AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A chilling realization gripped her, her blood running cold as the true meaning behind his words sank in. The marina was too public a place for him to dispose of her without drawing unwanted attention.
With an authoritative motion, he jerked his head toward his men. “Escort her below deck and inform MacKenzie that we’re setting sail immediately.”
Two of the men grabbed her upper arms, lifting her from her feet as they hustled her through a door and belowdecks.
They flung her inside a small cabin, and she landed hard on her still-healing wrist, pain shooting through her arm. Biting back a cry, she blinked away the tears that threatened to fall, the sound of the hatch locking into place loud in her ears.
Drawing her knees close to her chest, she gingerly maneuvered herself into a sitting position, careful of her throbbing wrist at her back. From somewhere outside, the Far Horizon’s horn bellowed, its resonant sound penetrating the walls of her prison. Moments later, the vessel’s engines rumbled to life, the vibrations emanating from deep within its hull.
We’re leaving.
She staggered to the porthole on shaky legs. The exterior glass was hazy with salt, but it was still possible to see Aurora Cove’s harbor falling away as the Far Horizon powered out to sea. The marina receded at an alarming rate until only an indifferent sea was visible. She was trapped, alone, and at Richard’s mercy.
Chest heaving, she collapsed onto a narrow lower bunk. She had sacrificed everything—her career, her safety, and her life—all to bring down Richard’s brutal empire. But now, alone and at his mercy, everything felt futile. Without her testimony, he could continue his illegal trafficking unimpeded.
Hopelessness threatened to overwhelm her. She wasn’t naïve about where he was taking her. Somewhere he could toss her overboard and no one could find her. Not even Caleb.
Caleb.
At the thought of him, a swell of emotion rose within her, one that threatened to crack her in half. In Caleb, she had found understanding. A man who saw through all her defenses and found something worthy in her damaged soul. He’d cared for her and shown her there was more to her than the mistakes of her past. For the first time in her life, she’d allowed herself to imagine a future filled with laughter and possibility rather than fear.
So I can find you if you get lost.
She frantically patted her hip pocket. Her pockets were flat. Empty. The personal locator beacon Caleb had given her was gone.
It must have fallen out during when they manhandled me down here.
It could be anywhere. There was no way for Caleb to locate her. If he wanted to find her.
This was the end of the line.
She let the hot tears come.
Even if it had only been for a short time, what she’d had with him, many people never found that in their lives.
Her brief time with Caleb had been worth the sacrifice.
36
Caleb woke, staring at the sky. Snowflakes drifted, their delicate forms dancing in the moonlight before settling on his face. He watched them for several moments, not registering the cold wet against his back, the uncomfortable jab of stones and thorny branches. A rush of voices echoed at the back of his head, distant and muffled, as if he were underwater. He raised a tentative hand to his face, his fingers brushing against swollen skin, making him wince. Blood wet his fingertips.
Grace.
Her name slammed into him like a freight train, and he sat bolt upright, his breath coming in rapid, foggy gasps. The sudden movement sent dizziness rolling through him. He blinked to clear his vision. He was in a ditch, the dark ground rising on either side of him.
Memories fell into his mind in jagged disarray. Richard’s men had been waiting for them when they came out of Brad’s clinic. And Grace…Grace had gone with them, putting herself in harm’s way to keep him safe.
The memory chilled him more than the snow covering him. He scrambled out of the ditch, his hands numb with cold, sharp stones and frozen ground grinding against his knees as he pulled himself to his feet and stumbled onto the road, his eyes straining to see through the pre-dawn gloom. The asphalt stretched out on either side of him, a ribbon of darkness that seemed to go on forever. In the distance, a faint yellow glow told him he was several miles from Aurora Cove.
He checked his watch, the digital face glowing an eerie green in the darkness. Two fucking a.m. It had been almost six when they had left Brad’s office, which meant that Hudson and his men had an eight-hour head start.
Urgency clawed through him as he patted his pockets, already knowing that he wouldn’t find his phone. The bastards had taken it, then dumped him in the middle of nowhere.
He would need to run back to Aurora Cove to raise the alert.
He took off at a dead sprint, his feet pounding against the frozen ground as he raced toward the distant lights of the town. Freezing air burned in his lungs, and his muscles screamed in protest, but he pushed himself harder, faster, his mind focused on a single goal.
Grace.
