Rescuing Riley
The Gold Coast Retrievers, Book 2
S.B Alexander
Rescuing Riley
© 2018, S.B. Alexander
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Editor: Megan Harris
Cover & Graphics Designer: Mallory Rock
Proofreader: Jasmine Bryner
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
No part of this work may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.
Sweet Promise Press
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Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Sneak Peek
More from Sweet Promise
More from this Series
More from S.B. Alexander
About the Author
Chapter One
Riley walked out of the Sacramento airport and into an oven. The temperature had to be a hundred degrees or more, and even though she didn’t feel an ounce of humidity like she usually did in Boston, she felt as though she were suffocating.
On the flip side, she also felt free for the first time in over a month. Riley had shut herself off from the rest of the world to brood over a breakup that had hit her right between the eyes. She was madder at herself than at the jerk she’d thought had wanted a serious relationship—mad because she hadn’t seen the forest for the trees. Riley was usually tuned in to the signs. After all, her dad had cheated on her mom. But she’d been so preoccupied with work that she hadn’t been focused on her relationship. Her job as a wedding planner kept her busy, especially the month before a client’s wedding.
Regardless, Riley and her ex, John, had never exchanged the word “love.” They’d never expressed their feelings to one another. She couldn’t say she loved him. Her best friend Liza had said Riley’s ego was shattered. Maybe so. But Riley did like John a lot. He had a big heart. He had a great job as a sales rep for a technology company, and he’d treated her well.
Outside Sacramento International Airport, people were in a hurry, darting around others who were hugging loved ones, or dumping their suitcases into cars before they drove off.
Riley texted Liza to say she was standing outside baggage claim. The last they’d talked, which was the night before, Liza had said she would be waiting in the cell phone lot.
Cars slowed to a crawl, and drivers scanned the crowd for their guests.
Riley waited for the ping, alerting her to a text from Liza, but there was nothing, not even the three dots that indicated someone was typing.
Suddenly, she got an eerie chill as though something bad was about to happen, but Riley shook it off. The plane had landed a few minutes early, and she’d told Liza to give her thirty minutes after getting off the plane to get her luggage.
Riley navigated through the waiting passengers and found a quiet spot at the end of the glass building, near the taxicab stands, to lean against. Then she sent another text to let Liza know where she was. While she waited, Riley people-watched, which was something she loved to do. A mom scolded her five-year-old son. A businessman typed on his phone. And two lovers embraced.
Riley sighed. John and she had done that very thing when he’d returned after a week on the road. She missed feeling a man’s arms around her, giving her that sense that someone cared for her in an intimate way.
But as her brother, Ross, kept telling her, “John was never going to get serious with you.”
Again, Riley was mad at herself for not seeing the signs. Some of his actions should’ve clued her in. Granted, he traveled around the country for his job. Showing up late for their date or cancelling on her at the last minute because of a delayed or missed flight wasn’t unheard of. But toward the end, his excuses had piled up until Riley confronted him. When she did, he caved, spilling his guts on how he was seeing another woman who lived in Chicago.
Thinking about that still stung. Liza had recommended that Riley get away from the fast pace of Boston and wedding planning. Riley had debated long and hard. Her job was nonstop most of the year, but busier than ever from May to September. But that August, she had only two clients getting married. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been sweating in over hundred-degree heat, although she had two awesome assistants who could handle the big day for one of her clients while she was away.
Besides, the last time Riley had seen her BFF was over a year ago when Liza was boarding a plane to move back to Northern California. Riley had missed her terribly. They had talked once a week since Liza had left, but as of late, Liza had been checking on Riley since the breakup.
Their plans while Riley was there were to kick back and see the sights of NorCal, maybe tour a winery or two and visit Redwood Cove. Liza had mentioned there was a ton to do in the quaint town like whale watching, great sea life, and zip lining if Riley was into that. But Riley wasn’t one for heights, testing her fate on a thin line, and flying at high speeds over some ravine or canyon or whatever. She didn’t even like roller coasters. She’d been traumatized once when she was a little girl, and since then, no one could coax her onto one; even peer pressure didn’t work.
Nevertheless, Riley couldn’t wait to wrap her arms around Liza. She couldn’t wait to talk into the wee hours of the morning and hear all about Liza’s job at a top-notch fashion company in San Francisco—Stitches, Inc. Liza hardly talked about her job on the phone, although when she did, it was about some new design she was working on and a fashion show or two.
Riley was happy for her. When Liza had lived in Boston, she had worked for a fashion company that was eventually raided by the FBI. Her employer was one of the prominent mafia families in Boston. Liza hadn’t known that when she’d gotten hired, and she’d told the FBI that she had never seen anything illegal.
After the raid, she’d quit and searched for another job for months. Every company she’d interviewed with had been frank with her, saying, “You worked for one of the largest mafia families in the New England area. We don’t want trouble.”
Liza had decided to spread her wings and look at companies around the country, concentrating on San Francisco. Most of her family lived in the NorCal area, but she wasn’t exactly close to her dad. However, she was tight with her cousin Josh who Riley hadn’t met yet.
Anyway, since Riley had made the decision to come two weeks ago, the airli
nes didn’t have many flights available to choose from among the airports in the NorCal area. So she had to settle on Sacramento and flying out on Thursday instead of Friday like she’d wanted to. Besides, Fridays were a busy day for travel. John had always complained about how airports were packed and flights were overbooked on Fridays.
A taxicab driver wearing a San Francisco Giants ball cap came up to her. “Do you need a ride?”
The baggage claim area was thinning out, and the sun was dipping behind the three-story parking garage across from her.
“No, thank you,” Riley said. “I’m waiting on my ride.”
He quietly went back to his cab adjacent to her.
She called Liza, and the line went straight to voice mail. Odd.
As long as Riley had known the woman, Liza wasn’t the type to be late. That eerie feeling she’d gotten earlier came back with a vengeance. She didn’t have a backup plan, although she could get a rental car easily. In fact, Riley had suggested that she would do just that, but Liza had insisted on picking her up. “The drive will give us more time to catch up,” Liza had said.
Don’t panic. She’s twenty minutes late. She’ll show up.
Someone coughed as they walked past her, snapping Riley back to the present and making her shed some of the cold chill that seemed to be seeping into her veins.
She peeked around the building for no other reason than to take a breath and tell herself nothing had happened to Liza.
Blood orange colored the horizon in the distance.
Riley’s off-the-shoulder blouse was starting to stick to her as sweat trickled down her back and stomach. It was time to go back into the air-conditioned building while she decided on her next move.
Once inside, the aroma of coffee hit her, and her taste buds perked up. Suddenly, her body was starting to feel the three-hour time change.
Her phone rang, as Riley was about to get in line for some much-needed caffeine. She answered it without looking at the screen. “Liza, where are you?”
“Sis,” her brother, Ross, said. “You sound panicked. What’s going on?”
Her twin brother knew Riley sometimes better than she knew herself, although it wasn’t hard to detect the hitch in her voice.
She slid over to a quiet spot near the elevator. “I can’t get ahold of Liza. She’s late. Like thirty minutes late now.”
“I knew I should’ve come with you,” he said.
“I’m a big girl.” She tried to fill her tone with confidence, but with the panic coursing through her, she was failing badly.
One of her flaws was that she jumped to conclusions too quickly and immediately thought the worst. She couldn’t help it, though. Riley had grown up in a rough neighborhood, with a cheating dad, then a single mom after she had kicked out said cheating dad. Plus their house had been robbed several times. Looking over her shoulder had become Riley’s norm, especially when Ross wasn’t with her.
“Besides, I’m on a girls’ trip with my bestie. No men allowed.”
“What are you going to do, then?” Ross asked.
“I’m going to call her office first, and if I strike out, then her cousin Josh.”
“You mean the ex-Navy SEAL?” Ross asked a little excitedly.
Her brother was into military and war movies. He even loved to watch those programs on how Navy SEALs train. He’d wanted to go into the military but had decided against it when Mom and Dad had gotten a divorce. Ross hadn’t wanted to leave Mom and Riley alone.
Riley’s phone alerted her to an incoming call from a number she didn’t recognize. “Hold on. This might be Liza now.” She switched over to answer.
“Hi, Riley. I’m Taylor, Liza’s assistant. She’s stuck in a meeting with an important client. Is there any way you can rent a car and head to her cousin’s bed and breakfast in Redwood Cove? I’ll text you the address. She also said she would call as soon as she can.”
It seemed Riley was renting a car after all. “I’m supposed to stay with her at her apartment. I can meet her there.”
“No. She insisted that you head to Redwood Cove Inn. It’s going to be a late night for her.”
A bed and breakfast sounded so much better than an apartment in the city anyway. “Okay, but have her call me as soon as she can, though.”
“I will.” Then the line went dead.
Riley switched back to Ross. “Liza got stuck at work. I’m going to rent a car and make my way to Josh’s in Redwood Cove. I’ll check in with you when I get there.”
“You better. Or I’m taking the next flight out.”
Riley laughed, even though he was serious. He’d always been so protective of her and Mom.
“I have my mace if that makes you feel better.” Mace wouldn’t completely stop an attacker, but it would slow someone down, allowing Riley time to get away.
“Call me as soon as you get there,” he said. “Do you hear me?”
“Loud and clear.” She hung up before he could give Riley his speech on “Make sure you look at what’s around you. Don’t forget to use the mace and knee them in the groin if you have to.”
While she was a confident woman, Riley was a little leery about finding her way to Redwood Cove. Not because of getting attacked, but because darkness would set in soon, and she wasn’t a great nighttime driver.
Chapter Two
Josh rubbed his temples, wanting nothing more than to take a walk on the beach with his dog, Charlie, or even take Charlie to the dog park not far from the water. But that would have to wait. The inn Josh’s parents owned was slammed for a Thursday, with guests checking in. Normally, he didn’t help out much at the front desk, mainly because he could hardly hear, which was a problem since a conversation between a guest and him was important during the check-in process.
But with one of his employees off for a couple of days, Josh had to help out.
Still, the place was overbooked. August was always a high time for them. People were on vacation, kids were out of school, and Josh’s guess was that families saved their trips until the week or two before school started.
Charlie’s wet nose nudged Josh. He looked down as the dog went over to the door. They had a bell to alert them of incoming guests, and Charlie always pointed out where the noise was coming from.
Drake, one of Josh’s employees and a good friend, was working the desk. He leaned over and spoke into Josh’s right ear, his good ear, although good for Josh meant he could only hear if a person was super close or talked loudly. His other ear hadn’t been so lucky, thanks to a military mission gone wrong.
“Maybe you should head back to your office. I got this.”
Josh chuckled as he scanned the lobby full of guests waiting in line to get their rooms. “I’m good.”
Drake shook his head. “Liza picked the wrong week to go have fun.”
Maybe so. But she wasn’t a full-time employee. She was family, and she liked to help out when she could.
“You mean Elliot chose the wrong time to take a vacation,” Josh fired back. As the manager, Josh had the option of not approving Elliot’s vacation, but Elliot was taking his daughter to college on the other side of the country. Josh couldn’t say no. He believed family always came first.
Drake smoothed a hand over his bald head. “You’re right. But I like Liza working with me.”
Josh cocked an eyebrow, detecting that maybe the recent divorcé was into Liza, which was a surprise to Josh, although he didn’t pay attention to the flirtatious actions of others, much less his cousin, like Drake did.
Charlie returned, escorting a gray-haired woman up to the counter. Or rather, he walked alongside her as though he were protecting her.
Josh circled the front desk to greet the old lady and help her with her luggage. First, he bent down and scratched Charlie’s beard. “Good boy.” Then he rose. “Can I take your luggage while you check in?” If Drake wanted to handle the desk on his own, then Josh could help with luggage.
It was best Josh did anyway since
his hearing was crap. The doctors had said hearing aids wouldn’t help him, and he’d been to several specialists since being discharged from the Navy.
She gave him a warm smile, then her lips started moving. Josh was a good lip reader. He’d mainly learned that technique in one of his many missions as a Navy SEAL way before he’d lost his hearing. Sometimes, he thought fate had been preparing him for what was to come.
Josh turned so his right ear was facing his elderly guest. “Can you repeat that?” He leaned in a tad so his good ear was closer to her. If the drone of the other voices around them were quieter or nonexistent, then he would’ve been able to make out what she’d said. “I’m hearing impaired.”
She slapped a hand over her heart before she started signing.
He’d only been home a year from his mission in Afghanistan, and he was slowly getting acclimated to sign language. She signed that she was sorry.
Josh nodded as he made the gesture for thank you. He checked on Drake, who was still busy with a guest. “Can I have your credit card? I’ll get you all set up for your room.”
She made quick work of getting Josh her card, which read Janet Stone.
“Ms. Stone, give me a few minutes, and I’ll have your room key for you. Charlie, stay here.”
Charlie sat at Janet’s feet, and within five minutes, Josh returned to the woman’s side and handed her a room key. Then he held out his arm. “I’ll escort you to the elevator.”
Charlie popped up.
With his free hand, Josh grabbed the handle of Ms. Stone’s roller bag and pulled it as they headed away from the front desk.
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