A loud howl sent a jolt of surprise through him, and he realized whoever had followed the dogs here were so near they would descend on them at any minute. He tightened his hold on Claire, and she glanced back in the direction of the dogs’ barks.
The beam of a flashlight swept across them, and a voice from above shouted. “There they are! Get them!”
The crack of a gun split the air, and dirt kicked up from the path a few feet away from them. There was only one thing to do.
“Hold your breath!” he screamed at Claire and jumped headlong into the rushing river waters.
He inhaled a deep breath as he pulled them beneath the swirling waters. The jagged path of bullets striking the water zipped past them, and he struggled to pull them both farther away from where the shots were hitting the water.
They made it into the river’s current and he felt Claire being swept out of his grasp, but she managed to loop her arms around his neck. They twisted and turned in the surging water, but Claire managed to keep her hold. She slid around until she was floating behind him but she still held on. For what seemed an eternity they drifted through the torrent before the river calmed, and he pushed to the surface.
The first thing he saw was the moon’s light reflecting off the water. The shoreline had changed from the path where they’d entered the river to a small, dirt-covered area flanked by trees. They had traveled beyond their entry point. The dogs’ barks sounded in the distance from upriver, and he smiled.
It would take some time for their pursuers to retrace their steps and come along the shore downstream. That could give them time to escape.
The thought had barely entered his mind before his body froze in fear. He turned his head and stared over his shoulder.
Claire had disappeared.
* * *
Claire didn’t know when her hands had slipped free of Adam’s neck. All she could think about was how to survive in the swirling water around her. Her first thought was to give up and let the river take her. She was tired. If she had known her decision to go after Peter Willis would have come to this, she would have backed off before she’d ever begun. But she hadn’t, and now she and Adam were probably going to drown. No one would ever know what had happened to them.
But she didn’t want to die. She wanted them both to live. And she wanted to tell Adam she loved him, that she always had and always would. He didn’t have to return her love, but he had to know he was worthy of being loved. That was what he needed more than anything.
The water calmed, and she kicked to the surface with a new resolve. As she emerged from the darkness below, she looked around, but he was nowhere in sight.
“Adam!” she screamed at the top of her voice.
Only the sound of the river answered.
“Adam!” she called out again.
“Claire!”
Her heart leaped into her throat at the sound of his voice. “Adam, I’ve over here.”
“Keep talking so I can find you!” he yelled.
“I’m here. I’m here. Where are you?”
She heard the water ripple as he swam toward her, and the next thing she knew he had his arms around her and was holding her in a fierce hug. He pulled his head back, looked down into her eyes, then lowered his lips to meet hers.
As she strained upward to greet his kiss, her heart felt as if it was doing somersaults in her chest. This was what she’d wanted for so long, for years. And now it was happening in the middle of a river. She pulled away from him and began to laugh.
The moonlight on his face revealed a puzzled expression. “Is kissing me that funny?”
She shook her head. “No. It’s just that you never cease to amaze me. I’ve waited so long for that kiss and imagined it happening in all kinds of romantic places, but I never pictured us soaking wet in the middle of a river.”
He grinned. “Well, Miss Walker, that’s only the first of more to come if I have anything to say about it.” In the distance the sound of sirens split the air. “I think the cavalry has arrived. I’m tired of treading water. Why don’t we get to shore and try to find the good guys?”
She didn’t loosen her arms from his neck. “Anything you say, Mr. Knight.”
When they reached the shore, he stood up, pulled her out of the water and carried her to the edge of the tree line. He sat her down and then plopped down beside her.
He leaned back against a tree trunk and took several deep breaths. Claire let her gaze drift over him to see if she could spot any injuries he’d suffered, but she saw nothing.
“Are you all right?” she asked after a few seconds.
He nodded. “Just winded.” He reached out and grabbed her hand. “I was so scared for a minute there. I thought I had lost you.”
“I panicked, too, when I couldn’t find you, but we’re safe now. Thank you for saving my life now—how many times is it? I’ve lost count.”
He chuckled. “I don’t know. But then it seems like I’ve been looking after you for half my life. I used to get so mad at my mother when she’d make me take you and Jessica to the movies because she was afraid for the two of you to go alone. Or to walk down to the ice cream shop with you.”
Claire laughed. “I suppose it was too embarrassing for a cool guy like you to be seen with your sister and her friend.”
“I thought so at the time, but things began to change when you and Jessica celebrated your eighteenth birthdays.”
She smiled at the memory of the party their two sets of parents had given them right after they graduated from high school to celebrate their turning eighteen and getting ready for college. They’d rented a ballroom at one of the Memphis hotels and invited all their friends and even hired a band for the night.
Claire sighed as she remembered how happy she’d been that night. “It was a wonderful party, and I nearly died from happiness when you danced with me.”
“I was happy, too,” he whispered. “But I didn’t want you to know. I’d made such a fuss about resenting you for so long, I thought it best to keep up the pretense.”
“But why?”
Adam raked his hand through his hair. “I hadn’t told anybody, not even my parents, at that point. I’d made the decision to enlist in the military. And you were getting ready to start college. I knew you’d meet new people, maybe find a boyfriend. I thought it was better if I left things as they were.”
“And that’s the way things stood until you came home a year and a half later.”
“Yeah.” He took her hands in his and inhaled a deep breath. “I want you to know these past few days, even with all the trouble we’ve had, have been some of the happiest of my life because you were with me. I fell in love with you years ago, Claire, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell you that night at my parents’ home. I thought it was better not to saddle you with a guy who probably wasn’t going to make it back from combat. So I chose to take what I thought was the easy road and ignore the feelings I had for you. I’ve been doing it ever since.”
“Has it been worth it?”
He closed his eyes and bumped his head against the tree behind him. “Not only was it the hardest thing I ever had to do, it was also the dumbest choice I could have made. I’ve told myself over and over that I’ve done you a favor by not telling you, but I died a little bit whenever I heard Jessica talking about a guy you were dating. Then your junior year in college when she said you were serious about someone you’d met, I resigned myself to the fact that I’d missed my chance.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this after my engagement was broken?”
“I don’t know. Ignoring you had become a habit by then, and I thought it was best not to try to revisit past history. Everything changed when I walked out of that woods the other night and saw you lying on the ground. When I realized how close you’d come to being killed, I
nearly went out of my mind.”
Tears of happiness filled Claire’s eyes. “Adam, I...”
“It’s all right, Claire,” he interrupted. “I understand how much I hurt you, but I was happy when you said you’d like for us to be friends. You don’t have to love me like I love you. I just thought it was time you knew. You can go back to Nashville knowing that you weren’t the only one who’s been unhappy because of my actions. But although I love you with all my heart, I don’t expect anything in return.”
She tightened her fingers on his and leaned over to stare into his eyes. “Oh, Adam, if you only knew how I’ve longed to hear those words from you. I’ve loved you for so long I can’t even remember when I didn’t. After you were sent back into a war zone, I tried to forget you, but I have never been able to.”
His eyes grew wide. “Are you saying...?”
“Yes, I’m saying I love you, too.”
He leaned toward her but stopped before their lips met. He reached up and slicked her wet hair back from her face. “One more thing, Claire, not only do I love you, but you’ve shown me the way to heal my battered heart with the love God has to offer me. Thank you for doing that.”
Joy like she’d never known flooded through her as his words burrowed into the secret places of her heart that had seemed empty for years. She’d only been half a person, alone with no one. Now she had Adam, and for the first time in years, she felt whole.
SEVENTEEN
Adam stopped at the edge of the woods. The October night had grown cooler, and Claire shivered in his arms. He pulled her closer to him and stared down at all the activity in front of Serenity’s casino. Bill Diamond stood beside a car parked at the barn’s entrance as he talked with a sheriff’s deputy.
He inclined his head in the direction of the men beside the car. “The man with the deputy is Bill Diamond. He’s the head of the Memphis FBI office and a good friend of mine. Let’s go talk to him.”
Claire stirred in his arms. “What a time to meet one of your friends. I must look a mess.”
He frowned and gazed down at her. “Yeah. You look like you fell in the river.”
She laughed and swatted his arm as they started toward the barn. Bill looked up and yelled out as they approached. “Adam! I’ve got men out looking everywhere for you.”
Adam chuckled. “Sorry to be so long about getting here, but I figured you could handle things. Tell me what’s been going on?”
“We raided the casino, and I think we have everybody who was involved. The guys who were following you even came back, and they’re inside with the rest of those we’ve detained. But I was getting worried about you. Where have you been?”
“It’s a long story, Bill, but we’re safe, except Claire’s ankle is hurt and she’s cold. She needs to get to a doctor.”
“We can take care of that right now.” He turned to the deputy. “Can you transport this young lady to the hospital while I talk with Adam about what they discovered here tonight?”
“Sure,” the man replied. “Put her in the passenger seat and I’ll take her right away.”
Claire shook her head. “I don’t want to go without you, Adam.”
“It’s all right. I’ll fill in the police and Bill about what’s happened here tonight, and then I’ll come to the hospital. I won’t be long.”
“But...”
Bill opened the car door, and Adam slid her into the seat. When she was settled, he pulled the seat belt and leaned over to fasten it. He leaned close and smiled. “Please don’t choose this time to become your independent self again. I love you and want you to be taken care of.”
Her eyes softened, and she cupped his cheek with her hand. “I love you, too.”
He brushed his lips across hers. “I’ll see you in a little while.”
When he closed the door, he watched the deputy until the car had disappeared in the distance. Then he turned back to Bill. “Okay. Catch me up on how things have gone since I called the police.”
Bill motioned toward the front door. “Let’s go inside where it’s warmer. You’re soaking wet. I’ll get someone to bring blankets from the main house.”
They walked inside, and Adam stopped to take in the scene before him. At the back of the room police officers stood guard over a group of Serenity employees who sat on the floor. Some of the women were crying while the men stared into space. Sitting in the middle of the group, Adam spotted Brian Morrison, Louis, Maria, Bryce Holt and the two men who’d helped take Claire and him hostage.
Men and women who he assumed to be Serenity’s guests sat around the room either being questioned by law enforcement officers or waiting their turns. A man at the side of the room kept yelling at the officer that he wasn’t saying a word until his attorney arrived.
Bill led him into a room off the main gambling floor that he recognized right away as an office. Three officers, their hands resting on their holsters, stood guard over Whitney Hamilton, Peter Willis and Peter’s wife.
Peter flashed a look of hatred at Adam. “I wish I’d killed you the other night in Mississippi.”
“I’m glad you didn’t, Willis. Now I’ll get to see you pay for the crimes you’ve committed.” He glanced at the other two. “Along with your wife and friend here.”
Whitney glared at him. “We’ll see about that. We have influential friends, and it’ll take a lot to convict us.”
“I don’t think we’ll have any trouble, Mr. Hamilton,” Bill said. “The FBI has been aware of businesses believed to be involved in money laundering for a long time. In the past few weeks we’ve been able to track their deposits to several banks, and the one you work for is one of them. And I believe your sister here is on the board of another on the list. You’ve had quite a ride with your casinos bringing in money, then laundering it through banks you control before sending it to offshore accounts. We shouldn’t have any trouble linking all of you to these crimes.”
Whitney’s face turned red, but before he could speak, another officer stepped into the room. “Sir, we’re ready to transport these prisoners to jail.”
Bill nodded. “Good. Get them out of here.”
As the three were led from the room, Peter glanced back at Adam. “Tell your girlfriend I’m coming after her when I get out.”
Adam walked over to Peter, stopped in front of him and shook his head. “Somehow I don’t think that will scare her. With all the murders you’ve committed, I don’t think you’ll ever see the outside of prison again.” Then he smiled. “But I will tell her she’s going to get the money refunded that she forfeited because you jumped bail.”
The officer pushed Peter forward, and they walked out the door. Adam turned around and shook his head. “Peter Willis is the worst guy I’ve ever tracked.”
Bill’s cell phone rang, and he put it to his ear. He listened for a moment and nodded. “Good. We’re in the main office.” He ended the call and motioned for Adam to sit in one of the chairs. “That was one of the officers who’s bringing some blankets for you. While we’re waiting, why don’t you catch me up on all that’s happened?”
Adam sank down in the chair and groaned. He hadn’t realized how tired he was. Now all he wanted was to see Claire and assure himself that she was all right, then go home and take a hot shower before going to sleep. But first things first. He had to give his account of events to Bill.
He rubbed the back of his neck and yawned. “My involvement in this case started when I was hired by the Bond Squad to track down James Lester, a guy they’d posted bail for.”
For the next fifteen minutes he poured out his story as Bill listened. From time to time he asked a question before letting Adam proceed. When Adam got to the part about Maria’s help, he stopped at a knock on the door.
A young officer entered with two blankets in his hands. “I’m back with what
you wanted, sir.”
Bill rose and took the blankets from the man and handed them to Adam. “Thanks, Officer Truett.”
Adam wrapped one of the blankets around his shoulders and draped the other one from his waist to his feet. They offered a bit of warmth, but his wet clothes stuck to his body and sent a chill through him. He pulled the blankets tighter and directed his thoughts back to Maria and how she had helped them.
“Mrs. Willis’s maid, Maria, put herself in danger when she helped us escape. She did it because she wanted to do the right thing. Do you think that will help her?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll put in a good word for her. You and Claire can, too.”
“Good.” Adam took a deep breath. “We thought after we were out of the basement we would be safe, but that wasn’t the end of it.”
Bill listened quietly as Adam told the rest of the story of trying to escape the dogs tracking them, of plunging into the river and frantically searching for Claire. He ended by saying, “When I spotted you in front of the casino, I knew our troubles were over.”
Bill shook his head when Adam quit speaking. “That’s some kind of story, Adam. I’m glad you and Claire are both safe, and I appreciate the service you’ve done us by uncovering an illegal gambling empire. Not only have the ones behind this bilked untold numbers of people out of their money, but they’ve sent millions, and maybe more, out of the country to offshore accounts where they’ll be free of our tax laws.”
Adam smiled. “Thanks, Bill, but we didn’t start out with that in mind. All we wanted was to bring in two guys who had jumped bail. I have to say, though, these were the toughest two I’ve ever encountered. I hope I don’t come across any more like them.”
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