Nowhere to Turn (18 page)

He shook his head. Frustration filled her. She didn’t want to fuss at Simon, but she had to go up to check on Tori. It was awfully quiet up there.

Dani pulled away from Simon and with a firm look, signed, “Now. Do it. I mean it.”

Simon hesitated but it had been ingrained in him by Kurt that he was to obey her at all costs. Especially when she took that tone with him.

Probably the one thing she and her husband agreed on. She, to keep Simon safe. Kurt, because it would make him look bad if their son disobeyed his mother. Dani wasn’t concerned about the reason, she was just grateful when Simon released her and sank to the floor of the closet, his gaze pleading and defiant at the same time.

With a prayer on her lips, she signed, “I love you.” She handed him her cell phone. He looked at it, then held it back to her. “Adam called.”

Dani grabbed it back and dialed Adam’s number. “Dani?” She flinched at his frantic shout.

“Yes.”

“Are you okay?” Relief filled his voice.

“Yes, for now, but I’m not sure about Tori. I’m going to see if she needs help.”

“The cops are on the way and so am I. Just stay on the phone with me.”

“I can’t, Adam. I need to check on Tori.”

He paused. “Okay, but call me back.”

She promised she would and hung up. She handed the phone to Simon. He might need it more than she.

Dani shut the door on her terrified son, grabbed Kurt’s Glock from her purse, and walked up the steps.

Cautious, she stopped at the top and peered around the door into the den area.

Empty.

The kitchen loomed vacant, the twin lamps on the wall above the table staring back at her.

All seemed fine. She held the weapon at her side, feeling her palm start to sweat. She knew how to use the gun when it came to aiming at paper targets. Could she actually point it at a human being and pull the trigger? She shivered at the thought but knew instantly that she could in defense of her child.

Had Simon really seen something or were her dry mouth and pounding heart all for nothing?

Dani wished Adam were there. But he was on the way and he’d alerted the cops there might be trouble. They were on the way too.

Now she pulled in a deep breath and wondered where Tori was. Dani glanced back toward where she’d left Simon and saw the closet door still closed. She didn’t want to call out. Dread and fear coiled together in her gut. The storm rolled outside. The boat rocked and swayed. Nausea churned in her stomach.

No time to get sick now.

A shadow passed by the door at the opposite end. Too big to be Tori. She shuddered and felt for her phone. The one she’d left with Simon.

The shadow stopped at the door and tried to twist the knob.
Heart in her throat, Dani waited to see if it would open. It didn’t. When he turned, she caught sight of the weapon in his left hand. No doubt that he had bad things on his mind.

An idea hit her. She went for the second set of stairs that would lead up to Tori’s room and the upper deck. One by one, she climbed the stairs, listening for anything out of the ordinary that would come over the sound of the storm.

Where was Tori? Had the intruder caught her by surprise the way he had Janessa?

Fear for her new friend and for Simon nearly had her sobbing, but she had to keep going, had to help keep them safe.

At Tori’s room, she went straight for the balcony that overlooked the larger deck below. She slipped out of the sliding glass door and immediately the rain lashed her, plastering her hair to her head and causing her to suck in a deep breath at the freezing cold. Teeth chattering, she walked to the edge and looked over.

She couldn’t see him but thought that he was beneath the balcony. Frustration bit at her. Then she caught a glimpse of him. Pacing back and forth as though trying to decide what to do next.

She glanced at the heavy-duty glass end table next to the white Adirondack chair. Bolted to the floor. With locks she could easily open.

Adam stopped at the light and read the text from Tori.

Someone’s on the boat. Send reinforcements. He caught me on shore. Knocked me out. Dizzy. I’m—

His stomach hit rock bottom. Someone? Someone who? How? And why did her text end abruptly?

It didn’t matter. He pressed the gas and glanced at the clock. He would be at the marina in less than five minutes. His wipers sluiced the rain from the windshield.

He called her number and listened as it rang to voice mail. “Come on, Tori, answer the phone.”

She didn’t.

And now, neither did Dani.

A text message showed up across his screen.

HURRY ADAM. I’M SCARED. SIMON

Simon had Dani’s phone? Why? “I’m coming, Simon, I’m coming.” He texted the words and then pressed the gas pedal as hard
as he dared. He wanted to go faster, but a wreck would further delay him. And neither he nor Dani could afford that.

The rain lessened abruptly. The sheets of water stopped and turned into a cold downpour, but the deafening roar of the storm had quieted.

The man who’d boarded the boat stayed out of sight just under the edge of the balcony. She didn’t want to shoot him. She didn’t want him dead, she wanted to talk to him, to question him. And if it wasn’t Stuart, she wanted to know who sent him to the boat and how he’d found it. She set the gun aside and unlatched the locks that held the table in place. She picked it up and set it on the balcony railing, waiting for the right moment.

“Come on, come on,” she whispered. Every once in a while she’d catch a glimpse of a shoulder or a foot. What was he waiting on?

With her right hand, Dani held the glass table on the rail. She shivered, wet and cold to the core, but she couldn’t stop now. With her left, she tugged her heavy boot from her foot and tossed it over the side. It landed with a sound that was a cross between a thud and a splat.

Not a loud noise, but one not completely muffled by the roar of the lessening storm. The boot caught the intruder’s attention.

And there he was just below her. Simon’s big fish, dressed in a black suit, standing over the boot. Exactly where she needed him to be. With a whispered, “Oh please don’t let this kill him,” she released the table and sent it over the rail.

He looked up and gave a harsh cry but couldn’t move fast enough. She dropped down and covered her eyes. Heard the sickening thud, then only the sound of the rain hitting the deck.

Shivering, shaking hard enough that she could barely control
her muscles, she raised up and peered over the rail. Her intruder lay on his back, a ski mask on his head, rivulets of blood being washed away as the water drained toward the edge of the boat.

Adam heard the cry, then the crash, barely noting the rain had let up. Tori lay on her side, blood seeping from the gash in the back of her head. Sirens sounded in the distance and he knew help was on the way.

Didn’t matter. He had to get Tori inside out of the cold. Her lips were already a pale blue color.

“Tori!” Kade reached for her.

“Bring her on the boat. Leaving her in the cold isn’t an option.”

Kade picked Tori up and cradled her in his arms. Her head lolled against his shoulder. Adam pulled his weapon and led the way.

“Dani?” He shoved through the door.

Kade followed, being careful not to bang Tori’s head on the jamb. Adam let his eyes rove the area and found nothing amiss.

Kade laid Tori on the couch and hovered. “I know basic first aid, but she needs a doctor,” he said, his voice low.

“I know, but we’re going to have to deal with the danger first. Keep a close eye on her. Dani!”

“On the deck, Adam!”

“Stay here,” he told Kade. He bolted to the door at the opposite end of the houseboat and looked through the window. About three feet in front of him lay a dark-clothed figure with blood coming through the mask and being washed away by the rain.

Adam stepped out and held his weapon on the still figure. Slowly, he made his way to the man and knelt beside him, feeling for a pulse.

“Is he dead?” Dani’s whisper reached him.

He turned. “No. I’ve got a weak pulse. Cops should be here in just a few minutes.”

“Who is he?”

Adam pulled the mask off. “I don’t recognize him. Do you?”

When she didn’t answer, he turned to find her backed against the wall, fingers pressed to her lips, shaking her head. “That’s the guy who killed Trennan Eisenberg. He’s an FBI agent. Ryan Blanchard.”

Adam looked closer. Sure enough, it was the guy from the video. “Where’s Simon?”

“Hiding.” She whirled and raced back into the boat. Adam patted the man down, removed the weapon he’d dropped when the table hit him, and pulled a wicked knife from an ankle sheath.

Finding no more weapons, Adam stepped back and kept his Glock trained on him, but didn’t think he’d be up and moving anytime soon. He had a nasty gash on his forehead.

EMTs made their way out onto the deck and Adam shifted to give them access to the injured man. He tucked his weapon into the shoulder holster. “Did you see the woman on the couch?” he asked the first one through the door.

She nodded. “We have two others behind us. They stopped to help her.”

Relieved, Adam stayed with the EMTs to make sure Blanchard didn’t wake up and decide to fight; however, he itched to check on Tori, Dani, and Simon. He pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped the fingerprint app. Pressing the man’s thumb against the screen, Adam waited until he got the print approved, then sent it to his contact at the lab in South Carolina.

“You can do that?” The EMT stared, obviously impressed.

“I can.”

“Are you a cop?”

“Yes.” There was no way he was going into the long explanation of his organization and the powers he’d been granted by the government agencies. One of which was the ability to collect evidence and submit it. With a request for the lab to put a rush on it.

Even though he was quite sure who the man was, it wouldn’t hurt to have it confirmed. Ryan Blanchard would be in the system.

Officers swarmed the boat. Adam flashed his badge and explained what had happened. As they took over, cuffing the man and patting him down once again, Adam moved back inside to find Tori sitting up, an ice pack on the back of her head, pain shining in her golden brown eyes.

He went to her. Shivers racked her even though she had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. He gripped her upper arms. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I went hunting for him and he got the jump on me.”

“Happens.”

She grunted. “Not to me it doesn’t. Simon even wondered if loosening the moorings was a trap.” She sighed. “I took him seriously, wondering the same thing myself. The only problem was, our intruder was watching for me and saw me before I saw him.” She glanced around. “Are they okay?”

“We’re fine.” Dani’s soft voice filtered through the chaos and Adam turned to find her standing at the top of the steps. Simon stood next to her, a hard glint in his eyes, his lips pursed. The kid was mad, Adam thought. And he didn’t blame him. Simon signed something, but Adam missed it. He looked at Dani. She interpreted. “He wants to know if it was Stuart?”

Adam signed, “No.” He quit signing and said, “At least he didn’t come here himself. I don’t know if he hired the guy or not, but it wasn’t Stuart.”

Some of the tension seemed to seep from Simon’s shoulders.

Simon moved to Tori. Kade shifted so he could sit next to her. “Are you okay?”

Tori gave the boy a hug and signed, “Just don’t ask me to nod my head and I’ll be fine.” She glanced at the kitchen cabinet. “I could use a few ibuprofen pills, though.”

“How many?”

She held up four fingers.

Simon went to get them.

Kade moved back close. Adam could tell the man was worried. And in love. He briefly wondered if Tori knew.

“So what do we do about him?” Dani asked Adam. “He’s an FBI agent. He’ll get off easy.”

“No he won’t. Not with this. There’s no way to sweep this one under the rug, and I plan to make sure Ryan Blanchard goes away for a long time.”

Just because he was no longer a US Marshal didn’t mean he no longer had friends in convenient places. Jeb Owens with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division—otherwise known as SLED—would run the print for him and confirm it belonged to Blanchard. The evidence would be admissible in a court of law and Adam would make sure he was there to testify.

“All right, ma’am, we’re ready to transport you to the hospital.”

Tori snorted. “Not me. I’ll be all right.”

Adam frowned. “You need to get checked out.”

“I got hit on the head. I have a headache. If I start seeing double or throwing up, I’ll go to the doctor.” She downed the four orange tablets Simon handed her.

Adam grimaced. “How do you do that dry?” He’d never been able to understand how she did that without choking. He wanted to gag just thinking about it.

She smirked. “Some of us are just talented.” She turned serious. “I’m not going anywhere, but you three are.”

“Yeah. Which brings me to another question.”

“How did they find us?” Simon asked.

“Exactly.”