His mouth curled in a sneer, but his eyes filled with fear. “It’s half a mile away. Nothing is going to save you.”
Determination glowed on his face, and she made her decision in that instant. Her finger tightened on the trigger, and the gun’s slight recoil confirmed she’d shot it. Dean reeled back, red blooming from his chest near his left arm. His gun clattered to the metal hull, and his right arm came up to clutch his wound.
His eyes widened, and the glee went out of them. He pitched over the side into the murky water.
Paradise rushed to the side and reached for his hand, but he was gone.
She sank to her knees and buried her face against her legs. Tears burned in her eyes and throat. She’d never killed someone before. And she never wanted to be put in such a position again.
The boat rocked, and she lifted her head. One wet, muddy hand clamped onto the port side of the boat, followed by another one. Dean was hoisting himself out of the water.
She stumbled to her feet and rushed to help him aboard. His face twisted in a snarl, he waved her away. Before she could take his hands, his eyes went blank and he fell back into the water. His body floated atop the water for several seconds before it sank again.
The noise of the airboat intensified, and she turned to face the craft that came her way. She blinked. Was thatBlakeon the navigator’s seat? How had he found her?
Incredulous joy filled his face when he spotted her. “Paradise?”
As he neared her boat, tears glittered in his eyes. He tossed her a rope and she tied their boats together. The engine on his boat cut off, and he jumped onto her boat.
He took her in his arms and her embrace circled his waist. “You’re alive.” He kissed her with a desperation that matched her own.
Chapter 43
Her heart was full. Paradise sat on the back deck and listened to the sounds of The Sanctuary—her sanctuary for now and always. The tigers chuffed in the distance, followed by lions roaring. Monkeys chattered in their habitat and the parrot squawked. Under those sounds she heard the distant clatter of Blake and Jenna cleaning up after dinner.
The door behind her slid open and closed, and two little boys ran to climb onto her lap. Levi wrapped his arms around her neck, and Isaac laid his head on her chest. They were both fresh smelling from their baths, with damp hair that smelled like Blake’s cypress and eucalyptus soap.
Levi put his palms on her cheeks. “I’m glad you’re ours, Paradise, and that no one hurt you today.”
“Me too,” Isaac chimed in. “You’re our girl.”
She pulled them both in for a tight hug. “I’ll always be your girl.”
The door opened again and Jenna called out for them to come to bed. “Aw, Mom,” Levi said. “We want Paradise to read to us tonight.”
“She’s had a rough day, and I want her to rest.” Jenna’s firm voice held no room for disagreement.
“Okay.” Both boys got off her lap. “See you in the morning,” Levi said.
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” Smiling, she turned to watch them go. Jenna was right about her fatigue—the police had been here for several hours, and the day felt like it had been forty-eight hours long.
Blake exited after they filed into the house, and he shut the door after them. He settled on the glider beside her. The aroma of grilled burger still clung to his hair. “Mom says they were scared today. They overheard all of it as the search was going on. Jane and Rod had the Coast Guard out looking for both of us, and they kept checking in with Mom to see if she’d heard from us.”
“Did they find Roger?” The Coast Guard had quickly located Dean’s body, but Roger wasn’t on the tiny island where Blake had left him.
He pulled her tight against him. “They found someone’s foot, Paradise. They think he tried to swim across the waterway to the other side to escape and a gator got him. The boot matched what Roger was wearing.”
She winced and tried to imagine the kind man from her childhood orchestrating all this. “Now Abby has to deal with what her dad has done in an even more horrible way.”
She thought back to Abby’s warning. “Though I think the plan she overheard was her dad’s. I suspect she won’t be surprised by this turn of events. She tried to warn me without implicating Roger. I assumed she’d overheard something at the bank, and that’s why she wouldn’t tell me all of it.”
He nodded. “You’re right. Abby told Jane what she knew whenJane informed her about Roger’s probable death. With all of it coming out, Lloyd agreed to a plea deal when they arrested him for Ivy’s murder. He told them everything. Roger was determined not to let anything stand in the way of the fortune he’d get for the rare earth elements. He was dying, and he wanted to ensure his family would be taken care of.”
Paradise pulled back. “Now I feel even worse for Abby.”
“Adams blames you for the way his life turned out, so he was ready to do whatever Roger told him if it brought you trouble.”
“Did he tell Adams about thePhantomconnection and have him leave the music box for me?”
