Whisper of Revenge (A Cape Trouble Novel Book 4)

by Janice Kay Johnson

  Hannah lifted her own hand to lay it on his hard, clean-shaven cheek. “Why would you ever have imagined anything like that? He told me…” She bit her lip, then winced at the sting.

  Elias scowled and reached for the call button. “You need ointment on your lips.”

  “Not yet.”

  Still frowning, he hesitated, then let go of the remote pinned to her bedsheet. “What did he tell you?”

  As she told him that Fletch had envied and hated him from when they were eight or ten years old, shock transformed his face. He looked older, worn.

  “I must be blind.”

  “No one saw it. Not even your mother.”

  “She did the year he lived with us, even though she didn’t want to believe it.”

  “He thought she loved him like a son. He said that otherwise…” One more ugly thing.

  He raised his brows.

  “He would have killed her so that you’d be completely alone.” Despite the hovering pain, Hannah shook her head at his expression. “He was crazy.”

  “He had a really shitty home life. Maybe if I’d taken it more seriously—”

  Hannah made a rude sound. “Knock it off. No normal human being would ever have guessed his crazy jealousy. Lots of people grow up in dysfunctional families, suffer abuse, without spending half a lifetime trying to destroy someone who was mostly a good friend.”

  “Mostly?” One side of his mouth tipped up.

  “So you were probably an arrogant jerk for a while. You are gifted, Elias. In my own way, I’m as bad as he was. I couldn’t understand why you’d look at me twice.” She squeezed his hand when he started to open his mouth. “Part of that was my own history. Like Fletch, I had reasons to feel inadequate.”

  “Will I ever have to be nice to your ex-husband?” he growled.

  She took a deep breath for courage. “Probably. If, well, you intend to be around.”

  “You know I do.” Anguish showed in the skin stretched taut over sharp cheekbones, in the grim set of his jaw. “Last night—” He shifted, letting her see the effort it took him to continue. “I kept trying to picture your smile. It always felt like sunshine, when I hadn’t felt that kind of warmth in years. Hopeful, happy, a lot of things I’d forgotten existed. The worst part last night was that all I could picture was you desperately afraid for your son. The closest I could come to seeing your smile was remembering Ian’s drawing of you.”

  Her eyes stung as tears threatened. She tried to smile but knew it wobbled on her lips. “I’m sorry.”

  With a sharp exclamation, he bent and kissed her. His lips were as tender as his earlier touch had been. When he lifted his head, he said in a low, harsh voice, “There will be time for smiles, Hannah. Most of what you told me that morning was wrong. What I feel for you—” He cleared his throat. “It’s nothing I’ve felt before. I’ve never really loved a woman. Maybe it’s too early to say this, but I started falling for you a long time ago. Everything I see in your smile, that’s what you are to me.”

  Now she was crying. His beautiful face became a blur. The tears stung when they reached her scraped cheek.

  “Give me a chance,” he said roughly. “We’ll take all the time you want.”

  Forgetting the IV, she clumsily swiped at her eyes and wet cheeks. Elias found a tissue and gently blotted the tears. It hurt to think of him believing he was meant to be alone.

  “I’d like to kill that man all over again,” she muttered.

  Elias wadded the tissue and dropped it on the rolling table. “Mama bear.”

  “I killed him the first time for what he did to Ian and me. This time would be for you.”

  And suddenly he was laughing again, letting her see the man he could be. When he kissed her, she felt the curve of his lips as they lingered, and she gave herself up to the joy.

  They talked some more, Elias sitting on the side of the bed. He’d already decided to clear the ruins of his house and then sell the property. “I’m thinking it’s too far out of town,” he said, and she knew he meant for her and Ian. He shrugged. “I can build if I find the right piece of land, or add a studio onto a house we like.”

  We. Coming from him, it was such a powerful word.

  Then Elias lifted his head. “Brace yourself,” he murmured.

  She heard the voice, high and excited, the running patter of footsteps. Ian erupted into the room, ready to dive onto the bed but caught by Elias, who said, “Careful. Your mom has lots of aches and pains.”

  The sight of his bald head had her crying again, even as her heart swelled until she didn’t think her chest had room to contain it. Elias lifted her son to sit beside her and started to step back.

  Hannah’s tear-filled eyes met his. “Stay.”

  He went very still. “You’re sure?”

  “I’m very sure.”

  His jaw muscles spasmed, and then he nodded. When he sat on the edge of the hospital bed, Ian leaned against him with the kind of trust she’d been afraid to feel.

  Maybe sometimes she still would be, but she’d seen deep inside this man. He was so damaged, and yet he’d given more to her and Ian both than anyone else ever had. More, she suspected, than he’d known he had inside to give.

  Her smile might still have been shaky, but it was a real smile. “It’s not like you can go home.”

  His eyes held hers. “I think I am.”

  Ian swiveled to look up at him. “What do you mean? This isn’t home! It’s a hospital. I didn’t like it here. I bet Mom doesn’t, either. When are they going to let you go, Mom? Do I hafta stay with Walker? I woke up lots of times and I wanted to go home even if he is my best friend.”

  Elias and Hannah laughed.

  About The Author

  Janice Kay Johnson is the author of more than ninety books for children and adults, including the Cape Trouble novels of romantic suspense. Her first four published romance novels were coauthored with her mother Norma Tadlock Johnson, also a writer who has since published mysteries and children's books on her own. These were "sweet" romance novels, the author hastens to add; she isn't sure they'd have felt comfortable coauthoring passionate love scenes!

  Janice graduated from Whitman College with a B.A. in history and then received a master's degree in library science from the University of Washington. She was a branch librarian for a public library system until she began selling her own writing.

  She has written six novels for young adults and one picture book for the read-aloud crowd. ROSAMUND was the outgrowth of all those hours spent reading to her own daughters, and of her passion for growing old roses. Two more of her favorite books were the historical novels: WINTER OF THE RAVEN and THE ISLAND SNATCHERS, written for Tor/Forge and now available in e-book format for the first time. The research was pure indulgence for someone who set out intending to be a historian.

  Janice raised her two daughters in a small, rural town north of Seattle, Washington. She spent many years as an active volunteer and board member for Purrfect Pals, a no-kill cat shelter, and foster kittens often enlivened a household that typically includes a few more cats than she wants to admit to.

  Janice loves writing books about both love and family — about the way generations connect and the power our earliest experiences have on us throughout life. Her Superromance novels are frequent finalists for Romance Writers of America RITA awards, and she won the 2008 RITA for Best Contemporary Series Romance for SNOWBOUND.

  Visit her website at www.JaniceKayJohnson.com.

  A Note from the Author:

  Thank you so much for purchasing my book. This is my first independently published series, so if you enjoyed the book, I hope you will take a moment to help me get the word out to others by posting a review on Amazon or Goodreads - or “like” my Author Page on Facebook to see future updates.

  I also love to hear from readers, so please feel free to contact me on Facebook or via my website at www.JaniceKayJohnson.com.

  Also Available from Janice Kay Johnson

>   Cape Trouble, a tiny Oregon Coast town, was named for the dangerous off-shore reefs. But some of its citizens seek refuge from their own troubles…which have a way of following them.

  SHROUD OF FOG (Cape Trouble, Book 1)

  The secrets of the past haunt the present…

  Sophie Thomsen’s life had a Before and an After – marked by the terrifying morning when she found her mother dead in the foggy sand dunes, an apparent suicide. Now, twenty years later, Sophie returns to Cape Trouble, only to find her aunt brutally murdered. Although she swore never to set foot again on Misty Beach, Sophie takes over her aunt’s crusade to save the falling-down Misty Beach Resort and its wild sand dunes and beach from development. But Sophie’s memories threaten a killer…who doesn’t dare let her remember too much.

  Having come to Cape Trouble to heal his own wounds, Police Chief Daniel Colburn investigates the present day murder, but begins to suspect Sophie’s mother was another murder victim, not a suicide. Everything he learns increases his fear for the woman he is coming to love.

  Sophie’s fate may be to die in a shroud of fog, just like her mother before her, unless she can trust Daniel to help her uncover her past in time.

  SEE HOW SHE RUNS (Cape Trouble, Book 2)

  When it’s never safe to stop running…

  One night, in her upscale California restaurant, Naomi Kendrick overheard powerful men plotting a political assassination. To save her life, she made a bargain with the devil…and then ran.

  Inevitably, she is found. More than one enemy descends on Cape Trouble to learn her secrets…and silence Naomi once and for all.

  Detective Adam Rostov suspects she stabbed his partner to death in her restaurant kitchen. Pursuing her to Cape Trouble, he arrives just in time to rescue her from an assault. He conceals his real purpose in Cape Trouble to stay close to her. Because if he can’t keep her alive, he’ll never find out if she’s innocent or guilty.

  Naomi’s instincts scream, Run, but too late, because Adam isn’t about to let her go. Not when he has begun to believe she is a victim and not a killer. Not when she is irresistible bait to draw a contract killer, a corrupt U.S. Congressman, and a crooked federal agent. And not when, despite all common sense, he’s falling in love with the mysterious chef.

  Once Naomi discovers Adam too has been hunting her, she must decide. Run and keep running, or trust him to keep her safe? Of course, once he knows her darkest secret, he may no longer want to protect her…

  TWISTED THREADS (Cape Trouble, Book 3)

  The faintest creak of the floorboards her only warning…

  Emily Drake has clung to her solitude for four long years after the tragic death of her husband and child, filling empty days stitching quilts that will be heirlooms for other families, never her own. It takes a terror-filled escape from a midnight intruder to open her eyes. She desperately wants to embrace life again…if death’s next approach isn’t utterly silent.

  Detective Sean Holbeck is powerfully drawn to his new neighbor, a woman threatened by an unknown enemy. He’s already investigating a murder that he fears is just the beginning. Until he knows why the victim was chosen, he can’t stop a killer…or protect Emily, who may hold the key to understanding an enraged man set on vengeance.

  Dark threads of past and present, guilt and grief and pain, have twisted together until only love and trust might untangle them before a killer strikes again…

  What people are saying about the romantic suspense novels of Janice Kay Johnson:

  •“If you are in the mood for a wonderful romantic suspense story that will have you so engrossed in it that you lose track of the time, than look no further.”

  -Night Owl Reviews (on Shroud of Fog)

  •“SHROUD OF FOG will immerse the reader in a world of suspense and intrigue. Elements of romance throughout this captivating read will capture your heart. Johnson has penned a deeply satisfying story that is appealing to mystery lovers as well as romance aficionados. If you are looking for a tale that has plenty of plot twists and amazing characters that will remain with you, then you should rush out and get a copy of SHROUD OF FOG!”

  -Romance Junkies

  •"[G]uaranteed to have you looking over your shoulder more than once in this explosive, fast-paced thriller."

  -Linda Silverstein, ROMANTIC TIMES (on Dangerous Waters)

  •"Studded with tension and skillfully riveting, [it] will capture you from the first page and won't let go until the end."

  -Kay Gragg, AFFAIRE DE COEUR (on Dangerous Waters)

  •“I’ve never read Ms. Johnson’s work before and all I can say is I will be finding everything else she’s ever written. This story is so masterful it takes you inside this small town and really makes you think you are there.”

  -Sara HJ, HARLEQUIN JUNKIES (on Everywhere She Goes)

  Turn the page for a sneak peek at the first chapter of SHROUD OF FOG - and find the entire series available online now.

  SHROUD OF FOG (Cape Trouble, Book 1) - CHAPTER ONE

  Why on earth wasn’t Aunt Doreen answering her phone?

  Disgruntled, Sophie Thomsen sipped her coffee from the travel mug as she waited at the red light. The tinge of worry, she could probably blame on the eerie effects of coastal fog. For most of her life, Sophie had hated fog. This morning it was thick enough that she felt peculiarly alone even though she was driving down the main street of Cape Trouble. The tourists passing on the crosswalk in front of her appeared and disappeared, ghost-like and colorless in their anoraks and heavy sweaters.

  The morning fog might or might not burn off. You never knew on the Oregon Coast, and especially at Cape Trouble, infamous for hidden, dangerous rocks offshore and the peculiar mist that rose from the river that flowed into the Pacific Ocean and formed the southern edge of town. Sophie had spent enough time here on the coast to guess that yes, the sun would be out in another hour or two, the sweaters would be shed, the kites and beach towels would emerge, and some brave souls who didn’t mind standing in waders by the hour in icy water would be spotted casting their lines in Mist River – named, of course, for its mysterious propensity for cloaking itself in drifting tendrils of gray.

  She and her aunt had made vague plans to meet this morning at the storage facility, but hadn’t set a time. There wasn’t any real reason to feel anxiety. One thing you could say for the friendly town of Cape Trouble – sarcasm fully intended – was that if there’d been a car accident or an aide car had been summoned anywhere within a ten mile radius, everyone including Sophie would already have heard every gory detail.

  Probably Doreen had simply gone ahead and was happily working inside the storage unit, sure Sophie would show up eventually. Aunt Doreen was very capable of being scatterbrained. Lucky she’d already given Sophie the code to get in and even a key to the lock.

  The light changed, the green less visible than the red through the fog. Sophie looked carefully to be sure the last pedestrian had stepped onto the sidewalk. She drove more slowly than usual along Schooner Street, lined with small seafood restaurants, coffee houses, boutiques and gift shops, their lighted windows made indistinct through the gray shroud of fog.

  Although it had been twenty years since she’d spent more than a few days at a time here, she knew the town well. Like other picturesque Oregon coast towns, Cape Trouble had been commercialized, but the changes were mostly cosmetic. The Victorian era homes were nowhere near as grand as those in Astoria far to the north, but charming enough to be a draw along with the lighthouse, the broad sandy beach, the never-ending waves, the much-photographed sea stacks and the whale watching tours that departed from a pier that thrust out into the river.

  Sophie’s family had spent summers here when she was a child. Before. That’s how she thought of it. Before and After. Before the great divide that had riven her life and left her a different person on the other side of it. Sophie would gladly never have visited Cape Trouble again, or even the Oregon Coast, but unfortunately the one person in the world
she truly loved lived here, so she’d resigned herself to those occasional visits.

  What she didn’t understand, Sophie thought with the unsettled sensation she’d had ever since arriving last night, was why she’d let herself be talked into spending the entire month of June here to help with the auction intended to raise money for a cause she didn’t personally support.

  Not that she could tell Doreen so. It would mean talking about things she didn’t talk about. Not with anyone.

  Two stoplights and one turn later, she broke out of town, heading away from the ocean, the fog thinning as she drove. She passed first the Safeway and hardware stores, the laundromat and a pharmacy as well as neighborhoods of more ordinary houses where the locals actually lived before reaching the least attractive part of town, never seen by most visitors. Two garages, an auto body shop, some kind of metal fabricating business, plumbing supply, lumberyard, two seedy bars, a wooded stretch and – finally, two turns later – the sprawling storage facility made up of long buildings encased in metal siding, covered with metal roofs, and enclosed in a high chain-link fence.

  The metal siding and roof presumably explained Aunt Doreen’s failure to answer her cell phone.

  With a sigh, Sophie rolled down her window, punched in the eight digit code preceded by a * and ending with the # key, then waited while the huge gate rolled jerkily to one side.

  Sophie glanced again at the notebook page on which she’d jotted the information. The auction committee had unit…4079. The buildings weren’t clearly labeled, so she turned down the first aisle and discovered herself passing 1001 on one side and 2045 on the other. Which didn’t altogether make sense. Well, the first row on her right – the 1000s - proceeded in numeric order, but the ones on her right were given to odd fits and starts.