Tangled Lies (26 page)

“Wait. Stop. I need to check in with the family.”

He stopped. “Right. Sorry. Go and I’ll wait here.”

She grinned and quipped, “You’ve got it bad.”

He laughed. “Yes, ma’am, I do.”

She disappeared inside the house and he paced, trying to get his fear under control. Frankly he didn’t want her out of his sight. This had gotten way out of control. Every primal instinct shouted for him to hide her away—along with her whole family—and hunt down this shooter, make sure they were safe. But he knew if he tried that, she’d eject him from her life forever.

He shoved a hand through his hair. This need to protect unsettled him with its depth. He’d never felt this way about anyone, and he wasn’t quite sure what to do with it.

When she reappeared twenty minutes later, she’d changed into a pair of jeans that hugged every curve, wedge-heel sandals, and a little black tank that played well with the jeans. She’d left her hair down, and it swung around her shoulders.

“You look amazing,” he said, and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Everyone OK?”

“Mama is tired after the doctor appointment, but her color is better.” She wouldn’t meet his eyes, so he cupped her chin and turned her to face him.

“What else?”

She shrugged, looked at the house, saw Blaze sitting on the porch. “Let’s talk about it later.”

He nodded and helped her into the truck, then headed toward town. “The Blue Dolphin? Or the new barbecue place out by the highway?”

“Let’s go with the Dolphin. I need comfort food.”

“Which for people like you and me is seafood.”

She smiled, but it was frayed around the edges.

“What are you thinking?”

“There was no blood anywhere. I checked every fridge out there. What if he’s alive? That changes everything.”

Jesse nodded. It did. Then they were looking at kidnapping, not drowning or murder. “It’s one heck of a tangled mess and means there are more secrets in this town than we thought.”

“But wouldn’t someone, somewhere, have seen or known something?”

“People have all kinds of reasons for keeping secrets, Sasha. Sometimes good ones.”

“How can this be one of those times?”

“I don’t know. But we’ll find out.”

He pulled into the parking lot of the Blue Dolphin and walked around to help Sasha out of the truck, unsurprised to find her already striding toward the door. He hurried to catch up so he could at least hold the door open.

Once they had ordered drinks and were mindlessly glancing at the menu, Sasha suddenly peered at him over the top of hers. “So are you going to tell me what’s on your mind?”

“Besides you, you mean? Have I mentioned you’re gorgeous?”

She just raised a brow.

He debated, again, where to start, and decided just to go with his gut. “I’m going to stay in this crazy little town after the race, settle down. Maybe paint over the pink of Aunt Clarabelle’s cottage.”

If he hadn’t been watching closely, he would have missed the way the shutters came down over her eyes and hid all her emotions.

“Really? After the warm welcome you’ve received, I thought you’d be eager to leave this place.”

“There is a lot to love about Safe Harbor. Namely—”

“What will you do for an income, exactly? It’s not like there are races all the time.”

He let her shift the conversation. For now.

“I’m going to start a racing team. That wasn’t just talk, Sasha. I’m also going to see if Sal will let me take on some of the mechanic’s and boat-repair work at the marina. That will free him up to take care of Mama Rosa, do other things.”

Her eyes widened. “You’ve been thinking about this. You think Pop will go along with you doing his job?”

He shrugged. “We haven’t talked about that part yet. But I’m hoping he’ll like the idea.” He reached across the table and took both her hands in his. When she glanced around at the other diners and tried to pull away, he simply held tighter.

“Look, Sasha. I’m staying. Safe Harbor is a good place. With good people.”

“Except the ones who’ve been trying to kill us.”

“We’re going to figure all that out.”

“You’re seriously not worried?”

“Of course I’m worried. Somebody shot at you and Blaze today. Whatever this is, it’s escalating.”

“Then we need to come up with a plan and—”

“Not tonight. Let’s talk about something else. Like you and me, for instance.”

She snatched her hands away and folded them across her chest. “There is no you and me.”

“Isn’t there? Come on, Sash. You know that’s not true.”

She huffed out a breath, sent him one quick glance, then went back to studying the other diners. “I told you from day one that I’m not staying. I don’t want to hurt you. Why do you keep talking like this?”

Her panic and desperation hit him hard, but he couldn’t back down. He knew she had feelings for him, but her past wouldn’t let her admit it. He reached over and laid his hands on the table, palms up, and waited until she finally put hers in his again. He breathed a small sigh of relief.

“I’m saying this all wrong. Here’s the truth. I want you to stay here in Safe Harbor. With me.” He let go of one of her hands and reached into his pocket with the other. He held up the ring, a square-cut ruby surrounded by gold shaped like rope. “Marry me, Sasha.”

All the color drained from her face, replaced by pure panic. She started to get out of the booth, so he set the ring down and reached for her hands again. “Easy. It’s OK. You don’t have to give me an answer right now. Just think about it, OK?”

“Why?” she whispered.

“Why what?”

“Why do you want to marry me?”

Now it was his turn to panic. Could he tell her everything he felt for her? Bare his soul? Memories of his mother telling him at twelve years old that she needed more than his love to stay cut off his voice. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. “Because I . . . I . . .” He cleared his throat and tried again. “Because we’re good together. We enjoy the same things—”

Her eyes were great pools of misery when she looked at him. “It’s not enough. I can’t stay. I’m sorry,” she whispered, and raced out of the restaurant.

Her words froze him in his seat.
It’s not enough.
The words were hers, but in his mind, it was his mother speaking. By the time he dug out his wallet, threw some bills on the table, and slammed out the door, she was gone. He searched by the truck, looked up and down the street, but it was as if she’d vanished.

“Sasha!” He circled the parking lot again, looked in the alley leading away from the restaurant, then ran back out to the street. Which way would she go? Right or left? He knew she was tough and could take care of herself, but there was a crazy person with a rifle running around Safe Harbor. He ran several blocks along one side of the street, checked every cross street, then raced back down the other side. This time of night, most of the shops were closed and very few pedestrians roamed the streets. Where had she gone?

Heart pounding and ribs screaming in protest, he ran back to the Blue Dolphin and hopped into his truck. The tires squealed as he raced out of the parking lot.

Chapter 18

Sasha woke to pain. Everywhere. She opened her eyes but couldn’t see a thing. For a moment she thought she’d gone blind, but then she realized she was blindfolded. Not good, but better than blind.

Why did everything hurt? Where was she? She closed her eyes again and tried to determine if anything was broken. She’d only felt like this once before, when she’d tumbled halfway down a mountain while skiing.

Her brain felt like it had been wrapped in cotton. Putting two thoughts together took a lot more effort than it should have.

Slowly, bits and pieces of memory surfaced. The Blue Dolphin. Jesse’s crazy proposal. Didn’t he know she was a bad risk? Everyone she loved, she disappointed. Or worse. Look at the mess she’d made here with her family. And before that, in Russia. Her birth family died because of her.

Jesse thought that was crazy, but what did he know? The memories tried to push in, but she shoved them away. She had to focus on now. Today.
Think, Sash. What happened?

OK, he’d proposed, the crazy man, and she’d run out of the restaurant like a coward. Not her finest hour. But she hadn’t been able to stay. If she had, she might have said yes. Probably would have. Jesse made her want things she’d never considered wanting, like a home, maybe even a family. Could she stay? For Jesse?

Her heartbeat sped up, so she forced out a slow breath.
Focus. Don’t think about that now.

So, she’d run outside, and then—

She searched her fuzzy brain and came up empty. What happened next? She couldn’t remember.

Maybe she’d been drugged. But why?

Tony.

It was the only answer that made sense. This had to do with her search for Tony. She tried to sit up and couldn’t. Her hands were tied behind her back. She shifted her legs again and realized why she couldn’t move them. They were bound, too.

Panic washed over her, but she forced her mind to calm down. In her years as a captain, she’d learned the best way to survive an emergency was to take a few precious seconds and think before you acted. Assess the situation.

She rubbed her fingers back and forth and decided she was lying on a dirt floor. She sniffed the air. Musty, with a layer of hay and the underlying smell of dung. So chances were someone had stashed her in a barn.

What were they going to do with her?

The smart thing would be to get out of here before they came back.

She wiggled herself to a sitting position and tried to figure out how to get her hands free. Whoever had tied her up knew what they were doing and wanted to ensure she wasn’t going anywhere. Instead of rope, they’d used duct tape, and it wouldn’t budge. Her feet were bound the same way, and no amount of twisting and tugging loosened the tape. At all.

The blindfold had to go, but she didn’t want it completely off, lest they notice if they came back. She rubbed her face against the ground, back and forth, back and forth, getting dirt in her mouth and spitting it out. Finally whatever smelly bit of cloth they’d tied around her head moved the slightest bit, and she could see splinters of light between the cracks in the building. She scooted her body around to see better.

Yes, she was in a barn. A big old one. There were several holes in the roof that let in shafts of light. Streaks of pink colored the sky. It must be morning.

How was she going to get out of here?
Think, Sasha. What day is it?
She tried to shake her head, but pain shot through her temples.
Come on, fog, clear.
Today was . . . Friday. Which meant the big race was tomorrow. Jesse needed her to captain
The Painted Lady
and win that race.

He said he didn’t need her, but he did. He couldn’t take the helm with those ribs.

But first, she had to get out of here before whoever took her came back. Just thinking about the shooter in the woods sent a chill down her spine and propelled her into action. Tied up like this, she was at their mercy.

After a lot of groaning and panting, she managed to get up on her knees. From there, she tried to hop to her feet, but she lost her balance and crashed face-first onto the ground.

She spit out dirt and wondered briefly if anyone had missed her yet or if they just figured she’d run off again, as usual. Either way, it didn’t matter. She had to get out of here.

She rolled until she was next to the wall, then maneuvered to her knees again. This time, when she hopped up, she crashed into the rough barn wall, but at least she was upright.
OK, now to get out of here.

She stood, leaning against the wall, trying to catch her breath and figure out her next move. As her eyes scanned the gloom, searching for a way out, a shadow separated itself. She caught one quick glimpse of a dark figure before something jabbed her in the arm.

Everything went black.

Jesse pulled in to the marina just as the sky began to lighten. He’d spent several hours last night trying to find Sasha before he called the police, not sure what else to do. He’d asked for Nick, but the dispatcher said he was off duty and patched him through to Chief Monroe instead. Not surprisingly, the chief speculated she’d just run off for a few hours to clear her head.

Had she? She used to do it when they were in high school. When she was overwhelmed, she took off for a while. Last night he’d called her cell every fifteen minutes, but it went right to voice mail. Meaning she didn’t want to talk to him. He’d said he’d give her time to get used to the idea. Which was fine, but he had to know that’s all her disappearance was. A little voice had been hounding him all night, telling him she wouldn’t vanish without a word. Not now, not with things with Mama Rosa the way they were and a crazy with a rifle on the loose.

When he’d run off the road because he’d nodded off behind the wheel, he went home set the alarm, and forced himself to sleep for exactly one hour. He wouldn’t do her any good if he crashed into a tree.

He now headed down the dock to the marina store, worry building even as he hoped to find her behind the counter so he could give her what for.

“Morning, Jesse.” Sal looked up from an account ledger as he walked in.

“Morning, Sal. Is Sasha working this morning?”

“Not today. She has the morning off.” He raised a brow. “I heard you caused quite a stir at the Blue Dolphin last night, something about candlelight and a ring.”

Jesse grinned. “Yeah, there was a ring involved, but she didn’t take it.” He held up a hand. “I really didn’t expect her to.”

Sal’s eyes narrowed. “Are you toying with my daughter’s affections?”

“Not at all. I’m completely serious.” Jesse met Sal’s gaze. “You OK with me marrying your daughter, Sal?”

“You’ve always been a good boy, Jesse. Even as a scrawny teenager. I think you’re man enough to love my Sasha without trying to control her.”

“Thanks, Sal. Now all I have to do is get her to say yes.” He scanned the bait shop, but no one seemed to be within earshot. “Have you seen our girl yet this morning?”

“No, and I missed her. She’s been getting up first and getting the coffee going. Had to make my own today.” His smile faded. “Is something wrong?”

“She left the Blue Dolphin in a hurry last night and I haven’t seen her since.”

“Ran off, did she?” He waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t let that worry you. She’s been doing that since we first met her. Sometimes, she just needs a little bit of time and room to clear her head.” He stopped suddenly, and the color drained from his face. “But with the strange goings-on around here lately . . .”

Jesse waited for him to say more. When he didn’t, he thanked him and left, but his worry kicked up another notch. Too much had been happening to ignore it.

He sent a text this time, asking her to let him know she was OK. Then he walked up to the house and found Blaze on the porch, Bella prancing and whining at her feet.

“Morning, Blaze. How ya doing?”

Blaze reached over and stroked Bella’s fur, trying to calm her. “Shh, Bella. It’s OK.” She glared at Jesse. “Somebody who isn’t going to take care of a dog shouldn’t have one.”

He stilled. “What do you mean?”

Blaze narrowed her eyes. “Did Sasha spend the night with you? Because her bed hasn’t been slept in. I woke up to Bella nudging me awake.”

“No. She didn’t. And she never has, by the way.” He walked up the steps and onto the porch, Bella still whining and running to the screen and back to Blaze. “You checked her bed?”

“Of course. How else would I know that?”

He thought a moment, a chill running down his back. He didn’t want to scare Blaze, though.

“Can I take Bella with me? We’ll take a spin, see if Sasha’s around somewhere. Maybe she went for a run?”

Blaze snorted. “Sasha doesn’t run unless someone’s chasing her.”

That wasn’t reassuring in the least. He managed a confident smile and motioned to Bella. “Come on, girl. Want to go for a ride?”

Bella barked once and raced to his truck, where he had to help her scramble up into the passenger side. She perched on her haunches, scanning the area, and Jesse could have sworn he heard her telling him to hurry up already.

“Take it easy. We’re going.”

He put both windows down, and Bella hung her head outside as they left the marina, sniffing the air as they drove.

Jesse drove slowly to be sure he didn’t miss her if she’d been injured at the side of the road or something, but every instinct urged him to hurry, too. Sasha was in danger. He could feel it.

They led a line of cars from the marina to the Blue Dolphin. Jesse wouldn’t go above thirty-five so he could scan both sides of the road. Vegetation grew so thick on the edges, he could drive right past and not see her if she were lying in the bushes. A driver behind him laid on the horn, then crossed the double yellow line on the two-lane highway to get around him. Any other day, that would have ticked him off. Today, he couldn’t care less. He had to find her.

Beside him, Bella sniffed the air. He wondered if there was any way she could find Sasha, or if that was just wishful thinking on his part. Bella was a Lab, not a bloodhound. Still, when she started barking frantically out the window, he pulled over. Before the truck stopped, Bella had leaped out and tumbled to the ground. He ran around to check on her, but she was already racing into the underbrush at the side of the road, barking as she went. Jesse ran after her, wishing he had worn boots instead of flip-flops. Snakes loved this kind of terrain.

Bella stopped suddenly and Jesse almost fell over her. He caught his balance and saw what had gotten her attention. A scrap of cloth hung on the spines of a scrub pine, as though it had been snagged as someone went by. He pulled it off, and Bella started jumping in a circle.

When Jesse recognized it, he took a deep breath. It was part of the tank top Sasha had been wearing last night. So where was she?

“Sasha? Are you here?” He waited, listening, eyeing the crisscross tire tracks in the soft sand. Even Bella seemed to understand, for she stood motionless beside him.

They heard nothing but the cry of a hawk and the rumbling whir of the cicadas. He looked up, thankful he didn’t spot any vultures overhead.

Which way had she gone? He wanted to hurry, but he was afraid he’d miss something, so he walked in an ever-widening circle with Bella before he realized there was nothing more to find here. The tire tracks went in several directions. This wouldn’t help him find her.

He slammed a hand against the truck as he and Bella climbed back in. Someone had to have some idea where she might have gone. Or been taken.

His phone signaled an incoming text from Sasha.
Stop searching. I’m fine.

Instead of easing his mind, the text cranked his worry even higher. Would she think he was searching for her? Knowing Sasha, if she was trying to clear her head, she wouldn’t give him a thought right then.

He had ignored the nagging feeling that something wasn’t right the last time he talked to Ethan. He wouldn’t make that mistake again. His gut said someone had taken Sasha. The trick was to find out where, and then he could deal with who later.

He stopped at the Blue Dolphin, determined to act nonchalant and praying he would get answers along with his breakfast. He walked in and several conversations ground to a halt.

Marge, the daytime waitress with the gray braid and smoker’s voice, handed him a menu and said, “Sit anywhere you like, handsome.”

Outside, Bella stared in through the window and finally settled her muzzle on her paws to wait. Marge came over and filled his coffee cup without being asked. “So I hear you popped the question to our Sasha last night and she ran out on you.”

“Heard that, did you?” He sipped his coffee and tried not to wince.

Marge grinned. “Honey, everyone in town has heard it by now.”

“What else have you heard?” He smiled widely.

She looked both ways and suddenly lost her carefree expression. She leaned closer and said, “I hear there are those not too happy with your coming to town with that fancy boat of yours, and your past, and living in dear Clarabelle’s cottage.”

“Anybody say why that was such a crime?”