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One
Stupid kayak.Ella Anderson lay spread-eagled on her back on a tiny spit of land in Lake Superior. She was cold, wet, and tired, but snuggling against Scout, her golden retriever, would warm her. The dog licked her arm and went back to sleep.
Right now she wondered why she’d even decided to tangle with the big lake when she could have been warm and comfy in a tent underneath the big trees. But her kayaking trip had cleared her head. She’d chafed under her parents’ constant orders—clean your room, be home at a decent hour, help with laundry and housecleaning. She was eighteen years old and should be able to make her own decisions, but her dad had always rattled off that “as long as you’re under my roof” spiel.
She would be under their roof until she went off to college next month. Once she was in the dorm, she could manage her own time. She loved them, but a little distance would be a good thing. Getting through the anniversary party was the first priority, and it was a small price to pay for all they’d done for her. Then she could move on to her own life.
Most of the trouble had started when she’d met Alex. Just because he was married didn’t make him a bad person. He wasseparated and getting a divorce, but her dad thought he was the devil. And yeah, he was ten years older than her, but that was nothing now that she was an adult herself.
Things would change soon.
She sat up and brushed the sand off her arms and tried to reach her upper back. A fingernail snagged on her necklace, and it broke. She tried to catch it as it flipped off her neck, but the necklace went flying off into the weeds. She scrambled up to search for it but gave up after fifteen minutes. Her parents would get her another one.
The July sun warmed her skin, and the breeze from the water lifted her blonde hair from the back of her neck. She should shove off in the kayak before she fell asleep or she wouldn’t make it back to the Kitchigami boat launch before sundown. She had her tent with her so she could sleep anywhere, but she was done with this big lake. She wasn’t the best at directing the kayak, and those vigorous waves were looking bigger and harder to navigate.
She rose and called Scout, who jumped into the front of the kayak with no prompting. Ella shoved her yellow kayak into the water, then grabbed the paddle and settled herself. The waves bobbed around her, and before she knew it, she was yards away from the island’s shoreline. No matter what she tried, the paddle wouldn’t take her in the direction she thought she was heading. The waves bounced her in the opposite direction, and another island loomed in the distance.
Her arms were tired, and her head hurt. Maybe she should just let the kayak go that direction. It was a larger island, and there were probably people on it. Maybe even cell service, and she could ask her mom to hire a boat to come get her. Fighting thisbig lake was too exhausting. She’d underestimated how fatigued she’d be after a few hours on the water.
The waves lifted her kayak and it slid down the trough in a surge that took her closer to the other island. If it wasn’t taking all her strength, she’d pull out her map and figure out where she was, but there would be time for that once she was safely ashore. She’d assemble her tent and sleep for a week.
She paddled for a few minutes and realized she was getting farther from the island, not closer. What was going on? She could have cried with frustration and fatigue until she heard the sound of a motor and spotted a boat heading her way.
She didn’t dare stand up, but she waved her arms to help them see her. “Help!” Scout barked and added more noise to her call.
The craft switched direction and skimmed over the waves toward her. Two guys were aboard, and her gut clenched when she recognized one of them. Wasn’t he the man who’d gotten a little too friendly when she was setting off on her adventure? There had been a sinister edge of danger to him, and she didn’t like the big knife or the gun he carried on his belt.
She lowered her hands, then waved off the boat. “I’m okay. Go ahead!” she shouted.
But the boat engine cut off, and the craft slowed and came to bob near her. The man she feared smiled and beckoned to her. “Hello again. We can take you wherever you want to go.”
She began to tremble and shook her head. “I’m not going with you.”
“We won’t hurt you.”
The soothing words contrasted with the fierce stare he focused on her, and she clenched the paddle in her hands. “No thanks. I don’t want to leave my kayak.”
“We can take it with us. Climb aboard.” His smile turned wolfish.
“No.”
His smile vanished, and a gun appeared in his hand. “Get up here or I’ll shoot you where you sit.”
The other guy put his hand on the armed guy’s shoulder. “Easy. Don’t scare her. I won’t let him hurt you, Ella.”
They knew her name? She swallowed down the fear clogging her throat and shook her head. “Just leave me alone.”
“We can’t do that,” the second man said.
His eyes were kinder than the first guy, and Ella hoped he would protect her. She maneuvered her kayak close enough for her to lift her dog up for them to get onto the boat.
She didn’t have a choice.
***
Lake Superior was in a pensive mood this morning, with swells from an incoming storm slapping at the boat’s hull.
Annie Pederson tensed as the Tremolo Island dock loomed nearer, and she spotted an asylum of loons patrolling a small cove. Their short hoots of communication didn’t bother her, but she wanted to be out of here before the loons’ crazy laugh would begin to sound around dusk. She had too much to do to deal with the nightmares the birds’ tremolo always brought.
