Obsidian (28 page)

“Very smart, Rivard.” McAlvey tapped his forehead. “You always were smart. I knew if you turned up as a suicide they’d figure it was because of David’s death, combined with you’re past. They’d put it together and assumed it had sent you over the edge and I’d be right there to tell them how depressed you had been.”

“How do you know about my brother?”

Again, McAlvey let out a horrible laugh. “I made it my business to know everything about you. Once I realized that you had a connection to Maine, you became the perfect scapegoat. I just researched through old newspaper clippings. It didn’t take much work and I was leaving nothing to chance. Especially, where you were concerned.”

He motioned toward the other two standing behind him. “But I should’ve been more thorough with these two. I thought greed would be enough of an incentive to keep them on the up and up with me. Evidently, I was wrong.”

“Hey, you can’t say that about us. We’ve done everything you asked. We picked up the drops and made the transactions,” Caruso said indignantly.

McAlvey turned to face the shorter man.

“I’m not as much of an idiot as you think. I’ve been watching you move that shipment all morning. You and the other idiot were planning on running out on our deal and pocketing the money.” They stood toe to toe, as McAlvey waved the gun around.

With his hands tied in front of him, the ropes fell over the pouch at Jamie’s waist. He felt around with his fingers for the knife he’d stashed. It wasn’t much, but it might be enough to stop someone.

He just needed a distraction.

No time like the present. “Hey, McAlvey, if you’re so smart then you must know that there’s no way I’d come here without back up. They should be here any minute.”

Shelby raised her head to look at Jamie. She’d forgotten all about her call to Kearsage. Jamie was brilliant; help really was on the way.

McAlvey’s jaw twitched.

“I should’ve known you wouldn’t come after me without backup.”

She watched the exchange between them. It was a chess game, with each opponent doing their damnedest to outwit the other.

“Taimon, go out and keep watch. I don’t want anyone showing up unannounced.”

Jamie stiffened beside her. Out of the corner of her eye she caught the glint of something in his fingers.

“As for you, Rivard, let’s just say that I knew something wasn’t right. So I decided that a little insurance was in order.” McAlvey chest puffed out. He was feeling proud of himself and more than willing to share his success.

“There isn’t anything that’s going to help you now. They’re already looking for you,” Jamie said. There was no way he’ could know this was the truth, that the Coast Guard truly was looking for McAlvey.

“Well then, I guess we’d better get out of here while we can. Now, what to do with all of you?” McAlvey smiled, clearly pleased with himself.

Fear rose up in Shelby’s throat. Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea for Jamie to push him. She could only hope that Kearsage got there soon.

The shorter man pulled a box off the wall above their heads and opened the lid, showing the contents to McAlvey. McAlvey’s eyes widened as he looked inside.

“I’m going to assume that you had that for taking care of the first problem.” He angled his head toward Josh. “But since you were so creative, I think we’ll just have to put your package to use.”

“You’re just going to leave us here with that thing, McAlvey?”

McAlvey stopped what he was doing and looked at Jamie.

“I think it’d be best.”

He was just about to put the box on the floor when the roar of an explosion rocked the cottage and rattled the windows.

Jamie’s head snapped up as McAlvey stopped what he was doing and went to the door.

“What the hell happened?” He yelled, the box in his hands momentarily forgotten.

“I don’t know.” There was panic in Caruso’s voice.

“Well, go find out.” McAlvey gave him a push in the direction of the door.

With McAlvey’s attention diverted, Jamie seized the opportunity and lurched to his feet, his jackknife open in his still-bound hands. He lunged at McAlvey, using the force of his weight to propel him backward.

McAlvey’s gun skittered across the floor and both men reached for it, scuffling for moment before a shot rang out.

Shelby screamed as Jamie fell back against her, pinning her beneath him.

“Damn it, Rivard.” McAlvey growled and he struggled to his feet. “That was a stupid move. Did you actually think you could take me out with a pen knife?”

McAlvey voice resonated through the small room. “Too bad it was also your last move. So long, Rivard.”

The full weight of Jamie’s body slumped against her as he lost consciousness. But McAlvey was already out the door, slammed it behind him and shutting them in total darkness.

The sound of footsteps disappeared as Shelby struggled against her constraints. “Jamie,” she said, trying to shift beneath him. Something cold and wet seeped through the fabric of her jeans.

“Jamie,” she tried again. But there was no response and the sound of his breathing began to shallow. Edging onto her side she maneuvered until she could reach out her hand to his wrist, pressing her fingers against his skin until she could feel a faint, thready heartbeat.

Shelby scooted around, scrambling up on her hands and knees as she searched for the knife. Beside her, Jamie’s breathing became more labored as she struggled to keep her balance. She had to find that knife. This was not how it was going end. Not, if she had any choice in the matter.

“Damn it, Jamie, you’re not skipping out on me now,” she said, giving way to the anger and panic inside her. She’d already been through this particular hell way too many times. She didn’t intend to do it again.

Outside, there was a sudden rush of noise, followed by the sound of another explosion. Once again, the house shook with the force.

Heavy footsteps outside the door sent her scrambling as the door opened and light filled the room once again.

Shelby squinted, trying to adjust to the brightness. The first things she noticed were their navy blue Coast Guard uniforms. Help had arrived.

One of the men reached down, cutting the ropes free from her hands.

Jamie lay motionless on the floor beside her. His eyes were closed, his face was a pale mask and his breath continued to shallow.

“Damn you, Jamie. You aren’t getting out of this that easy. You can’t leave me now that I love you.” She leaned over him, touching his cheek even as several men came in behind her with medical gear and a stretcher.

“Ma’am, we need you to step aside so we can work on him.”

Shelby stepped back, as they swarmed into the room, hovering over him and helping him.

Someone had freed her brother and he came to her, putting his arms around her as she held onto Jamie’s hand.

“You okay, Sis?”

For the first time she noticed the red staining her hands. Jamie’s blood.

“Please, don’t let me lose him.” Her words were as close to a prayer as she could manage at the moment. A chill ran up her as she watched the mass of apparatus they were using to help Jamie.

She couldn’t lose him, now. She loved him. They’d already made it to hell and back.

Firm hands pulled her back as they circled around Jamie. The voices in the room melded together, until the noise buzzed in her ears. She caught bits of words, but they made no sense. “Boat.” “Explosion.” “Guns.” But the rest were a daze to her weary mind.

She closed her eyes, willing Jamie to be okay.

“Ma’am, I’m Kearsage. Are you the one who called me about Rivard?”

Shelby looked up into the warm, brown eyes of the officer standing next to her. She couldn’t speak, only nod. She followed his gaze down to where Jamie lay on the floor, several people were working on him, trying to stabilize him.

He didn’t look good.

“You’ve got to save him.” Her voice was barely audible over the din of noise surrounding them.

Kearsage gave her a reassuring smile. “We’ll do whatever we can, Ma’am.” “I don’t know exactly what happened here, but it must have been one hell of a fight. They are still trying to put out the boat fire. I’m kind of mad that I was late for the party.”

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out handkerchief and handed it to her with a little chuckle. “Don’t you worry about, Rivard. He’s a tough one and he’s been through worse.”

He leaned over Jamie and his words were loud enough for her to hear. “Besides, he owes us too much to bail out now.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The sun was going down over the cove in a brilliant blaze of color. Jamie dug his boots into the sand and watched the show.

“Red sky at night, sailor’s delight.” He turned around at the soft words spoken over his shoulder as Shelby plopped down on the sand next to him, shoulder to shoulder. It was the end of the first warm day of spring and he couldn’t resist the chance to be near the water.

“You’ve been awfully quiet today. Is your shoulder hurting?” She put a hand on his arm. The wound was healing nicely, but he still had some limitations to his use.

“It’s okay, getting better everyday.” He flashed a smile and took her hand in his, squeezing her fingers as he held on tight.

He’d had a lot on his mind, lately. Not the least of which, was how close he’d come to losing her. “I was just thinking about how lucky I am to have you with me.”

She reached up, placing a quick kiss on his cheek. He was getting used to the feeling of having someone around, someone who needed him. Six months ago, the thought would’ve scared him to death. But Shelby was changing his mind on that score.

Now that McAlvey, Caruso and Taimon were behind bars and he’d been cleared of any involvement, he had some tough choices to make. Some were very difficult, like what he was going to do with his career now that he was no longer running. And some were easy decisions, like Shelby. He already knew that letting her go wasn’t an option. He’d married her to prove it.

But it was his problems with his other personal relationships that he wasn’t so sure about.

“What have you got there?” She pointed to the piece of folded paper he’d set on the sand next to him.

“It’s from my father.” There was a moment of silence as he just listened to the waves and the wind. He was going to have to face this sometime. He’d already faced so much. “He wants us to come to New Orleans to see him. He says that if we don’t come there, my mother is threatening to come to us.”

She sat up a little straighter next to him. An impish grin crossed her face and lighted her eyes. He loved her smile.

“You’re going to take me with you to see your parents? I feel privileged.”

He reached over and kissed her, stringing his fingers through her hair. His lips touched against hers, moist and tender. The softness of her face and the scent of her filled him.

Pulling back, he looked at her face. She loved him. He could see it. And it didn’t scare him anymore.

“I wouldn’t leave the woman I love behind, would I? Besides, I need your support to face my father. He’s going to be pretty upset when he finds out he wasn’t invited to the wedding.”

Her expression became serious, as she looked into his eyes. He tried to tell her every day that he loved her. It wasn’t easy for him and she knew it. But he knew he had to tell her.

He’d almost lost her.

“I love you,” she said, snuggling closer to his side.

“Red sky at night, sailors’ delight,” he quoted again as the last of the daylight faded in a gleaming haze. It reminded him very much of the sunset he’d witnessed that fateful night before coming to Maine.

And, it was a strange coincidence for a man who believed heavily in fate.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Teagan Oliver is a Romantic Mystery, Suspense, and Paranormal Author who lives on her beloved coast of Maine.

When not enjoying life with her family or writing, Teagan divides her time between her many loves, including presenting workshops for writers, investigating the paranormal and recording the stories and legends of her home state and the people that she loves.

HOW TO CONTACT TEAGAN:

You can drop her a message at
[email protected]
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For information on upcoming books and appearances, check out her website:

www.TeaganOliver.com

You can also connect with her through social media:

FACEBOOK.COM/TEAGAN OLIVER

TWITTER.COM/TEAGANOLIVER

OTHER KINDLE TITLES FROM TEAGAN OLIVER

THREE TRUTHS

STEALING DARKNESS