Love Inspired Suspense June 2014 Bundle 1 of 2: Undercover Marriage\Collateral Damage\Forgotten Past (50 page)

“There's no need to be afraid. I'm not the one who hurt you.” He laughed and her darkest fears became reality. She'd seen that expression a thousand times in her dreams. “I only want to talk.” She knew this wasn't the truth. In the past, he never liked talking. Phillip loved showing his power through violence. Faith fought to keep herself from losing control. She couldn't if she wanted to live.

He pulled her closer. “No...” she whimpered.

“Let her go.” A shaft of light from a flashlight hit her eyes, blinding her and startling Phillip. He loosened his grip a little more and she broke free. She ran toward the light and straight into JT's arms.

“Get behind me,” he whispered without taking his eyes off Phillip.

“Who do you think you are?” There was no mistaking the rage in Phillip's tone. He took a threatening step closer. “You think you can replace me with him, Rachel? You'll never replace me.”

“Please, Phillip, you have to stop this. Please, just leave me alone.”

Phillip's anger exploded around them. “I'll never let you go. You belong to me. This will never be over until you're mine, Rachel.”

He lunged for JT. Before JT could dodge the attack, Phillip plowed into him with the full weight of his body, knocking JT backwards. The gun and flashlight flew from JT's hand and skidded on the floor. Faith raced for the gun first and then grabbed the flashlight as the two men scuffled around the room, knocking over a lamp in the process.

Phillip attempted to strangle JT, but JT latched on to his wrist and twisted it, breaking Phillip's hold.

“Stop or I'll shoot,” Faith yelled, training the flashlight on Phillip's face.

Startled, both men turned to her. Phillip stopped in midstride. The look of disbelief on his face was almost comical when he spotted the weapon in Faith's hand.

JT moved past Phillip and took the gun and flashlight from her, his breathing labored. “See if you can find something to restrain him with until the police get here. I think I have some zip ties and rope in my bag in the office. Can you get them for me? Here, use the flashlight app on my phone.” He handed it to her.

Faith nodded and grabbed the knife Phillip had dropped earlier, along with her lost Glock, and shoved them inside a kitchen drawer.

With another fearful glance Phillip's way, she went to the study and found the zip ties and rope.

JT took them from her and handed her the Glock and flashlight. “If he moves, shoot him again.” He waited while she trained the weapon on Phillip's chest. “Get your hands behind your back. Now,” JT barked when Phillip continued to glare at them.

JT grabbed Phillip by the arm and twisted it behind his back. Phillip grunted in pain and stumbled against the kitchen island. Before he could make a move, JT forced Phillip's legs apart and did a quick search for any further weapons. Then he snatched Phillip's free arm, pulled it behind him and tied both hands together with the zip ties.

It felt as if time had slipped into slow motion, yet things around her were happening at a rapid pace.

JT led the raging man into the great room while Faith held the flashlight and kept the gun trained on Phillip. JT forced Phillip into a chair and tied him to the chair with the rope.

With Phillip secured, JT took the Glock from her and tucked it into the waistband of his jeans. Then he pulled her close. “Are you hurt?” He touched her hair, her face, trying to reassure himself she was okay.

“No, I'm fine. He didn't hurt me.”

JT held her tighter. “Thank goodness, I was so afraid when I heard the gunshot.”

She'd been scared out of her mind as well. “I remembered what you told me about using the Glock. Right before I pulled the trigger, he hit my hand and the weapon flew out of my grip.”

“I'm glad you had the gun with you. It probably saved your life. I need to get the power back on so I can take a look at his injury. From what I could tell, it doesn't look too serious. The breaker box is behind the house.” JT handed the Glock back to her. “Watch him.”

“You,” JT said to Phillip, “keep your mouth closed.”

Phillip did as JT suggested, but the pure evil in his glare made it next to impossible for Faith to stay in the same room with him. This was the man responsible for killing four people and for terrorizing her life for two years.

It took only a matter of minutes before the lights flickered on and JT returned. “The storm is affecting cell service. Mark has a satellite phone and I was able to reach the police chief and explained what happened. As soon as the storm clears, they'll be on their way.” JT carried a first aid kit over to Phillip and cut the shirt free of his shoulder. “It's just a slight graze. You'll be fine,” JT said as he finished bandaging the wound.

With everything that had happened, Faith had almost forgotten about the storm. She could hear it still raging outside. Windows rattled. If felt as if the house might implode around them as hard rain battered the windows. The wind screamed around the side of the house, thrashing trees against it.

JT came to her and took her hand. They moved out of earshot of Phillip and JT tucked her into the shelter of his arms. “We're safe.”

Even Phillip stopped his silent fuming and stared fearfully out the windows as the deluge continued to grow.

“How long do you think before it passes?” Faith asked.

“We're only getting a glancing blow from Tyler so I'd say maybe half an hour. Perhaps longer.”

Faith couldn't stop shaking. She remembered Phillip. She'd imagined this moment so many times in the past, never truly knowing how she would react and now she just couldn't stop shaking. He'd called her Rachel.

JT's arms tightened around her. “It's over, Faith. It's finally over.”

If that was true, then why didn't it feel over?

* * *

Once the storm passed and cell service was finally restored, JT contacted Will to tell him what had happened.

“Thank goodness you're both okay. I've been trying to reach you for hours. As it turns out, Phillip Masters Jr.
is a doctor, too. He's a surgeon like his father and, as I'm sure you've seen for yourself, he fits the description Faith gave us of the man who held her hostage.”

JT found it hard to believe what had just transpired. “I still don't understand how he tracked us down, in a hurricane no less. Not to mention how did he get past all of Mark's security measures?”

“It might have something to do with the power outage.”

JT had considered that possibility, but his gut told him it was something more. Mark had installed a backup generator a few years back. It hadn't kicked in, either. That bothered him the most. “Maybe. Still, it's strange. Anyway, it sounds like most of the storm has passed. I spoke with your friend the police chief. As soon as the roads are passable, he's sending help. They'll take Phillip to the station for the interview. I'd really like it if you were there.”

“We're on our way now. I picked up Teddy and Derek as well. We should be at Whaler's Point in a couple of hours. We'll meet you over at the station.”

JT hung up the phone with a sense of relief. Hopefully, within a few hours' time, they'd finally have some answers for Faith.

Once the police arrived and the EMT was satisfied Phillip's injuries weren't life-threatening, they took him out to the patrol car and read him his Miranda rights.

“I understand you'll be sitting in on the interview, Mr. Wyatt? Do you need a ride to the station?” the officer who took their statements asked.

“No. I have my vehicle. We'll be right behind you.” JT closed the door and went to the great room where Faith waited for him.

Something niggled at his mind. Since Phillip Masters Sr. was Carl's friend, it made sense Junior would be acquainted with the Jennings as well. Was that how Faith had come to know him? If so, why did he keep calling her Rachel?

Faith had suffered from a terrible shock, coming close to death once more at this lunatic's hands. Giving her statement had been difficult. He hated having to ask more questions, but he needed answers for his own peace of mind.

He closed the door, went over to the sofa and sat next to her. “Do you remember how you met Masters?”

She sat up straight and looked at him. “Yes, we dated.”

“Then why does he keep calling you Rachel?”

She shook her head. “I don't know.”

It didn't add up in JT's head. “But you recognize him?”

“Yes.”

“And he clearly recognized you,” he said almost to himself. What was he missing? “I'm going to sit in on the interrogation and see if we can find out more from Masters. I want you to come with me to the station. You'll be safe there.” He wasn't sure why he added the last part.

He gently pulled her to her feet, drew her into his arms and held her close. He'd give just about anything if they could just stay here for a little while, but there were still so many things that needed to be settled. He kissed the top of her head and reluctantly let her go. “Come on, let's find Ollie. He can keep you company.”

Even though the brunt of the storm had moved out to sea before it reached Whaler's Point, the wind had done some damage. The power was out up and down the coastline. Debris cluttered the roads, making the drive into town twice as long. A sense of uneasiness gnawed at JT throughout the harrowing trip. He had gotten a good look at Phillip Masters's eyes and he was almost certain he wasn't the man who had attacked him on Hope Island. In addition, Masters was quite a bit shorter, not to mention thinner, than the man who had stabbed him. Yet even if he wasn't the same person, he'd clearly been tracking Faith. JT didn't believe the murders and Faith's stalking were unconnected.

JT parked the truck outside the Whaler's Point police station. He took Faith's hand and they went inside together. JT stopped in front of the police chief's office. “He won't mind if we use it for a little while. I'll be back as soon as I can.”

She managed a tiny smile. She'd been unusually quiet on the ride over. He wondered if she were having the same misgivings he was. He so wanted this to be over for her, yet as he headed for the interrogation room, the doubts continued to crowd in around him.

Why had Phillip Masters confused Faith with Rachel? It made as much sense as Faith reliving Rachel's memories unless... Impossible. What he was thinking couldn't be possible. Rachel Jennings was dead. Her body identified.

JT opened the door to the interrogation room where Phillip Masters sat cuffed to the table, defiantly refusing to answer any questions. They'd need to find a way to make him talk to find out why he believed Faith was a dead woman.

“I've called my father. He'll have my attorney answer any of your questions,” Masters proclaimed arrogantly to a clearly annoyed Will.

When Masters spotted JT, his face flushed bright red and he became livid. “She's mine. Rachel will always be mine. You have no right to her.”

JT turned his full attention to Masters. Phillip Masters didn't call to mind a stalker, but there was definitely a monster lurking beneath his polished exterior. He'd seen it firsthand. The only question left unanswered was this: Did he have an accomplice or was Faith's stalking just a huge coincidence and totally unrelated to the murders?

“That's the second time you've called Faith Davenport by Rachel Jennings's name. Rachel is dead.” JT watched the man's expression closely.

Masters made a derisive sound then. Unable to stop himself, he answered, “You have no idea what you're talking about. I know Rachel. Everything about her. There is no mistake. The woman I saw tonight is Rachel Jennings.”

Will carefully laid out photos of Rachel and Faith in front of Phillip. While there was a slight resemblance between the two women, anyone who knew them should be able to tell them apart easily enough. “Rachel Jennings is dead. Murdered along with her father,” JT repeated. “What do you know about their deaths?”

For a moment, Masters let his guard down. The anger inside him warred with the madness. The man was definitely unstable.

“You don't know what you're talking about. My father has hired one of the best attorneys in Maine. He'll be here soon. Until then, I have nothing more to say to you.”

JT ignored Phillip's outburst. “I have one more question. How did you know where to find us? You couldn't have tracked us by Faith's phone. We made sure of that.”

Masters's arrogance returned. “We followed you, of course.”

Will and JT looked at each other.
“We?”
Will latched on to the word. “Who else is involved in this?”

Masters quickly backtracked. “No one.”

He was clearly lying. “Check his hands.” JT couldn't believe in all the chaos of the night they had forgotten one crucial piece of evidence. The man who'd stabbed him would likely have cut marks on his hands.

Will had one of the officers force Phillip's hands open. There were no injuries.

“Maybe you were mistaken about the cuts,” Will said.

JT knew better.

Will motioned for JT and the others to follow him out into the hallway while Masters continued to spout angry, venomous words.

“He's not the man who attacked me. He's not the same height or build. His eyes aren't the same, either. This isn't our guy,” JT said the minute the door closed.

“That doesn't make any sense, JT. He's obviously the one stalking Faith. Are you positive he cut his hands?”

Before JT could answer, Will's phone rang. “Chief Kelly here.” Will listened for a second and then said, “What? Are you sure? All right, thanks.” He disconnected the call and shook his head. “That was the fingerprint tech. Phillip Masters's prints do not match the ones we found on the hood.”

The four men stared at each other in stunned silence.