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“I don’t know. They made it out of the Bronco. They escaped, went down the beach, borrowed a bike…” My mind races with possibilities, struggling to comprehend.
“The jetski,” Zaden comments. “Someone took Joe’s jetski for a joyride. He thought it floated off, but he said it was missing gas.He always keeps the keys close by.” I can hear the excitement in his voice as he puts it together.
“When we jumped off the bridge-” I begin, and Katrina stops me, her eyes darting to Zaden.
“You jumped off the bridge?” She questions incredulously.
“There’s a really long explanation for all this,” Zaden says. “But yes, we jumped off the fucking bridge.”
I shake off her concern. “The current in the bay took us through the channel and around the jetty. They could have kept a low profile, climbed the rocks on the back side of the marina, and took the jetski. Staying off the roads would have kept the police from seeing them. Most jetskis don’t even have running lights. At night, they would have been like a ghost on the water.”
“Jax knew the bike was at the shop. They dumped the jetski, and took the bike,” Zaden finishes. He crosses the living room back to me, and pulls me up and into his arms. Tears stream down my face.
“She’s alive Zaden,” I rasp against his chest.
“They both are,” he confirms. “We just don’t knowwherethey are.”
Katrina sinks into the chair across from us, her hand over her mouth as she struggles to digest everything we’ve just said. My body is trembling, thoughts and images and emotions tumbling around wildly inside my head. All the grief and the tears I’ve shed over the last few days, the anger and despair, frustration and fear, all bubbling to the surface in a boil that melts away at the frigid wall around my heart.
Paige is alive.
I keep saying this, over and over in my mind. My sister is alive. I may not have physically found her yet, but I’ve foundher truth. And it feels almost as amazing as holding her in my arms again. Zaden takes a step back and kisses me lightly on the lips.
“See,” he says softly. “I told you you’re not alone.”
My gaze drifts over Katrina and Ryan, then back to him. I’m starting to believe him when he says that. “Thank you,” I tell him. “Thank all of you. I never meant to hurt anyone, I was just looking for the truth. I’m sorry to get you involved.”
“Paige may have been the final catalyst, but a war has been brewing in Pelican Beach for twenty-five years,” Zaden states, walking over to sit beside Katrina. “We have to finish this so our family can come home.”
I wander over to the front door, scanning over a wall of family photos. I lean in close, examining the ones of Jax, wondering where he and Paige are right now.
“You think they’re safe, wherever they are?” Katrina asks.
Zaden nods. “Jax is with her. You know your brother. He won’t let anything happen to either of them.”
I glance over the remaining photos on the wall and pause, lingering on a photo of Jax and Katrina on a winding mountain road, helmets tucked beneath their arms as they stand beside a set of motorcycles.
“That’s the bike,” Katrina says, noticing my attention. “The one on the right is mine.”
With my eyes glued on the photo, I reach my hand into my pocket and retrieve a small ripped piece of paper. It’s crinkled from being wet in the ocean and dried again. But the letters are a permanent stain across the white. Katrina steps up beside me, and I hand her the paper. She frowns.
“Is your tag number TRV759?” I ask, my eyes meeting hers.
She nods. “Yeah, why?”
I point at the paper. “I found that when I went to talk to Detective Phillips. It fell out of Paige’s file.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t understand.”
“They know,” Zaden supplies. “Of course they do. They towed the jetski back in. They may not have caught him before he could steal the bike, but they know he’s on it. They know Paige and Jax escaped.”
“And the police are looking for them,” I add. “The entire search and rescue effort was a lie. A public spectacle. It’s easier to disappear two people when everyone believes they’re already gone.”
“What do we do?” Ryan asks. “Do we still take this public?”
I shake my head. “We can’t release all the details of the story, because it’s not over. Paige is still alive. She is the real story. If we find Paige, we find the truth.” I glance over at Zaden. “Then we take them down.”
