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I make my way over to the influencers. “Do me a favor, please? Stop posting about this. It’s not the kind of publicity I need right now.”
One of them—Alexia, I think—shrugs. “Sorry, but we’re getting tons of hits.”
I rub my temples. This is not exactly the best way to promote my new resort as a safe, family friendly locale.
“Really? People care about some random guys on a dock?”
Izzy snorts. “Randomnakedguys who aretied upon a dock! They couldn’t have done this to themselves, so it’s gotta be a crime or a prank. Or a publicity stunt! Whatever’s happening, people want to know the story! We’re obligated to keep our followers in the loop.”
“Besides,” Keisha says. “Those guys are pretty hot.”
I frown. That is so far from the word I would have used for them. They’re average guys who wear flip flops and obviously shop at Abercrombie. Which is fine, live your life, but that wouldneverbe my type. Besides, I’ve seen what they have to offer, so to speak, and I’m not impressed. There’s no junk in their trunks, and worse, they all seem to be sporting a runt in the front, if you get my drift.
To each their own, I guess.
I shake my head and go back to my cabin, pulling up the security feeds on my laptop. The nighttime footage is grainy, but I can see Travis, Mike, and Bobby row out in their diving gear.
They go far enough that they disappear from sight. I scrub through the recordings until they reappear. When they come back, it’s a whole different scenario. The boat is gone, for one thing. They’re being dragged through the water by an invisible force, mouths open in terror, which is a bad move when you’re in the water.
They appear to be yanked bodily out of the water, one by one, shrieking, and deposited onto the Big Dock. But there’s no sign of who or what seems to be attacking them. Sure, the cameras are pretty far from the dock, but if there were a fourth person there, I’d be able to see them. But no. I watch the whole thing: they get stripped and tied up, not to mention gagged, with no further sign of their canoe or dive equipment. It looks like the whole thing is done by midnight, which means they were out on that dock when I got home last night. But I didn’t see anything, and they didn’t make any noise.
What the fuck is going on?
There’s a knock on my door, and Griff comes plowing in before I can even stand. He shoves a muffin and a coffee at me.
“Why are they still out there?”
Okay, that’s a good point. I should probably have rescued the guys before looking at the feed. I chug the coffee to get my brain firing.
“I don’t have a boat, Griffin.” This is true. Well, I do have a boat, but it’s at my house, halfway around the lake. “Besides, I was looking at security footage to try to figure out what happened. To make sure it was safe to go out there.”
“And?”
“Look for yourself.” I slide the laptop to him and hurry into the bedroom to change again. This time, I put on my swimsuit. “I’m gonna swim to the dock and untie those idiots. You try to track down a rescue boat.”
“Sure, but I also have to talk to the police.”
“About this? Isn’t that a tad premature?”
He shakes his head. “In addition to this, someone broke into The Silver Serpent last night when everyone was distracted by fireworks. Sabine is livid, of course. But she can’t tell the cops about what was stolen, because apparently it was real magic. It’s been a shitty morning.”
“Well, hell. Poor Sabine. And poor us. A rogue spell on the loose is a bad thing, especially if whoever stole it isn’t an experienced magic worker.”
“Tell me about it.” Griff is frowning as he looks at the footage, apparently just as puzzled as I am about the invisible assailant. “What the hell is this?”
I shrug. “You got me. All I can tell you is what I’ve said before: Some weird shit is afoot. Meet me at the Big Dock when you find a boat.”
When I get back outside, things are slightly calmer. The families have gone into town for breakfast, apparently to eat their trauma, and the social media girls are back in their cabin. So far, there’s been no sign of Wick, but I suppose that’s a good thing. I can’t afford to be distracted by him right now.
I jump off the Little Dock and swim out to the buoy, then duck under it and make my way to the floating dock.
I pull myself onto it and try to manage a cheerful grin. “You guys look like you could use some help.”
Mike glares and makes a muffled noise. I get to work removing the gags and untying the ropes that are binding them. The knots are complex, the kind of thing a sailor would do.
“My cousin is working on getting a boat out here to retrieve you. Along with some clothes. While we wait, you mind telling me what happened?”
Travis folds his arms across his chest and frowns. It’s Bobby who finally speaks up. “We went out for a late-night canoe ride. We got jumped, robbed, and left here. We need the cops.”
