by Jen Talty
“Erin’s digital journal, and her suicide note.” He split the screen between the note Preston had written pretending to be Reid and the one Erin had left behind. His stomach soured as he compared the two passages. Not completely identical, but close enough.
“And he used Erin’s words to write mine.”
Chapter 12
“Relax. Everything is going to be fine.” Reid took Darcie into his arms and kissed her forehead. “Your brother and his friends are taking care of it.”
“It’s almost dinnertime. What if my brother can’t get this all sorted out before this Hans guy shows up, and Preston wants to cart you off to your death?”
“That’s not going to happen.” At least Reid hoped that wasn’t on the menu for dessert. Of course, he didn’t know if he was scheduled to die by bungee failure or diving disaster. Either way, he had no intention of having his heart stop beating anytime soon.
“It better not. You owe me a proper feelings discussion,” Darcie said.
He chuckled. “I owe you a lot of chats. One of which includes my undying support of your career choice.”
She arched a brow. “As a drug runner on the open seas?”
“Not even remotely funny.” He tapped her nose.
“It still seems so batshit crazy to me that Preston would put so much time and energy into this wild, elaborate scheme. He could have fucked you over a variety of ways.”
“But he wouldn’t have had the satisfaction of hurting me through you, and we don’t know what kind of fucked-up game he’s playing with Jim. Are they are friends, or does Preston have something on Jim and is blackmailing him, as well?”
“Jim has always been motivated by money.” She touched her ear. “I need to get out there.”
“I don’t like this last-minute change in dinner plans.”
“I don’t either,” Darcie said. “Right now, just about everyone is off the yacht and it makes me feel even more vulnerable when it comes to whatever Preston has planned.”
“Promise me you’re going to be careful.”
“I promise, but you have to do the same, and you’re not leaving this vessel without your watch and phone. I need to be able to track you, especially if my brother doesn’t have anyone here yet.”
“It’s going to be fine.” He cupped her face and kissed her sweet lips. “I’ll apologize now for being a jerk.”
“Wonderful.” She turned and peeked her head out into the hallway. “All clear.” She tiptoed around the corner and headed up the staircase.
He waited five minutes before he gathered his watered-down whiskey and opened the door. He sloshed his drink down the front of his salmon-colored shirt. “Fuck. Preston, you scared the shit out of me,” he said with his best slow Southern drawl. The one that always came out when he’d had one too many.
“I’ve got a surprise for you.” Preston smacked him on the shoulder. “I’m really surprised how quickly you’ve come over to my way of thinking.”
“I wouldn’t say I’ve done that.” Reid stepped out to the back deck by the hot tub and glanced around. Not a single member of the team milled about. No country music echoed from the speakers. The only sounds came from a single engine idling in the water below.
Reid’s pulse increased. Perspiration dotted his hairline.
“Not even close. As a matter of fact, all I’ve done is gotten half-drunk while I tried to figure out how on earth I ended up in this hellhole with you.”
“That’s not really the attitude that’s going to get you out of this mess.” Preston waved his hand out in front of the steps that led to the lower deck.
“Nothing can help me at this point.”
“You know. You’re probably right.” Preston reached behind his back and pulled out a handgun.
“What the fuck, Preston?” Reid raised his hands and stumbled down the stairs. “Jesus. Put that fucking thing down.”
“No can do.” Preston waved it in Reid’s face.
Reid swallowed.
Hard.
He’d been around rifles his entire life. As a Texan, it was his birthright, but he didn’t like a gun pointed at his face.
Not that he’d ever had that experience before.
He glanced over his shoulder as he inched closer to the water’s edge. Falling in might not be a bad idea.
Out of the corner of his eye, the tender came into view. Jim stood behind the center console, both hands gripping the steering wheel. Darcie sat next to him with her hands bound behind her back and tape covering her mouth.
Reid’s breath hitched.
“What’s going on, Preston?”
“A little change in plans.”
“I see that,” Reid said. “Mind clueing me in?” He caught Darcie’s stoic gaze. His heart squeezed. He couldn’t have saved Erin from herself. But he could have prevented this from happening. He should have seen fucking Preston and his games coming from a mile away.
But he hadn’t, and now he had to fix things for Darcie.
“Get on the tender.” Preston pressed the weapon into the center of Reid’s back.
Reid did as instructed, stepping over two sets of scuba diving suits and tanks.
Interesting.
“How are you involved in all of this?” Reid stood in front of Jim and glared.
“Same way you are,” Jim said.
“I doubt that.” Reid made his way to the other side of the small motorboat. “It would mean you are being blackmailed.”
“Maybe I am,” Jim said. The right side of his mouth lifted in a snarl. “Your business partner here is a real piece of work.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Reid said, kneeling in front of Darcie. “Are you okay?”
She nodded.
“Can I take this off of her? I don’t think anyone is going to hear her out here now,” Reid said.
“Go ahead.” Preston gestured with the gun.
“I’m sorry, but this might hurt.” Reid tugged at the corner of the tape, holding the other side tight. “Ready?”
She blinked.
In one quick motion, he yanked.
“Shit. That hurt.”
He rubbed his thumb over her lips before giving them a quick kiss. “Sorry. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m not dead.”
“What a tender moment,” Preston said, sitting on the edge of the boat. “Take us to our final destination, Captain Jim.”
Jim pressed the throttle and turned the steering wheel, heading north.
Wonderful.
“Are we going for a swim?” Reid rested his hand on Darcie’s shoulder, giving her a gentle massage. The boat came around an island and entered a larger body of water. The waves grew bigger as they drove farther away from shore and there wasn’t another boat in sight.
Not good.
“Two of you are,” Preston said.
Death by scuba accident. Interesting. “Which two, and what’s the headline? Because I read my suicide note. This isn’t jiving with what you wrote.”
Preston jerked his head. “How did you manage to find…? Never mind. It’s not important. And you’re right. You’re not going to die in a scuba diving accident. Darcie and Jim will.”
“Excuse me?” Jim pulled back slightly on the throttle. “You’re going to do what now?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Jim. You’re no longer useful to me. Did I neglect to inform you of that?” Preston waved his gun. “This is working out better than I planned.”
“I don’t see how,” Jim said.
“It’s simple. You and Darcie are going to have a little accident when you go down to get your drugs that you had to hide out here. And, Reid, well…he saw you leave together and was just so out of sorts, he just had to go take that leap off Deception Pass, after all.”
“You’re not going to get away with this,” Reid said.
“Oh. Yes, I am.” Preston smiled like a teenage boy who just stole second base.
“I’m curious.” Darcie tilted her
head at Jim. “How the hell did you and Preston hook up and why? I don’t get this partnership.”
“It’s not a partnership,” Jim said. “Never was. I wish I had never met the fucker.”
“Feeling is kind of mutual. And perhaps if you had just done as you were told, we wouldn’t be in this situation.” Preston rested the gun on his thigh and gripped the console with his free hand as the boat bounced up and down with the waves. “You see, Jim was just supposed to fuck Darcie so when we got on this stupid charter, Reid here would get all jealous and get himself in a drunken stupor. But you had to go and get yourself a little pussy on the side.”
“You fucking asshole.” Reid launched himself across the boat, shoving Jim to the side.
Preston reached in front of Jim and grabbed Darcie by the hair, yanking her to his chest and shoving the gun against her temple. Preston smiled. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
“You are a fucking piece of work,” Darcie mumbled. “If you think I’m going to let you toss me overboard to drown, you’ve got another thing coming. I refuse to die that way.”
“You refuse.” Preston cocked his head. “That’s funny. As if you have a choice.”
“I’m not going to let you make it look like I died in some random scuba accident digging up drugs with that asshole.” She struggled, her hands still bound together at her wrists. “No. You want me dead, then shoot me.” She lifted her arms and elbowed him in the gut.
He groaned but didn’t budge.
Reid inched closer. He glanced between Jim and Darcie. He didn’t trust Jim as far as he could spit, but if what Jim said was true, then he could use Jim’s help to get out of this fucking mess. He shifted his gaze to the throttle, then the wheel, hoping Jim wasn’t a complete and utter moron.
“Don’t tempt me, you fucking bitch.” Preston held the gun steady. “Fuck that. I know how to keep you in line. I’ll shoot your boyfriend.” He changed his aim, pointing the weapon dead center at Reid’s chest.
The sound of a deep horn echoed in the dark night. The boat pitched to the right as it rolled over a massive wake wave. Preston grabbed the center console with his free hand.
“Hang onto something.” He turned the steering wheel hard to the port side and gunned the engine.
Reid cocked his fist and launched toward Preston. “I hope you fucking rot in hell.”
Bang!
Darcie screamed as she fell to the fiberglass floor.
“Fuck.” Reid grabbed the right side of his chest. His body flew backward from the velocity of the bullet tearing through his skin and muscles.
Darcie screamed. “Are you okay? Did he shoot you?”
“I’m fine,” Reid said, lying through his fucking teeth.
The boat pitched starboard. Preston slammed into the side of the boat. The gun dislodged from his grip and skidded across the bottom of the hull.
Reid struggled through the pain as he crawled across the floor toward the weapon.
Jim kicked at Preston while he maneuvered the boat port and then starboard, zigzagging, heading toward shore.
Darcie struggled to break free of her restraints.
All Reid had to do was get the gun and get the fucking upper hand so they could take this fucker down once and for all.
“Next bullet is going in your heart,” Preston said.
“I don’t think so.” Just as Reid’s fingers touched the gun, the boat rolled to the starboard side, pushing the weapon closer to Preston.
Reid let out a long breath as he stared down the wrong end of a handgun. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“I don’t think so, you motherfucker.” Darcie stood over him with a fire extinguisher. She raised it over her head and swung, bringing it down and across the back of Preston’s head. He grunted and fell flat to his stomach. “And you.” Darcie picked up the gun and pointed it at Jim. “How fucking dare you? If I thought I could live with myself, I’d pull the trigger.”
“That’s not a good idea,” Reid said between ragged breaths. He clutched his chest and blinked. Everything blurred. He sat down on the back bench. Bile trickled to the back of his throat. “Jim, sit down and put your hands behind your back.”
“What?”
“Just fucking do it. Darcie, tie him up. Good.”
“Sure thing.”
“Seriously? You’re going to tie me up after I helped save you? Come on. Can’t we just call it even?”
“No. We can’t.” Reid leaned back on the cold cushion. He kept his focus on Darcie and her movements. He smiled proudly as she handled the rope with ease, securing Jim’s hands to the metal posts on the side of the center bench. “And when you’re done with him, tie up Preston.”
“We don’t have cell service right here,” Darcie said. “But about two miles closer to the shore, I’ll be able to reach the Coast Guard and my brother.” She stood at the helm, her hair whipping in the wind. She was the most beautiful thing Reid had ever seen. If he died in this moment, it would be okay because he got to die looking at the woman who mattered the most to him.
“Good. Good,” he said. He held his chest, putting as much pressure on the wound as he could. The pain wasn’t as horrible as he thought it would be. Not that he thought about what getting shot would be like all that often. Only it burned to breathe, and he couldn’t fill his lungs.
“Why don’t you call Jagar while I call the Coast Guard?”
He closed his eyes. He told himself it would only be for a minute. He just needed a moment to refresh. Only, he found himself drifting off to dreamland.
“Reid,” Darcie said. “Reid?” she repeated.
He opened his mouth, but only gurgling noises came out.
“Oh, my God. You’re bleeding. Like really badly.”
“Just drive,” he said. “Get us to safety. I’ll be fine.”
“You don’t look so well.” She pulled her shirt over her head and wadded it up, pressing it over his chest. “You need to come sit next to me. Can you do that?”
“I’ll try.”
She lifted his arm and looped it over her neck and shoulders.
Leaning the majority of his weight on her, he hobbled toward the center console.
“I’ll drive,” Jim said.
“You just sit there and be quiet.” Darcie eased Reid onto the bench seat. She gripped the steering wheel with one hand and put pressure on his wound with the other. “You should have told me he shot you.”
“I should have told you the other day that I love you.”
“That, too.”
“Do you love me, Darcie?”
“I love you, Reid. With all my heart and soul.”
“Good. Good,” he whispered. “I want to go to sleep now.” He could hear her protesting, but he couldn’t fight the darkness anymore. He let it engulf him and accepted it. He’d soon be one with the nothingness, and he’d feel nothing, see nothing, and be nothing.
At the end of the day, it’s what they all wanted.
Darcie paced in the emergency department waiting room. She’d chewed off three of her nails and had started on a fourth.
“You need to stop. You’re making me crazy,” Asher said.
Darcie had to admit that Asher had gone above and beyond the call of duty when he showed up at the hospital. He’d only come to town for some conference thing. He hadn’t been here for official business, and he and no reason to be hanging out holding her hand.
“Sorry. It’s just been four hours since he went into surgery.”
“He was shot in the chest, sister.” Jagar squeezed her shoulder. “Doctor said it could take a while. The bullet did a fair amount of damage.”
“Do you have to remind me that this surgery is life or death?”
Jagar smiled. “The doctor said he would be fine.”
“No. The doctor told us that the average person wouldn’t have been as coherent as Reid after an injury like that.”
“Reid isn’t average,” her brother said. He had the nerve to remind her of that li
ttle piece of information. As if she’d somehow managed to forget that Reid was a bit of perfection.
“Look.” Asher took her by the forearms and guided her to the ugly green and brown vinyl chairs that were as hard as a rock. “Jagar and I know doctor speak for gunshot wounds. The worst of Reid’s problems, besides being really fucking sore for a while, is a collapsed lung. But that will heal. Trust me. Remember, they didn’t start surgery right after they kicked us out of the room. As a matter of fact, for all we know, it could have been an hour before they even opened him up. He could be sitting in recovery right now.”
“Here comes Matt,” Jagar said. “What did you find out?”
Darcie’s heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. “What’s Preston saying?” She could only imagine the lies spewing from that man’s mouth. Even Jim had started to backpedal when the police finally arrived. While she understood that he didn’t want to go to jail, Jim should have thought about that before he went to bed with the likes of Preston.
“He’s a fucking whackjob, that’s for sure,” Matt said. “Delusional would be a grave understatement.”
“Please tell me he’s not going to get away with this.” Darcie brought her hand to the center of her chest. It felt like a baby elephant had just plopped himself down on top of her in preparation for storytime. “If he’s come up with some crazy plan that will make all of us look—”
“Darcie. Calm down,” Matt said.
She glared at her brother’s long-time friend and fellow police officer. “Don’t tell me to calm the fuck down. I just had some asshole trying to kill me, and he shot my boyfriend. That pisses me off.”
“Then this should make you feel better.” Matt squeezed her shoulder. “Jim cracked under pressure and confessed to running drugs.”
“Preston had him running drugs? Why?” Asher asked.
“No. Jim was doing that on his own. That’s what Preston had on Jim, and he was using it to blackmail him,” Matt said. “Preston is a sick motherfucker. He said all he wanted to do was watch Reid fall apart when he saw you and Jim together. And then, of course, kill Reid, making it look like a suicide. When Jim got caught cheating, Preston had to change his plans. But the bottom line had always been to kill Reid and make it look like he offed himself, which in turn would leave the company to Preston outright. But instead, Preston is going to find out what it’s like to live in a nine-by-six cell for the next twenty years.”