25

He lowered the binoculars from his spot on the small hill overlooking Lake Porter.

Soon. That’s what he kept telling himself. Soon. If he could just be a little more patient, the craziness would die down and he could retrieve what was always meant to be his. All of his careful planning and skillful maneuvering were so close to paying off. Juggling everything had taken its toll, but the showdown was near and the stress was coming to an end. Now, he just needed to kick back and watch it all unfold.

He let the binoculars rest against his chest, then shoved his hands into the front pockets of his five-hundred-dollar pair of perfectly pleated pants. The material soothed. He loved the way it flowed against his skin and fit around his trim waist. Five hundred dollars for a pair of pants. It was absolutely ludicrous.

When he got his hands on that flash drive, he was going to buy ten more just like them. He pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped the app on the screen that would allow him access to the surveillance equipment he’d installed weeks ago when he’d come up with his plan. A plan that had taken some serious detours along the way, but seemed to be back on track.

Excitement built. He’d honestly thought the Gilstrap woman was going to bring everything crashing down, but Martin Burnett had taken care of her. And then the Chastain woman and her law enforcement friends. But now, it looked like everything was going to work out. As long as Todd didn’t mess up.

Emily stared at the dry suit the man held out to her. “Are you kidding?”

“Do I look like I’m kidding? I know you dive. My men were watching you and your boyfriend out at the lake. You seemed to enjoy it.”

“I did. Very much. But I only started diving that week.” She swallowed and held up a hand. “I can’t dive by myself.”

Todd scowled. “Well, let’s put it this way. I have no other options. You have more experience than Hudson or I do, so you’re it. Get into the suit and let’s get this done.” He picked up the helmet. “I even got you the same kind of helmet so there wouldn’t be any kind of excuses that you didn’t know how to use the equipment.”

“But I—”

“Go!” Snake Man stepped forward, his weapon aimed at her head.

She knew as well as they did that her arguing was only prolonging the inevitable. “Seriously, I’ve only done this a few times,” she said, unable to help herself from trying one more time. “And that was with an experienced diver who walked me through everything step by step.” Except the last couple of times. He’d made her take over the role of teacher, gently correcting her if she made a mistake. She hadn’t made many. And that might be the only reason she would survive this. That, and God. She sent up silent, pleading prayers.

Todd let out a growl of frustration and looked at Snake Man. “Can you do it?”

The man laughed. “Me? I don’t even wade in the ocean, man. No, I can’t do it.”

“You need someone experienced in diving,” Emily said. “Didn’t you think about this when you were concocting your plan?” Was she really taking him to task for not planning her kidnapping better? But still . . .

“I planned it perfectly,” Todd said through gritted teeth. “How was I supposed to know that you weren’t experienced? You sure looked experienced.” He leaned closer, eyes narrowed, nostrils flaring. “If you’ve had a few lessons, then you’d better pull out every scrap of knowledge your boyfriend ingrained in you and get this done.” He drew in a breath and stepped back while keeping his gaze locked on hers. “Let me put it this way. Your mother and sister can’t stay hidden forever. If you don’t do this, I’ll track them down and kill them both.”

She didn’t doubt it. With a shaking hand, she pointed. “Hand me the suit. You’ll have to fasten the back.” She compared this time to the first time she’d decided to pull on a dry suit. When she’d been going with Brady, she’d been so worried about the suit not fitting for a variety of reasons. This time? What if the suit didn’t fit? Would he make her go shopping for a new one? Why did the thought make her want to giggle?

She was losing it. Emily slipped off her pink tennis shoes, and the cold from the dock bit into her feet, but she pulled the suit over her clothes and made sure the elastic was secure around her wrists just like Brady had taught her. And wonder of wonders, it fit. That very fact alone sent chills through her. Chills that had nothing to do with the blustery weather. That it was the exact size she needed meant they’d been watching her very closely.

“You have to attach the line to my belt, and when I pull on it four times, it means I have the flash drive,” she said. “Then you bring me to the surface. Okay?”

“You be sure to have the contents with you.”

“I will. Two sharp tugs means I’m in trouble or I can’t get the safe open or something’s wrong. Got it?”

“Yeah, but that better not happen.” He handed her a device almost identical to the one she and Brady had used. It was a small underwater computer that would tell her exactly how deep she was, how much air she had, and how much time she had before she reached her NDL. Meaning, she could safely surface without stopping to decompress.

She drew in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “Are you going to kill me after I get you the flash drive?”

“No. Your job’s only getting started.”

Emily frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“There’s information on that flash drive that I need you to handle. You can still access your bank’s software, right?”

“Yes,” she said, wary where he was going with this.

“Then that’s all that matters.”

She wanted to press him for more details, but a flash of light behind Todd caught her attention. Could that be help on the way? Hope sparked. Then fizzled. No one knew she was here. It was probably someone just out for a boat ride. And if she alerted them to the fact that she needed help, they would die.

Nausea curled within her.

“You’ve got the ROV, right?” Todd said to Snake Man.

Emily frowned. “ROV?”

“Remote Operated Vehicle,” Todd said.

“I’ve got it,” Snake Man said.

“Good. Get in the boat. We’ve got a sunken vessel to find and plunder.” Todd grinned. “I feel a bit like a pirate. How about you, Hudson?”

Todd’s companion didn’t seem to be the least bit amused and, without responding, climbed into the boat with the piece of equipment Emily assumed would tell them the location of the Lady Marie. She grabbed the flippers and raised a brow when Snake Man held out a hand to help her in. “So you have manners? Who taught you those?”

“My mother.”

“I’m sure she’s very proud of you.”

His grip on her wrist tightened and she refused to flinch. “Don’t want you falling on your way in.”

Of course not. That would really mess up the plan, wouldn’t it?

When she was in the boat, she made her way to the back and sat in the seat farthest away from the driver’s. She set her tennis shoes on the seat next to her and vaguely wondered if, once she was at the bottom of the lake, she could simply unhook the rope and swim away. The thought quickened her heartbeat a tad and she could only pray she’d be brave enough to do it when the opportunity presented itself.

It didn’t take long for the little boat to make its way out of the cove and into the deeper part of the lake. Emily recognized the hills at the far side of the water as being the ones from Heather’s pictures. The wind whipped the hair around her face and she shivered in spite of the dry suit.

Once they came to the area Todd deemed the right place, Snake Man cut the motor. And wonder of wonders, the shore wasn’t too far away. Maybe half a mile? She could easily swim that in her suit.

Snake Man sent the ROV into the water. He moved it in a slow back-and-forth pattern and Todd became more agitated by the minute when nothing showed up.

“What’s wrong with that thing? Are you sure it’s working?”

Snake Man shot Todd an irritated glare. “It’s working. It just takes time. This could take a while.”

“We don’t have a while. I don’t know who followed us out here.”

“No one followed us. I made sure of that.”

Todd relaxed a bit at Snake Man’s reassurances, but Emily wasn’t so sure. She’d been watching the shore for anyone who might be a potential source of rescue, and the only thing that caught her attention was the occasional flash of light from a vessel that was keeping its distance. Was someone watching?

“There,” Snake Man said. “I’ve got it.”

A huge breath whooshed from Todd. “Great.” He nodded to Emily. “Get the helmet on. You’re going down.”

She didn’t bother to argue. Desperately, she tried to remember everything Brady had taught her as she pulled on the tank and the helmet. It was just like the one she’d used with Brady. Wow.

Within seconds, she was ready. “How far down is it?” she asked.

Todd glanced at Snake Man, who consulted his ROV. “Around fifty feet.”

That helped a little. She and Brady had gone a little deeper than that.

“The code to the safe is 5-4-30,” Todd said. “Simple enough. You can remember that, right?”

She nodded and looked off in the distance once more to see the light moving closer. A helicopter passed by overhead, high enough that the two men spared it only a glance, but Emily took heart.

“You got the light?” Todd asked her.

“It’s attached to the BCD vest.” She glanced at the clear, cloudless sky. The sun shone brightly overhead. “I might not need it.” Then again, she might, depending on how stirred up the water was.

The thought chilled her again.

“You’ll need a crowbar to get the door to the safe open.” He pressed one into her gloved hands. “Take this too. There’s no way you’ll be able to turn the dial on the safe with those gloves.”

She shoved the tool that looked like a curved wrench into one of the slots on her belt. Oh, God, what am I doing? Please be with me!

He clipped the rope to her belt, then zip-tied it through the buckle. Dread curled in the pit of her stomach. So much for swimming away. She settled herself on the dive platform just like she’d done when diving with Brady and slid feet first into the cold water.

Brady waited impatiently at the stern of the boat while Gabe Chavez and three of the other Carrington dive team members talked softly amongst themselves. Adam Campbell, Ryan Parker, and Anissa Bell. He knew that beneath their relaxed demeanor there was a tension that was ready to spring as soon as they got the location and the green light to go.

Brady and the four had attended various training camps and continuing ed classes together, and he’d gotten to know and respect each of them on a professional level as well as personal. The fact that they’d responded to his request for help, dropping everything to suit up and go out, meant more than he’d ever be able to convey.

So far, the helicopter had made several passes of various areas of the lake and had reported nothing.

Gabe stood next to Brady, watching the water lap the dock. “She means a lot to you?”

“Emily? Yeah.”

“Glad to see you’ve moved past whatever was haunting you about six months ago.”

“Krystal,” Brady said.

“Didn’t know her name or the details, but I could tell you were distracted. And angry.”

“I was.” He let out a sigh and shook his head. “Krystal put on a great show for most of the world, but she had an addiction to painkillers that was her downfall—and almost mine.”

While Brady relayed the information, his mind was only halfway on the telling of the story. The other half was frantic with worry over Emily. Was she okay? Scared? Hurt?

“We’ll find her.”

Brady blinked. “Sorry. I zoned for a minute, didn’t I?”

“No apologies necessary.”

“We’ve got some activity on the lake.” The pilot’s voice came through Brady’s COMMS earpiece. “Repeat. Activity on the lake.” Next came the coordinates. “One diver in the water. Two men on the boat.”

“Any sign of Emily Chastain?” He’d sent pictures to those hovering over the water.

“That’s a negative. But it’s possible she’s the one in the water. Looks like there’s a pair of women’s shoes on the back seat.”

“Color?”

“Pink running shoes.”

Horror hit him. No. She wouldn’t go down alone, would she? Of course she would if she had a reason to. A threat to kill her would do it. Or a threat against her mother and sister. “That’s a few miles away from here,” he said. “It’ll take us a good ten minutes to get there. Let’s go.”

The engine roared to life and the team chatter ceased as they focused on the job. Rescuing Emily and catching a possible killer.

Emily kicked deeper, realized she was going too fast, and quickly inflated the BCD. As it filled with air, her descent slowed. And just like with Brady, she stopped every so often to let her ears and body adjust. She guessed she’d gone about fifty feet when the hull of the boat snagged her light and she gasped, trying to backpedal while her heartbeat thundered in her ears.

It’s just a boat. It’s just . . . a boat. There’s more above the water that will hurt you than what’s on the bottom of the lake.

The reminder helped. Some. Okay, not much. This was crazy. She didn’t know what she was doing and she was probably going to die, but giving up wasn’t an option.

Trying to keep her breathing even, she swam closer to the vessel, her light skimming across the surface.

The safe was inside the master bedroom toward the rear of the boat—the stern. Todd had given her directions to it and made her repeat them back to him. And now all she could think about was that there was no way she wanted to go inside it. But she had to. She kicked her way over the bow and found the sliding glass doors that would allow her entrance into the living area.

Reminding herself to breathe normally, she noted the door was open and glided through, stopping just inside to take in the surroundings. Bolted to the floor, the furniture was eerily in place—exactly like it would have been the day it went down.

She checked her pressure gauge and noted she had plenty of air. Which meant she could take at least one deep breath she desperately needed.

Once her lungs were satisfied, she tried to see if there was another way out of the vessel, should something happen to the way she came in. It seemed logical to have more than one way in and out. She noted a side door in the living area to her right that stood open. Okay, that was good. Next she tried to pinpoint anything her rope could snag on or get tangled around. There were a lot of options that left her feeling a bit sick. But again, she had no choice but to pray God got her through this.

She started for the bedroom.

A flash of light followed by a dark shadow passed by the window to her right and she froze for a second while her heart sped up. She kicked over to the window and looked out. No light, just fish. When nothing else appeared, she propelled herself toward the bedroom once again.

The spooky murkiness sent her adrenaline flowing faster, and she just wanted out, but thoughts of her mother and sister kept her going. Along with the knowledge that the sooner she got this done, the sooner she could surface. While she liked being underwater with Brady, she didn’t like this at all.

Bypassing the instrument panel, she stopped in the galley that looked like it could be used to cook up a scrumptious meal at any moment. A knife. She could cut the rope and swim to shore. Heart thudding, she made her way to the set of drawers and opened the top one. No knives. She continued until she reached the bottom and found a full block of knives. Emily pulled the largest and reached for the rope. And stopped. Floating, she slowly kicked her flippers to hold herself in place.

She needed to get that flash drive. The police would need whatever was on it. Emily slipped the knife into the side of her belt, careful not to slice her dry suit, and decided to get this done. She continued her journey to the back of the boat, passing the table that seated six. She made her way down the hall and past the bathroom. The door hung open and she glanced inside.

And stopped.

Realized what she was looking at and shrieked. Heart pounding, nausea swirling, she turned away and swallowed. Once. Twice. Don’t puke, don’t puke. You can’t throw up or you’ll drown.

When she had her gag reflex under control, she shuddered and looked again. Two dead bodies had been shoved into the shower. The door was shut, keeping them enclosed in the small space. One face pressed against the side glass in a grotesque distortion of death that brought on the nausea again. But she needed to look. To process. So she could explain what she’d seen should she be so fortunate as to find herself in a position to do so. The face against the glass had a bullet hole just above his right eye. And then she had to look away again.

So, Jeremy had killed them.

Slowly, she got herself together. But the image of their decomposing, green-and-black bodies would haunt her for a long time to come.

Tears leaked and she sniffed. No crying. She had to be able to see. To focus. She kicked away from the horrid scene and finally found herself in the bedroom. With shaking glove-covered hands, she opened the designated cabinet near the bed and found the safe exactly where Todd said it would be.

Her breaths came in hard puffs, and with a glance at her regulator, she realized she was using up way too much air. For a moment, she simply stopped and leaned her head against the wall in an attempt to control her runaway pulse and rapid-fire breathing.

When her heartbeat slowed and she was once again breathing relatively normally, she used the gripping tool Todd had given her, attached it to the dial on the safe, and ran through the combination. When she was sure she had done it correctly, she let the tool fall from her hand and pulled the handle.

Only it didn’t budge.

She had the right combination because the handle turned, but the door wouldn’t move.

Of course. Water pressure. That’s why she needed the crowbar. Now would be a really good time to start thinking, Em.

Maneuvering so she could place her flippered feet against the wall and grab the handle with both hands, she pulled. The door opened a fraction. Just enough for her to grab the crowbar from her belt and jam it into the crack. She pushed to the side and the door opened, allowing another rush of water to flood the inside, equalizing the pressure—and giving her access to the contents. The safe held several plastic bags of cash and a thicker, padded plastic envelope encased in another waterproof bag. She took that and left the cash.

Finally.

With the flash drive secure in the zippered pocket of her dry suit, she turned.

Only to choke on a scream when she spotted the figure floating in the open doorway. The large knife in his hand ruined all of her hard work at breathing normally.