed that mistake immediately.” The lies bubbled out of her. She let them spill even though he hated to be interrupted.

  Connor had to be the decoy. Ben needed to get into position and do it fast.

  Evan shrugged. “You forget I’ve spent time with the island’s lawman. Decent enough, probably a good shot, but I’m better.”

  The pressure from his arm made her dizzy. He didn’t allow any space between their bodies. She was his shield. His guarantee no one would take a shot at him. He even ducked a bit, probably in an attempt to ensure his head didn’t stick up higher than hers.

  “People come in from Arnold. Then there’s a crew he has at his disposal on the island. All trained.” She was just making stuff up now. Throwing in a fact or two as she stalled to give Ben time to make his move.

  “You talk a good game, but no.” Evan pressed his cheek against her hair. “He wouldn’t take the risk of accidentally shooting Maddie.”

  “He’ll save her,” Connor said without missing a beat.

  The confidence in his voice tore at her. Ripped and shredded until she thought her stomach might split open right there. “What did you do?”

  “Doesn’t matter because we’ve stalled enough.” Evan pointed the gun at Connor. “You, move the boat. Now.”

  He would shoot Connor in the back as a scare tactic to keep her in line. To break her down. She could feel it. “Don’t do it.”

  “He’ll do it or he’ll see you bleed out on the shoreline.”

  Connor shook his head. “You won’t hurt her.”

  “Don’t be so sure.”

  “You planted evidence to frame Daria. You killed Owen.” Connor’s eyes narrowed. “What did he do? I’m guessing he tried to warn Maddie instead of hunt her down. Yes?”

  The gun didn’t waver as Evan moved his finger to the trigger and kept it trained on Connor. “You should stop talking.”

  A new wave of dizziness swept over her. She couldn’t let this happen. There was no way she could watch Connor get shot and survive it.

  “Connor, please.” She didn’t know what she was begging for other than his safety and he’d already forfeited that.

  He treated her to a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I have no regrets.”

  No! He was going to die for her.

  Her knees buckled. “Please don’t do this.”

  “You’re worth it.” He talked right to her now. “I didn’t know the you back then but the you now—the one in front of me—deserves everything.”

  Forget Evan and the freezing cold. He stood there, making himself a target, for her.

  Her breath hitched and her energy drained away, leaving nothing but sadness behind. “Please run.”

  “I’ll shoot him in the back.” Evan continued to aim at Connor as he let her body sag against his. “Pick up the boat.”

  He would die. She knew that much. “Don’t.”

  Evan swore under his breath. “That’s enough. We’ll do it without you.”

  His hand shifted a bit, no more than an inch, and she reacted. She threw her body to the side, aiming all her weight against that outstretched arm. She caught him off balance and his arm swung wide.

  She saw a blur in front of her and heard shouting in the distance. It all blended together but she didn’t lose focus. She slammed into that arm a second time and kicked back at his shin. The double hit had him stumbling.

  Connor smashed into them and they all went down. The hit against the hard ground made her teeth rattle. It took a second for her to get her bearings and move again.

  While Connor and Evan traded punches, she scrambled, climbing over their bodies. Kicking and fighting. A hand slipped into her hair and yanked hard enough for her vision to blink out. Fingers wrapped around hers and her wrist ached from where Evan pounded on it.

  “Maddie, no.”

  Connor’s voice rang out but all she could see was the gun. It dangled from Evan’s fingers as he kicked out against Connor’s shoulder. She gave him an extra shove and the weapon landed on the ground. She dove across Evan’s thighs to get it.

  Her fingernails dug into the dirt. Someone landed a kick to the back of her knee that made her gasp. Aches and pains thumped on every inch of her body. She groaned when the men battling above her rolled on top of her, pinning her thighs down for a second before rolling off again.

  With all the patting, she crawled and reached out and her fingertips finally hit metal. Flipping to her stomach, she watched the fight rage above and beside her. She held the gun steady. She could not miss, but she could not wait for a better angle either.

  Her lungs compressed and her chest tightened. She rolled fully onto her back and followed their movements, trying to track each body and mentally separate one from another. She saw a window and took the shot.

  The second after the bang rang out, blood ran and pooled on the ground. Making a rough noise, Connor rolled onto his back until he lay next to her.

  She could see his chest rise and fall but those beautiful dark eyes drifted shut. “No!”

  She scrambled to sit up. Footsteps pounded around her. Ben came into view, then Sylvia. Evan and Connor hadn’t moved again.

  “Connor!”

  She’d shot him. The sentence played over and over in her head.

  He panted and lifted his head. “Not me.”

  She ran her hands over him. Realizing she still held the gun, she dropped it, freeing up her arms to cradle him. “There’s blood.”

  He looked at the red covering his hands and wiped a splotch off his cheek. The whole time he shook his head. “Not my blood.”

  He had to be in shock.

  “Maddie, move!” Ben yelled the order.

  She saw his arm come up, and Connor rolled on top of her. Darkness blanketed her and she struggled to breathe. He could not be her shield. She shoved and fought, trying to lower his body. Somehow make it smaller.

  A whooshing sound echoed in her ears. When she opened her eyes again, Connor still lay on top of her with Evan sprawled next to them. The silence only lasted a few seconds before Connor shifted off her and went to Evan’s side. Working quickly, he grabbed the jacket Jenna handed him and pressed it against Evan’s wound.

  Evan jackknifed and his eyes grew wide. Connor gagged but he held on.

  She couldn’t make her brain digest any of it.

  Ben and Jenna moved around, bringing Connor more material to press against Evan’s seeping wounds. Sylvia talked with someone on the phone.

  Maddie sat motionless with her bloodstained hands on her lap.

  Not his. All that blood but none of it was hers or Connor’s. All that training, everything Evan taught her paid off . . . and she used it against him.

  Ben and Connor shouted directions at each other. Maddie tried to get her legs to move. To get up and hold something or pass something.

  Evan lifted his hand but it dropped again. Whatever strength he had was gone. All the threats extinguished.

  On Evan’s second try his hand landed on Connor’s arm. “She belongs to me.”

  That she heard.

  She sat back on her knees, refusing to get closer. Also refusing to give in. “Never.”

  Connor shot her a glance then nodded. “Never.”

  Chapter 34

  The nightmare of the last twenty-four hours wouldn’t leave Connor’s head. He stood in front of Maddie’s floor-to-ceiling windows and stared out over the water. Her view put his at the cabin to shame. Miles of water. Today the sky was blue but the gray would soon return. He half wondered if that was a metaphor for something.

  He didn’t have the energy to work through any problem at the moment. He wore his lounge pants and vowed not to get any dressier for days.

  They had been questioned and requestioned. Every agency sent a representative and ran through a list o
f questions. When a federal law enforcement official—on leave or not—was involved in a shooting, a lot of people showed up to lock the story down. Ben. Police from Seattle. The FBI. Representatives from the Marshals Service. Each wanted a piece of them and almost no one looked like they believed the whole story.

  Of course, it wasn’t the entire story. They strategically and by silent agreement left Maddie’s secret piece out. The two of them shared that information and no one else needed to know. That was the unspoken deal.

  Daria returned home. Maddie commented that she looked more broken than she had when Ned went to prison. Connor had trouble mustering any sympathy. She’d bought into the stories about Maddie. Sure, Evan used her, too, but Daria struck him as someone who wanted to believe the worst. It was likely the only way she could cope with the series of disasters in her life. That part he got.

  “You’ve been staring out the window for hours.”

  The exaggeration made him smile. “It’s amazing what almost dying will do to you.”

  She groaned. “Don’t joke about that.”

  He turned to see her sitting on the couch. She had thrown on her pajamas but that was it. Even though it was noon, they’d only rolled out of bed an hour ago and he was fine to jump right back in. All she had to do was give him a signal. Any signal.

  “It’s over.” More than a little relief came with saying those words. From the notes to Owen’s death to the attack on Paul, they were able to tie it all back to Evan and his delusions.

  “Is it?”

  And like that she ruined his good mood. “Do you know something I don’t know?”

  If Ben found more clues that took him in some new direction, Connor gave up. The twists and turns exhausted him. The hour-long phone call with Hansen hadn’t helped. His big brother was pissed about Connor’s supposed vacation and all the danger. He’d flipped into overprotective mode and refused to stop lecturing until Connor took him off track by mentioning Maddie.

  After only a little time on Whitaker, Hansen loved gossip as much as any resident.

  Connor watched Maddie sip her coffee and decided Whitaker wasn’t so bad after all.

  She caught him staring at her. “Are you okay?”