Love Inspired Suspense December 2013 Bundle: Christmas Cover-UpForce of NatureYuletide JeopardyWilderness Peril

by Lynette Eason

  “Don’t go after her,” Hector said, voice hoarse. “Let them do their thing. You’ll get her back. I promise.”

  Reuben shook his head. “Your promises mean nothing to me, not anymore.”

  He turned and stopped short. A stain appeared against the sky, a dark inky splotch outlined against the silver sky. It was a cloud of smoke. Now he thought he could detect the acrid tang of something burning there, over the swell of ground where the shelter should be. He allowed one glance at Hector, and he saw the shock in his brother’s eyes, the realization that he had put his fate in the hands of evil men.

  With his brother’s stricken look burned into his heart, Reuben sprinted away from the Anchor. He made good time in spite of the clinging mud, until he got to the small bridge that spanned what had been the modest creek. The storm had dumped so much water into the creek that it had overflowed the channel and submerged the bridge, eating up the banks on either side until the water thundered along. He did not dare risk trying to swim across. The span was only twelve feet or so, but the water crashed by so violently he knew he would be swept away.

  Reversing course, he backed up to higher ground and made his own way through the ferns in the direction of the shelter. With each step, his gut clenched, nerves firing.

  Paula. Silvio. Gavin. Antonia. He knew his pride had blinded him to the truth and put four people in harm’s way.

  I can save them, I can save them, his mind chanted.

  Like you saved Hector?

  He pressed on, splashing through a puddle that had grown to lake size, the water reaching his shins, until he saw the wrecked Isla Hotel at the top of the next ridge. Not sparing a glance he charged up, past the ruined structure and on until he came to a dead stop.

  Heart thundering, he looked in horror at the storm shelter, which was fully engulfed in flames, yellow tongues of fire licking at the flat roof. Tearing along the path he arrived in time to see the lintel giving way, cracking into two splintered fragments in the open door.

  He started shouting words that were probably incoherent as he sheltered his face against the smoke and heat and tried to make entry. A figure moved in the shadows and he yelled again, kicking at the broken wood that blocked the door.

  The wood relinquished and he grabbed at the person, yanking them both back away from the burning shelter. It was Silvio, face blackened, coughing hard.

  Reuben supported him as they stumbled away, until he let him go several yards from the shelter and turned back.

  “No,” Silvio grunted until a coughing fit choked off his words.

  Reuben did not wait for him to recover but ran back to the shelter, which seemed to light the entire sky, given added power by the rising sun. He was knocked back a step when the shelter collapsed, beams settling in on themselves, releasing a cloud of stinging smoke.

  He made it to his knees, witnessing with disbelieving eyes what his heart told him could not be true.

  There was no more shelter and nothing left alive inside.

  *

  Moonlight helped Antonia pick out the trail as she fled. It looked strange since the storm had rewritten the terrain. An enormous pine sprawled across the path. Too big to climb over. No choice but to go around. Fear left her clumsy and she caught a foot in the tangle of roots, landing on the sodden ground. Breath caught, nerves firing, she scrambled to her knees when she felt him behind her. Leland yanked her up by the arm.

  To her surprise, she saw he was smiling. “I told them it was too much trouble. The whole abduction thing? Idiocy.” He laughed. “You would do something dumb, I told Mr. Garza. Attract attention, maybe require us to hurt you, and then where would we be?”

  “What are you talking about?” she breathed.

  “The whole abduction thing,” he said. “It’s not like you’d just forgive and forget if we let you go after Reuben capitulated. You don’t forgive. You’re not that kind.”

  She could not understand. He was not speaking sense.

  “I don’t bother with forgiveness, either.” He laughed. “Cut off the hand that hurt you and you don’t have to bother with the whole forgiveness thing.”

  “You’re insane.”

  He did not seem to hear, calling to Martin. “I’m changing the plan. Two for the mainland,” he said cheerfully as he pushed her toward the edge of the lagoon. “Watch out for alligators. I hate those things,” he said, peering into the lapping water.

  Two for the mainland? She felt the cold chill of terror, heard the soft ring of a knife being removed from the sheath. The skin on her neck prickled as he leaned close, and she tensed for the blade to be plunged into her back. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead. When he came close, maybe there would be a moment, one more second, one last chance.

  Instead, there was a ripping sound and she realized he was cutting the tape that bound her wrists.

  Disbelief pounded through her. She pulled her hands free and ripped off the tape. “You’re letting me go?”

  He laughed again. “Yes, you are free to escape as long as you head that way.” He took out a gun and pointed toward the swollen sea.

  She stared. “What?”

  “Swim, little Antonia,” he said, fluttering the fingers of his free hand. “Swim away into the ocean, like a lovely mermaid heading for Atlantis.”

  Reality hit home with a sickening thud. He was going to watch her drown. “Reuben will never give you Isla if you kill me.”

  “I’m not going to kill you. You’re going to be offed by this terrible hurricane,” he said. “And so is Reuben, now that I think on it. The shelter is destroyed and he’s got no place to hunker down to ride out this storm. The abduction thing is ridiculous, and I told Mr. Garza as much, but he’s old and he doesn’t stomach murder very well anymore, especially the murder of women. Soft.”

  Her stomach heaved. Keep him talking. Anything to delay her entry into that idling ocean. “And Hector? What about him?”

  “You see? You’ve got the critical piece. Hector is really all we need after you and Reuben are dead. He’ll sign over Isla. I told Mr. Garza that, too.” He shook his head in disgust.

  “Maybe he won’t.”

  Leland settled on a seat in the skimmer after Martin untied the boat. “Sure he will. Hector’s a coward, through and through, but he loves his kid and we’ve got photos that can put him away. That’s why he arranged this idiot kidnapping idea.”

  Bile rose in her throat. He’d done it for Gracie, thinking he could control this madman. What a colossal miscalculation.

  “And now that he’s shot a cop, he’s got no wiggle room.”

  “So he shot Gavin?”

  “He was aiming for me.” Leland chuckled. “Storm conditions threw him off.” Leland pulled a gun from his waistband. “Off you go. Into the water now.”

  “Does Mr. Garza know he’s got a monster working for him?”

  Leland smiled. “I’m not a monster. Monsters care. I don’t.” He pointed again with the gun. “Get swimming.”

  “No.” She forced the words out. “You’ll have to shoot me and the cops will know it was murder.”

  He sighed. “If I must, I must. But I’ll just wound you a little and let the alligators take care of the rest.” He jerked. “Look. There’s one slithering into the water right now. Hurricanes don’t throw off an alligator’s need to feed. They’re like killing machines.”

  She was not sure if there really was an alligator circling the lagoon or if it was another sick game. Shivering, she moved into the water, shin deep. Stall for time. The storm wall was approaching and Leland would have to leave within minutes. As soon as he did she might be able to make it back to the lagoon. Somehow. She’d find Reuben. She’d find him.

  The water lapped at her knees as she moved past the juncture where the lagoon would intermingle with the ocean. She could feel the currents pulling and tugging at her legs, and soon she had to tread water.

  The skimmer edged along behind.

  “Faster, little mermaid,” Leland
sang out.

  With one more look behind at Isla and one more anguished thought of Reuben and his friends, she struck out for the ocean.

  FIFTEEN

  Reuben did not feel the flames licking at his shirt. He could not feel anything but anguish ripping through him, white hot and spreading. Then Silvio was there, knocking him down, rolling him over into the wet ground and smothering his smoldering shirtsleeve.

  Silvio hauled him to his feet. Reuben breathed hard, tearing away the sleeve that was hot to the touch, the smell of singed flesh assaulting his nostrils.

  Silvio was still coughing so hard he could not speak, so he settled for a gesture, jabbing his finger toward a pile of debris caught by the palms some fifteen feet away from the shelter. Something moved there; someone peeked from behind the pile. He wiped his stinging eyes and looked again. It was Paula, face terribly white.

  Reuben ran, Silvio staggering after.

  Rounding the wall of ruins, he found Paula tucked beneath a dripping screen of shrubs, tears running down her face, and Gavin sitting upright propped against a broken board. As Paula embraced him, he felt her shuddering sobs. He held her close, thanking God that she was unharmed, until his senses began to function again.

  “Antonia?” he gasped.

  Paula gripped his arms. “She wasn’t inside.”

  The relief left him dizzy for a moment. She was alive. Antonia was alive.

  Gavin shook his head. “Your brother runs with a mean crowd. Leland left us there to burn to death. Paula tried to smother the flames, but they were too much. We half crawled, half walked out of that trap only by the grace of God.”

  Reuben looked at Silvio. “And what happened to you?”

  “Leland and his guy found me at the shore and came after me, but I’m quick for an old-timer and I know this island better than any man alive. Hid out in the mangroves till they got tired of waiting.”

  Paula gave him a withering look. “And then my hero had to go back in to the shelter again even though I begged him not to.”

  “Not once, but twice,” Gavin added.

  Reuben ogled. “What in the world did you do that for?”

  Silvio glared at them. “In case you ain’t noticed, we’re about to get slammed by Hurricane Tony part two, and now we got no shelter.” He unloaded a package of bread and a bottle of water. “I figured we at least got to have something to eat and those couple of blankets I saved, if we’re going to stay alive.”

  Reuben let out a breath. “You’re right. Practical to the end. So Leland’s gone. Where’s Antonia?” He watched their faces grow dead serious in the space of a second. Paula looked at her husband. “Where is she?” he repeated.

  “Son—” Silvio started, then broke off.

  Reuben tried to catch his eyes, but Silvio looked at his feet.

  “Somebody tell me what’s going on right now,” he said, nerves whip taut.

  “Leland took her,” Gavin said softly. “Just before he set the fire.”

  Reuben’s heart stuttered to a stop. “Where?”

  “I didn’t see,” Paula said. “I tried to get to her, but the fire…”

  Silvio put an arm on her narrow shoulders. “You couldn’t have done anything ’bout it.”

  “I got one look before the place caught,” Gavin said. “He headed toward the lagoon.” He added quietly, “They bound her hands.”

  Bound her hands. He closed his eyes against the image, trying to piece together what he should do. Swallowing hard, he looked at them. “Get to the Anchor. It’s the only place that might withstand the storm wall. Hector was there a while ago, but it’s our only choice now. I’m going to get Antonia.”

  Gavin hauled himself to his feet. “I’m going with you.”

  “You can’t keep up.”

  “I’m tougher than I look,” he said with a tight smile.

  “You need to stay with them. I don’t know where Leland is and exactly how many guys he’s got.”

  Gavin’s eyes narrowed. “And your brother? Which side is he on exactly? Yours or Leland’s?”

  Reuben took a deep breath. “He’s on his own side, always has been. Get to the Anchor and close it up. We don’t have much time now.”

  Even as he took off, the moist air rippling through his burned shirt, he could see the storm eating up the sunrise, the columns of angry clouds gobbling the horizon. Hurricane Tony was ready again for battle. Paula grasped him in another hug, and he pressed her close. She was trembling now, struggling to contain the emotion, determined to hold back her sobs.

  “It will be okay,” he whispered to her, leaning to kiss the top of her head. “I need you to take care of these good-for-nothing men,” he added with a smile.

  She sniffed and took a deep, shuddering breath. “Reuben Sandoval, don’t you get yourself killed, do you hear me? Or you’re in big trouble, mister, and I mean it.”

  He smiled. Silvio gave him a gruff nod, which he understood to mean that he echoed his wife’s sentiment. Gavin offered his good hand for a shake.

  “I gotta say, for an orange grower, you’re one tough dude.”

  Reuben shook his hand. “And for a gardener, you got some guts, too.”

  Gavin gripped his palm. “I’ll get reinforcements here the minute I can get a call through. Take care, man. Bad folks with nothing to lose are ruthless. Remember that.”

  Guys with everything to lose can be ruthless, too. He left them with a silent prayer and headed to detour around the pockets of debris and the overflowing creek. As he ran, the rain started up again, just a sprinkle, the first quiet warning that things were about to change. Far away over the mainland, lightning sizzled through the blackened sky.

  With the storm building around him, and the ruined hotel behind, Reuben felt the slap of truth hit home. He wanted nothing in that moment but to save Antonia. She would never be his and he would live with that pain, but she had to survive these perfect twin storms of Tony and Leland.

  Scrambling across a fallen tree, he remembered a long-ago day and the three beige speckled plover’s eggs lying ruined in a scattered nest on the beach, pecked apart by a hungry gull. Antonia shooed away the gull, but it was too late to save the plover’s eggs. He recalled how she’d crouched there for a long while, staring at the gummy bits of broken shell, her eyes filled with tears. He’d tried to comfort her.

  “They weren’t chicks yet, just eggs,” he’d offered clumsily.

  She turned wet eyes on him, filled with some emotion that was deeper and richer than any he experienced then. “They won’t ever become what they were meant to be.”

  It was what he felt now. Antonia was a vibrant woman, filled with compassion, love and an ability to see things that others couldn’t. He loved her. He’d always love her and probably always had, and though he could not save her for himself, he would not give up trying to keep her alive until the last breath was hammered out of him.

  Lord, I’ve been blind, and I’ve tried to do things my way, to save Hector by my own actions. I forgot that You are the only One who saves. Please, Lord. Please save Antonia. He could not manage any more as he slid down the hill through the rain toward the swollen lagoon.

  *

  Antonia swam only about ten yards before she felt the change in the ocean. All around her the waves began to grow restless, driven by the wind that blew out of nowhere to lash her face. The storm wall rose in the distance like a massive creature come to devour her. Looking back, she saw Leland and Martin behind her, heard them ramping up the engine. A few more yards and the ocean would suck her away. They would race the hurricane back to the mainland, hoping to be just ahead of the storm wall, and leave her there alone to die.

  Something slid next to her and she nearly screamed. Alligators. Her throat closed up in fear until she saw the ungainly lines of an enormous manatee. The creature was longer than she was; the blunt, whiskered snout poked through the surface, snuffling air not six inches from her face. With long, graceful flippers the mother guided a pl
ump baby along as they slowly meandered by on their way toward the lagoon. Antonia knew the animal was heading for the grass beds in the sheltered water where she and her baby could wait out the storm. She wished she could do the same.

  Waves stung her eyes and she blinked, the air rumbling around her as the manatees departed. She tried to guess how much longer it would be before the hurricane hit full force. If she could dally, Leland might have to leave before she was properly drowned. Then again, he might lose patience and shoot her, leaving her to the alligators.

  The sound of thwacking rotors electrified her. Overhead in the distance was an orange-and-white helicopter, hovering low, as if searching for something. Her heart leaped.

  Gavin’s report or Reuben’s phone call to the authorities had worked. The coast guard chopper droned closer.

  “Hey,” Antonia screamed, waving her hands as much as she could while still staying afloat. “I’m here! Here!”

  The helicopter was close enough now that she could make out the white stripe on the tail and a glimpse of the wheels. She waved more furiously, darting a glance behind her, and saw the skimmer reverse course, returning to the screen of the lagoon where they would not be spotted.

  Never mind Leland for now. She had to get the coast guard’s attention and tell them there were people trapped on the island, innocent people who desperately needed help.

  She hollered again, trying to lift herself above the cresting waves.

  The helicopter moved closer and she swam a few strokes, spitting out water and hollering again until her throat burned. “Here, please, please,” she shouted.

  For one more moment the helicopter moved closer, the shadow nearly touching Antonia where she struggled to stay afloat while still wildly waving her arms. Then it turned and headed the other direction, no doubt deciding conditions were too dangerous for the aircraft.

  “No!” She slammed the water in frustration. “Don’t leave us,” she screamed into an ocean that swallowed up the sound. In a matter of minutes, the helicopter had disappeared from sight.

  Her spirit seemed to break within her. Arms heavy, legs like lead weights, she began to sink. She did not have the strength to make it back to the lagoon, and Leland would make sure she would not receive shelter there anyway. Ahead of her, the mainland stretched an impossibly far distance away, blotted out by the advancing storm that now buffeted the water around her into a frenzy. Too far. Impossible.