The fire department arrives and goes to work putting it out. The police come shortly after. Aimi is there, and I have to find a way to talk to her alone. I finally get my opportunity when Jake is talking to the fire inspector, and Aimi is doing some paperwork on her own.
“Chief,” I call out to her.
“Call me Aimi, for the millionth time,” she says. “I’m sorry about Jake’s shop.”
“Me too. He thinks it’s the vandals that have been messing with stuff around town, but I think it was my stalker.”
“You think he’s found you?”
“I don’t know for sure, but I have a feeling.”
She contemplates that for a little bit. “Why would he target Jake’s shop?”
She asks a question that she already knows the answer to. Everyone in town knows about us. “Because I’m with him.”
“And Brandon doesn’t want you to be with anybody else?”
I can’t even answer that with words. I nod and wrap my arms around my body.
She places a hand on my shoulder. “Okay, I’ll dig into it. We have his photo on hand, so I’ll also keep an eye out. In the meantime, go home and lock your doors.”
“Planning on it,” I lie. If Brandon is here, he knows where I live. He’s probably been inside my house already. It’s time for me to leave Manalua.
Slowly, I make my way over to Jake and run a hand down his back. He turns to me and pulls me into his arms. He buries his nose into my hair, and I feel all the love he has for me. I hope he feels that back from my embrace. “I love you,” I whisper. “And I’m so sorry, for everything.”
“I love you too, Audrey.”
It’s the perfect way to end this because Audrey never really existed. She’s the smoke from a terrible fire that will blow away over the ocean.
“Hey, I’ve got to run home,” I tell him, tears on the brink of spilling.
“Okay, I’ll walk with you.”
“No, stay here. It’s fine. There are police all over this beach. I’m safe.” It’s another lie in a list that’s grown too long during the two months I’ve been here.
He leans down to kiss my forehead, but I want something more to remember him by. I pull his lips to mine and savor every second.
“Goodbye, Jake,” I whisper and turn toward my house. As I walk away from him, I force myself to put one foot in front of the other and not turn back. My heart is shredding to pieces with every step, but I must carry on. I want to run because I don’t have much time to gather my things and get away, but I don’t want Jake to suspect anything. Hopefully, one day he will understand and forgive me.
Jake
Goodbye, Jake.
Audrey’s words are ringing in my ears as the folks from the fire and police departments try to talk to me. I keep looking down the cove, watching her walk home whenever I get a chance because she’ll soon disappear into the darkness. She passes Lin’s boyfriend and they stop to talk to one another.
“Did you keep any weapons or ammunition in your shop?” the fire chief asks me.
I turn back toward him and shake my head. “No, I don’t own any weapons, and I don’t keep anything like that stored here.”
He checks it off his list and starts to write a note. I look back over my shoulder and Audrey is gone. Anxiety rips right through me. Lin’s boyfriend is walking toward us, and for the love of God, I wish I could remember his name so I can ask him what they talked about. Something isn’t right, from this fire to her demeanor. I can feel it in my gut. I need to get to her.
“Hey, can we finish this another time?” I ask the fire chief.
He grimaces. “I’ve got two more questions, Mr. Garrant. You know, I remember when your father used to run this shop. What a damn shame to see it go.”
The Hut has always been like a shrine to those that adored my father. People would come from far and wide to visit it. Now it’s nothing more than ashes and burnt shards of metal and plastic. It’s unreal.
“Fine. Go ahead,” I tell him.
I answer his questions as diligently as I can and go to scout out…Darren. That’s his name.
“Yo, Darren,” I shout. He’s chatting with some local surfers that must have seen it go up in flames because they’re reenacting it for him.
“Hey man, sorry about your shop.”
I pull him aside. “I saw you talking to Audrey. What was that about?”
“Weirdest thing. I told her that some guy came up to me at the lifeguard stand a couple of days ago asking if I knew a girl, and he started to describe her.”
Holy shit. Everything inside me tightens up like a fist.
“It didn’t ring any bells at first, but then he mentioned that she’s a Cubs fan and I knew he meant Audrey. I didn’t think much of it at the time—I figured they were old friends and what not—so I told him where she lives and that she spends most of her time with you and at the shop. I’ve meant to ask her if he ever found her.”
I grab him by his shirt and rock him on his feet. “You did what?”
“Take your hands off me, bro.”
Hideo and Aimi rush over to me.
“That’s her fucking stalker, asshole.”
“What?” Darren asks. Shock is registering on his face.
I shove Darren back and he falls ass first into the sand. “You put her life in danger, you fucking idiot.”
Aimi goes for her radio. “We’ve got a situation. Put out an APB for Francis Brandon Harper, his photo is on file. Send a patrol to the vacation rental on Kai Ala Lane. I think the number is 1092, to check on Audrey Logan, a.k.a. Sara Thompson.”
Francis Harper? What have I done? I’m the one that’s a fucking idiot. I took that asshole out on the water. And who the fuck is Sara Thompson? But I don’t really need to ask that. Of course, Audrey Logan isn’t her real name. I thought she trusted me with all her secrets, but she was right not to do so, apparently. He was here, and I didn’t do a damn thing about it. I wasn’t smart.
“What did she do when you told her?” I shout down at Darren.
“She took off running toward her house.”
I don’t hesitate, not for even one second, before I start running down the beach toward her house. I hear Aimi calling after me, but I don’t stop. I won’t until I find her and make this right.
When I get to her house, all the lights are on. I start pounding on her door. “Newbie, it’s me, open up.”
She doesn’t answer. I try the door handle and it opens. “Newbie,” I shout. “Please tell me you’re here.” I rush to her bedroom and prepare myself the best I can in case I have to deal with Brandon. Lord help him if I do. I’m going to end that motherfucker.
Her room is empty, but something isn’t right. Something that had always been in plain sight is missing. Maybe a bag? I check the other bedrooms, the bathrooms, everywhere, but there’s no sign of her. “Newbie,” I keep shouting as if it will somehow make her magically appear. I pound my fists on the kitchen countertop and kick the island. She’s gone. Totally fucking gone. Back outside, I notice that her car is gone, too. Jesus, I should have checked that first. Where is she?
Before I can give it much thought, flashing red and blue lights blind me as they come up the driveway. First one patrol car and then Aimi’s, too.
“She’s gone,” I tell them frantically. “Her car’s not here.”
“Jake,” Aimi says and takes hold of my arms. “Do you know where she might run to?”
My hands go to the top of my head as I pace around her driveway. “Fuck!” She never went far. She was always right here in town, at least all the times I saw her, and she never said anything about going somewhere else. “She could be headed to the airport to fly to Fiji, for all I know.”
“What about another friend or boyfriend?”
“No,” I answer quickly. “She was with me, nobody else, and I was meant to protect her, to make her feel safe, and now she’s running.”
Aimi won’t give up. “A safe space, somewhere she can g
o to make a plan?”
Finally, the answer comes to me. Of course. “I know where she is!”
“Tell me where it is and stay here,” Aimi orders.
“Not a chance, you’ll never find it, and I’m not staying anywhere. I’ve got to find her.”
She bites down on her lip. “Fine, let’s go.”
We both jog to Aimi’s cruiser as she starts talking on her radio, “I’m going to follow a lead. I’ll call for backup if we need it. Over.”
My girl is smart. There’s no way that Brandon could find her there.
“Where we going?” Aimi asks.
“My cabin.”
Audrey
Finding the road to Jake’s cabin was harder than I thought it would be. I passed it the first time and had to backtrack. The drive down the hill was scary in my small sedan, but not as scary as the hike through the pitch-black woods to get to the cabin. There’s not much of a moon tonight and his place can barely be seen. This is definitely the safest place for me to go. There’s no way Brandon can find me here.
I scramble to find the key Jake keeps hidden in the potted plant on the deck. With a few misses, I slide the key into the lock and let myself in. I lock the door behind me and use my phone’s flashlight to light my way to the family room. The less light, the better.
The floorboards creak beneath my feet and a chill runs through me. Goosebumps spread across my arms and I suddenly realize how foolish I’ve been because if Brandon knows who Jake is, which he obviously does, he knows about this cabin. Brandon is resourceful in all the wrong ways. I didn’t see a car parked, though, and it seems unrealistic he could set the fire and then get here by foot so quickly.
But then again, there was no indication that he’d been at my house. Maybe Darren was wrong. He’s not the brightest bulb.
Breathe, I remind myself. The sooner I can make a plan to get off this island, the sooner everyone I care about will be safe.
I flip on the family room lights and get a fright. A window is open, and the breeze is blowing the curtains wildly into the air. I’m immediately on edge, as I try to remember if we left that window open when we went. It sure seems like a careless thing to do, and I wouldn’t call Jake careless. But we were so wrapped up in each other that we could have easily neglected it.
At least it explains the chill that runs through me.
I drop my bags on the couch and march over to the window to close it. As I pull the window down, a metal reflection catches my eye on the beach. I shield my eyes from the light and press up against the glass to get a better view.
No! Oh God, no. It’s a small motorboat.
“Hello Sara,” Brandon says from behind me. I twist around and the embodiment of my nightmares stands before me. Much like his slicked-back jet-black hair, he’s wearing black clothes head to toe. He’s also holding two glasses of white wine as if he’s been waiting for me to come home after a long day at work. “Or should I say, Audrey?”
“The police know I’m here,” I lie.
“Do they?” He tilts his head. “I don’t think they do. Last I saw, they were dealing with the fire. So sorry to see your boyfriend lose his pathetic shop.”
“I knew it was you,” I seethe.
“I knew it was you,” he repeats back to me, imitating my voice.
“How did you know I’d come here?”
“Let’s just say it was a lucky guess,” he answers and smiles as if he’s so proud of himself.
“You’ve been staying here, haven’t you?”
“Now, Sara,” he says like he’s addressing an errant child. “You don’t get to know all my tricks.”
“What do you want from me?” I ask as I continue back myself toward the wall.
“What I’ve always wanted. You. But you think you’re too good for me.”
“Is it just the sex, is that all you want?” And there it is, the question that’s been plaguing me since this first began. I’ve considered it a few times when I was at my most desperate to put an end to this. I wondered if I gave into him and slept with him if he would stop harassing me. Thankfully Darcy and Renée talked me out of it.
“The sex? Please. I’ve had sex with you in ways that you don’t even know.”
What the…? God, I don’t even want to know what that means.
He goes on. “It’s so much more than the sex and you know it.”
I shake my head and back fully against the wall.
“Relax,” he says and takes a seat on the couch. “I just want to talk. Have a drink with me.”
There’s not a chance in hell I’m going to drink anything this psycho hands me. Not a chance. “No.”
“Take a seat, Sara,” he seethes.
I inch my way along the wall very slowly.
“Please don’t run. We both know what will happen, I’ll catch you, and I might not be so nice.”
“Is that why you want to poison me, you coward, because you don’t want to have to work for it?” I don’t know why I’m pushing back against him, but I can’t take it anymore. He’s ruined my life and I’m at the end of my rope.
“Why would I poison you, when all I want to do is talk to you? That’s very counterintuitive. All I’ve ever wanted to do is talk, Sara.”
I don’t respond and I can’t think of how to get out of this situation. Oxygen is getting harder to come by as my anxiety heightens.
“Your hair looks pretty, by the way. We look alike now. But I think I like the original Sara. My Sara. Not all tainted by that beach bum. He’s really bright,” he says, sarcasm dripping from his tone. “No wonder it was so easy to manipulate him. I’m sure he believed every one of your lies, Audrey.”
“Leave him out of this,” I shout.
Brandon throws a glass against the wall. It explodes into a thousand pieces.
Out of instinct, I crouch down into a ball. In those short seconds, Brandon is on me, lifting me up to my feet and shoving me against the wall. His finger is in my face. “Do not defend him! He doesn’t love you the way I love you. He doesn’t even know the real you. And how could he love you, anyway, when you’re nothing more than a conniving slut?” He cups my sex and squeezes.
“Get your hands off me!” I shriek.
“Why? You let everyone else do this.”
“You’re out of your mind,” I spit out.
“Am I? I’m not the one that quit my job, ran away, changed my name, or dyed my hair,” he says and rubs some strands between his fingers. I’m going to be sick to my stomach. “I think the sooner I get you back to Chicago, the sooner you can get the help you really need. That’s what everyone thinks, Sara. You know that, right? They all think you’ve gone off the deep end, ever since your father died.”
“Shut your mouth.”
“They admire how kind I am to you. They think I take pity on you. I suppose they’re right. Look at you—you’re so pathetic. You’re barely worth the effort.”
Tears slip down my face. I just want this to be over. “Then go. Leave me alone.”
“I’m a humanitarian. I would never turn my back on someone in need.” He pins me to the wall with his forearm against my throat. No matter how hard I try to push it away, he won’t budge. His other hand brushes up and down my torso, sliding along the edge of my breast while his erection pokes into my stomach. “Are you in need, Sara? I can help you.”
I feel faint, but fainting is the last thing I can do. If I pass out, only the devil himself knows what Brandon will do.
Jake
“Jesus, Jake. This road is rough,” Aimi says as we get closer to the cabin.
“I hope her car made it,” I say. “Keep going.”
“There—that’s her car, right?”
“Yes, thank goodness. And she’s alone.”
Aimi puts the car into park and I hop out. “Wait for me,” she requests. “I need to call in first and let them know I’ve found her.”
“It’s a bit of a hike down to the cabin. Meet me down there.”
; “Okay,” Aimi says and starts making her call.
I’m so eager to see her that I go too fast down the hill and end up slipping and skinning my shin on a rock. Blood trickles down my leg, but I don’t care. I will get to her first.
I don’t see any lights on, which means she’s probably afraid. I knock on the door and wait for her to answer. She doesn’t, and so I go for the key in the planter. It’s not there. I knock again and shout, “Newbie, it’s me.”
I can hear footsteps coming toward the door and breathe out a sigh of relief. The entryway light goes on, and I reach down to wipe away some of the blood on my leg. The door opens, and when I look up, Brandon is standing there smiling at me.
“Newbie, what a dumb nickname.”
“Motherfucker!” I shout and shove at him. He withstands the shove better than I expected. “Where is she?”
“Sara? Oh, I mean, Audrey…that’s how you know her,” he says, smooth as silk. “She’s sleeping. We just had an intimate moment, and I wore her out.”
“I’m going to kill you,” I rage and go for his throat, but he slips out of my grasp and backs into the kitchen.
“Sara will be so upset if you do. When she invited me to meet her here, she didn’t mention that you’d be by. She always told me you were stupid, that you’d fall for anything, but I had to see it with my own eyes. You actually fell for her,” he finishes and starts to laugh.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I bark.
“Between you and me, she’s one of the best. A master manipulator. She targeted you, the same way she targeted me. She makes rich men fall to their knees, am I right?” he asks and winks.
I don’t believe it for a second. “Audrey?” I shout.
He doesn’t let up. “Let me guess, she used the old stalker story? It always turns brutes into even bigger idiots. It makes them do foolish things for her.”
The amount of eye contact he’s making with me is sickening. “Audrey?” I leave the kitchen to go in search of her.
Between The Waves Page 11