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“I understand.”
A figure stepped from the tree line ahead of her and stood in the middle of the road waving his hands. She slammed on the brake, and the truck fishtailed, nearly clipping the man. The vehicle veered to the right of him onto the shoulder of the road. She squinted. Was thatLucas?
She sat with her hands gripping the wheel. This was stupid. Either she trusted Lucas or she did not. And she did.
Carly still had the connection to his phone, and hisstrained voice came through the speaker. “Thanks for stopping. I’m going to hide under a tarp back here, Carly. Go ahead and drive to Harbor Island.”
Lowering her forehead to the steering wheel, she took several deep breaths. “I’m sending you the text.” She picked up the phone to talk into the speaker. “What do you think we should do?” She turned around and watched him through the back window.
He studied his phone for a long moment and frowned. “This isn’t on Harbor Island. He’s trying to lure you somewhere else. I recognize this place with the rocks. It’s on Saint Helena Island. I’ve been there fishing with my dad. They were going to take the egg and you wouldn’t have gotten Isabelle and the baby.”
His head disappeared below the bottom of the window. “I’ll direct you and you drive.”
She hesitated, then put the truck in Drive and pulled out onto the highway. They’d know the truth in a few more minutes.
Thirty-Seven
It was hot under the tarp, and Lucas wiped sweat from his brow. The dot on the map was nearly to Saint Helena Island. “The turnoff is ahead,” he said into the speakerphone. “Make a right onto Cee Cee Road.”
He winced at the realization of her next turn. It felt like a bad omen. She made the turn, and he stayed hunkered down past the few signs of civilization. “Right ahead onto Coffin Point Road.”
Expecting her to freak out a little, he tensed, but she made the turn without comment. He directed her to the next two turns. “You’ll see a white shed soon without a house. Turn left into the drive and park. Try to hide in the trees or behind the building as much as you can.”
He held on as she made the turn, and the truck jerked and bumped over the rough driveway. The shade from the trees was welcome, and he poked his head out from the tarp as the truck stopped behind the building.
He jumped out and went to open her door. “I texted Bernard to have backup at Saint Helena Island in case they can snag him. And Chen is heading this way with Bernard. The Coast Guard is coming too. Let’s get out to the boathouse.”
The enclosed boathouse in the picture appeared dilapidated and unused, and he suspected the kids might be locked inside with a second kidnapper. A boat was docked there as well, and they could be inside it, so Lucas and Carly had to be careful not to allow the kidnapper to sail off with them. He eyed the shed as they passed, but it was open to the elements and wouldn’t be a suitable place to keep anyone prisoner. As far as he knew, there was no other building nearby that was empty.
Now wasn’t the time to tell her that he was proud of her courage. In fact, it wasn’t the time for any type of emotion that might cloud their thinking, so he took her hand and squeezed it instead. “This way.”
With her slumped shoulders and downturned face, he knew she felt like she’d messed up. “Good job, Carly. If you hadn’t agreed to his demands, he wouldn’t have sent you the picture of the location. We still wouldn’t know where they are. At least this way we have a shot at freeing them.”
Her head rose and a slight smile lifted her face. “Really?”
He squeezed her fingers again. “Really.” He released her hand and stepped in front of her with his gun drawn. “Stay behind me. Watch for any movement.”
His every sense hyperalert, he watched for anything in his peripheral vision and studied the terrain ahead as well. They crossed the road to the sand, and the Saint Helena Sound stretched in front of them with the rocks he recognized poking above the water. Gulls perched on the rocks, and he spotted a couple of dolphin fins cutting through the waves. The boathouse was boarded up and had a weary, abandoned appearance.
If only they could have approached in the dark. He didn’tlike the exposed sand and bright sunlight, but this was the hand they’d been dealt. He was determined to rescue those kids. The wood on the pier bowed under his weight, and he paused to check the safety of walking out on such a rickety structure. “Go back to the truck. I don’t think the pier will take the weight of both of us.”
She shook her head. “I’ll wait here and watch for any movement.”
He didn’t like her exposed position, but with her chin up and her gaze firm and determined, there would be no persuading her to retreat. He chose each footfall carefully along the rotted boards until he stood at the boathouse door. The boat he’d seen in the picture still rocked in the waves, and it didn’t appear to be seaworthy. The starboard side listed like it was taking on water. That left the boathouse as his main area of interest.
A sound from the boat caught his attention. Maybe he was wrong. Would the kidnapper have stashed the kids in a sinking boat? He approached carefully and studied the craft. It bounced in the water more than it should, considering the slight waves in the sound today.
Someone is inside.
Could be the kids, but it could be someone guarding the boathouse. He wavered and glanced from the boat to the structure. His sixth sense told him to focus on the boat, so he moved closer and tried to peer into the wheelhouse. No movement. Would someone be below deck? It didn’t seem safe or pleasant with the craft taking on water.
Holding his gun ready, he stepped aboard the boat and felt it sink a bit under his feet. Another noise came, this timeclearly from the wheelhouse. It might have been the noise a baby would make, and he wished Carly could have heard it. She would know.
He eased along the deck toward the wheelhouse, and something zinged by his head. A bullet. He ducked down.
The gun’s report seemed to have come from the bow, so he moved that way. If the kidnapper was aboard, did that mean the kids were here too?
“Leave the boat or I’ll shoot the kids!” a muffled male voice yelled. “And throw down your gun.”
