IN TOO DEEP

With Christmas just around the corner, Cobie MacBride wants closure in the case of her missing father. But when a visit to the last place he was seen leads to an attack by a masked assailant, Cobie knows she’s in over her head. Running for her life, she never expected to find safety with Adam Warren—the man she blames for her brother’s death. Seeking answers leads them to a treasure ship, buried secrets…and deadly danger. Christmas could find them starting a new future—if they can avoid getting trapped in the perils of the past.untain: Saving lives and finding love in the mountains of Washington State

MOUNTAIN COVE: In the Alaskan wilderness, love and danger collide

“We’re not safe here.”

Adam started the boat, then turned his attention to her. “What we have to figure out is who wants to kill you. That’s it. I don’t care why at this point. But odds are that the guy who came into the room and tried to smother you, who stabbed me, is the same man who tried to strangle you to death on the island. Who is it? Who is trying to kill you, Cobie? What does it have to do with the book we found?”

“I’m not sure. It’s hard to stay focused on the details, to remember, when you’re fighting for your life.” Had her father trusted the wrong man? Someone who’d killed him?

And what if Adam had died all because of this treasure someone wanted? Cobie wasn’t sure she could live with herself if that had happened. Nor was she sure she could keep her resentment and continue holding Adam responsible for Brad’s death. The thought of losing him…well, that nearly undid her.

Shivering, Cobie wiped the mist out of her eyes. She had the sense that danger was circling her, closing in on her, and she didn’t know if she would escape alive.

ELIZABETH GODDARD is an award-winning author of over twenty novels, including the romantic mystery The Camera Never Lies—winner of a prestigious Carol Award in 2011. After acquiring her computer science degree, she worked at a software firm before eventually retiring to raise her four children and become a professional writer. In addition to writing, she homeschools her children and serves with her husband in ministry.

Submerged
Elizabeth Goddard

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is His love for those who fear Him;

as far as the east is from the west,

so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

—Psalms 103:12–13

There are so many unsung heroes in the world, and I want to dedicate this story, as well as the entire Mountain Cove series, to all the search-and-rescue volunteers, the everyday people who answer the call to save strangers. And more than that, I dedicate this story to my personal hero, my husband, who has sacrificed so that I could spend too many hours out of every day in a world far, far away from him.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to my many writing friends who’ve encouraged me along the way. I couldn’t have remained on this writing journey, especially early on, without you. I so appreciate the assistance my new friends in Juneau, Alaska, have offered continually throughout the writing of this series. I know the accuracy and the details of southeast Alaska have made for a much better story. I’m grateful to my agent, Steve Laube, for making me feel as if I’m his only client on most days. And as always, I’m so thankful for my editor Elizabeth Mazer for believing in me and my stories.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Dedication

Acknowledgments

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EIGHTEEN

NINETEEN

TWENTY

TWENTY-ONE

TWENTY-TWO

TWENTY-THREE

TWENTY-FOUR

Dear Reader

Extract

Copyright

ONE

Kessler Island, Southeast Alaska September

Dread crept up Cobie MacBride’s spine. She’d never wanted to do this again. But here she was, facing her past in an attempt to gain a future. Facing a cave again, when she never wanted to see the inside of another one after the caving accident that had taken her brother Brad’s life. She was here today for an entirely different reason, and yet it was all connected.

She’d expected a yawning opening, but instead she stared at the slim crawlway into the cave, low and vertical. A muddy chute into the underworld. A trickle of water ran down the towering rock face; velvety moss covered the ground and entrance. Surrounded by the lush greenery of ferns, the cave—a product of this karst-laden land—had remained hidden on Kessler Island, one of thousands of islands, most uninhabited, in southeast Alaska’s Tongass National Forest.

Her archaeologist father had found it and written about it in his journal. That was the only reason she was here. He had been missing for six months now and presumed dead. They’d been estranged for years, until last Christmas when he’d called and claimed he wanted to make up for the past and would be in touch soon.

She never heard from him again.

Peering at the cave now—a place where he’d recently been and walked, that one last connection to him—Cobie knew she wouldn’t go inside alone. Bad enough she’d arrived on the island via floatplane ahead of Laura and Jen, two spelunking buddies she’d lost touch with over the years who had been eager enough to go on this venture with her. After she’d dumped her pack containing extra clothes, food and other supplies at the public-use cabin, she’d figured she could scout out one of the two cave entrances detailed in her father’s journal. He’d made sure that someone delivered the journal into her hands, leaving her with more questions than answers. All she wanted to do was go inside and see the last thing her father had written about.

The whir of a boat in the distance pulled her thoughts back to the present. That must be Laura and Jen now. Better head back to the cabin.

She reached for her bottled water.

From behind, a strong arm wrapped around her throat in a choke hold and squeezed. Her air supply cut off, Cobie didn’t have time to think, just react. She twisted and pulled and kicked, but the man’s thick muscled arm didn’t budge. She wasn’t breaking free from this.

She wanted to ask him why he was trying to kill her. Persuade him to let her go. But she couldn’t croak out the words. Pressure built in her head. Darkness edged her vision.

Cobie couldn’t die like this. She was the only one of her family left. But what to do? Her life was slipping away...

He’d gripped her tightly enough that she couldn’t head-butt. She’d never wrestle his arm away from her throat. She let go, flailing. Her lungs screamed. Her head felt as if it would explode.

God, please, help me!

Her hand bumped a rock. A rock! That was the only way. She had seconds before she passed out. Or before he crushed her throat completely.

Her fingers reached for the rock, grappling, feeling the rough edges, unable to secure it, until finally she gripped the weapon. Prickles of light flashed across her vision. Before she was gone, before it was too late, she put all her strength into slamming the rock into his head.

Immediately, his grip loosened. He dropped her and collapsed.

Cobie crashed to the ground, sharp pebbles and sticks cutting into her knees. She reached for her neck—had to be bruised—as she sucked in oxygen. Rolling to her side, she let her vision clear, the pressure from her head ease.

Someone had just tried to kill her. Worse, he was still there. She gathered her strength and pushed to her feet. Still wobbly, she pressed a hand against the gray wall of limestone towering above her. She eyed the man. He was clad in a gray rain jacket over a green plaid shirt, and she guessed he was above average height and weight. Strong. But she couldn’t identify him, couldn’t even tell the color of his hair. He wore a black knit ski mask to hide every feature that mattered. That made this attempted murder appear premeditated; he must have planned to kill someone today. Planned to kill her.

Blood oozed from the rip in his mask where she’d hit him, and she could see the gash at his temple. Cobie pressed her hands to her own head. Had she just killed a man? It was self-defense, but still it was too much to comprehend. Nausea surged in her stomach. Then she saw his chest rise and fall. So he wasn’t dead. She stepped closer, unsure what to do now.

Pull his mask off? See who it was? Or should she try to put as much distance between them as she could before he woke up?

Cobie crept forward. If he remained unconscious, she could slip the mask off. Identify him to the police or whoever amounted to law on this forsaken island. He groaned. Lifted a hand to his forehead. Cobie froze. Held her breath.

If she could get closer she could knock him out again. Maybe. But if he woke up completely and she was still here, she was dead.

She took off into the forest. Had to get deep into the thick of it. She could make her way around to the cabin somehow. She had to warn her friends. There was no cell service out here, and her SAT phone was at the cabin. At least Laura always carried a weapon. She might have to use it. Cobie had been told there weren’t bears on the island, so she hadn’t worried about that kind of protection, but she hadn’t considered there might be the two-legged kind of predator to worry about.

There shouldn’t even be anyone else on this small island. Not until later in the day when other cavers were coming to map the cave for the forest service. That much she’d found out, at least, and she’d wanted to beat them to it. See the place the way her father had seen it. Now she was regretting that she’d ever come. And, worse, that she’d invited friends, possibly putting them in danger.

Why had he tried to kill her?

Cobie pressed through the thick forest, breathing hard, running as fast as she could. Hoping the man would forget about her. Consider her too much trouble to follow. Too much trouble to kill. Maybe he’d realize she wasn’t the person he was after.

Behind her, leaves rustled. Limbs and sticks crashed. Like Bigfoot himself was tracking her.

Panic engulfed her. Coursed through her veins and left her timid and shaking. Afraid she wasn’t going to survive this.

So many regrets.

Too many. Oh, God, please give me another chance to set everything right. Please give me a chance to let go. I know I have to forgive. So much bad had happened; she’d lost count of everything that she’d let sprout into bitterness and resentment.

Cobie pushed through the forest and stopped, leaning and flailing over the cliff’s edge, a good forty feet above the waterline. She caught herself and stepped back. The sea cliff could be where the other entrance to the cave was, somewhere at the bottom.

Covering her mouth, she let out a sob and turned to face the forest behind her. A dark cloud had moved over the sun, turning the sky somber. Muting the lush green of the forest. Even the water of the strait, connecting with the ocean to the southwest, had turned black. Violent.

She was trapped.

She could hear him coming for her.

See the leaves moving.

He was getting closer.

Cobie turned to face the water surrounding the island. A boat. She saw a trawler. She waved and yelled and screamed, trying to draw the boat’s attention. What did it matter if the man heard her calling for help? He was coming for her either way.

But the boat was too far away for anyone on board to hear her cries for help. Too far away to assist even if they did. Her knees buckled. She wanted to drop to the ground and beg for her life. But the killer wasn’t interested in her words. Of that she was sure. If she stayed here, the man would kill her for reasons unknown. He didn’t seem interested in giving or taking information from her.

Oh, God, I’m not ready to die. So much left to do yet. To figure out.

She couldn’t stay where she was. But she could jump. And if she jumped, she just might miss the rocks. Then again, she could meet with a rocky death, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of killing her.

Still, a plunge into the water below gave her a better chance of a survival.

Cobie sent up one last prayer. She took a running, flying leap off the sea cliff.

* * *

Adam Warren’s stomach churned as he leaned over the railing at the side of the trawler, struggling to get his sea legs. The waters of the strait to the southwest of Kessler Island had turned dark and rough as they flowed out of Chambers Passage, just one of the many waterways of the Inside Passage weaving through Alaska’s panhandle.

He rubbed his eyes. Squinted. Was motion sickness making him hallucinate? What had he just seen? “Guys?”

“I saw her, too.” Gary headed up the winding staircase to the bridge. Turned his parents’ trawler to starboard.

Though far away, they’d been close enough to see what looked like long brown hair whipping around, jacket flying up to reveal a trim figure as she jumped into the crashing waves.

Everyone rushed to the bridge with Gary, the highest point on the boat. “What do you think? Suicide?”

Nate and Jared, two of Adam’s caving buddies, scanned the depths with Adam as the trawler sliced through the rough waves.

“No.” A sense of urgency wrapped around Adam. Please, God, let her be okay.

He quickly shrugged out of his rain jacket, preparing to dive in after her, if needed. But where was she? He grabbed the life buoy and prepared to toss it out. But depending on how she hit the water, at that height, she could have a compressed spine, or any number of other injuries. She’d drown if they didn’t find her, if she wasn’t already sinking from cold water shock response.

Then Nate sucked in a breath. “I see her! There she is!” He pointed at the water, miles and miles of water.

Gary steered the boat toward where Nate pointed.

Adam searched the waters, too. A head bobbed. She waved. But then she went under again. “Get this thing closer, will you?”

He couldn’t swim faster than the trawler, so he’d have to bide his time. But if they didn’t make it soon, she was going under for good. Gary was experienced enough at handling the boat. Adam trusted him to do his best, but it was still taking too long. Adam and his siblings volunteered on the North Face Mountain Search and Rescue Team—it gnawed at him to stand back and wait when someone needed help.

They neared the last place they saw the jumper, and Adam bounded down the steps to the lower deck and tossed the lifesaving buoy into the water. But the woman didn’t surface again. Without hesitation he dived into the cold depths of the strait, then swam toward the ring he’d tossed.

He guessed the water temperature to be in the low fifties, maybe high forties. Brutal enough to send a person into cold incapacitation—the loss of control of hands and the muscles in the arms and legs. Before long, they would quit working altogether.

The water’s usual dark blue was almost an inky black, but as he dived beneath the surface it was crystal clear, so that he could see.

There.

He saw her well enough. She still had some fight in her, but her eyes were wide with terror as she fought a losing battle to the surface. Her limbs had become too cold and numb to make a difference. Soon Adam would also succumb. But she’d been in the water much longer than he had. He could do this. He could save her.

Had to save her. He couldn’t fail again. Couldn’t let someone drown again, though his best friend’s death would always be on his head.

His lungs burned as he thrust toward her, seized her arm and, with all his strength, swam them to the surface. He grabbed the life buoy and pulled her out of the bitingly cold water. Nate and Jared tugged them toward the boat, and Adam held on to the woman. Water poured from her mouth as she coughed and choked.

Fueled by adrenaline, even his relief that she hadn’t drowned couldn’t slow his racing pulse. His buddies assisted them onto the trawler, and then forgot about Adam and ushered her inside the galley, where it was warm. Dripping and cold, Adam followed and saw Jared wrap a blanket around her. Her lips were blue in her pale face as she shivered and sat in the booth, still gasping for breath.

“You need to remain still. Get warmed up,” Jared told them.

Adam knew Jared referred to post-rescue collapse. They had to wait until their systems had warmed up completely so their hearts would stabilize.

Before he slid into the booth beside her, she lifted the biggest bluest eyes he’d ever seen to meet his gaze.

Adam knew those eyes.

Stunned, he took a step back. She appeared equally surprised to see him. Maybe in the urgency of the rescue, recognition hadn’t kicked in for either of them.

When Jared handed over a mug of microwaved cocoa, she eagerly took it. Adam wrapped his hand around the mug offered him, and settled in next to Cobie MacBride.

At one time, Cobie had been the only woman for him. She’d cured him of ever wanting to go through that again. Weird to think she didn’t even know about the feelings he’d had.

“Thank you for saving me.” She shook her head, stared into her cup. Her beautiful eyes had lost none of their grief from the tragedy that had left her brother dead, but some sort of wild terror swam in them now, as well.

“What happened?” Adam asked. “Why’d you jump?”

He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer. He couldn’t stand it if she said she’d been trying to kill herself. But he wouldn’t believe it, either. She’d waved for them; she’d wanted their help. And if they hadn’t been there? Adam clamped down on those thoughts.

“I didn’t have a choice.”

TWO

Was this some sort of dream? Nightmare?

The past few minutes washed over her. She struggled to grasp what had happened. The men stared at her, confusion on their faces. Bewildered herself, she frowned. How did she explain without sounding...well...crazy?

“What do you mean, you didn’t have a choice?” Raw concern flashed in Adam’s eyes.

That surprised her.

It had been so long since she’d seen him, been this close to him, old feelings tumbled over every other thought. She’d missed him. Shaking off the tangle of emotions, she hung her head and sighed.

“I need a minute to think.” Gather her thoughts.

Almost equally as shocking as the events of the past few moments was the fact that Adam sat next to her, wrapped in his own wool blanket. He angled to look at her, his solid form a comforting presence compared with moments ago when another man had tried to kill her.

And if she was drawing comfort from his nearness, then that just proved how befuddled and exhausted she was. He’d pulled her from the depths, saved her life. She knew that. But it didn’t make up for the past.

Adding to her anxiety, tumultuous waves rocked the trawler, much like the turmoil that tossed her mind. She tugged the blanket closer, tighter.

Adam was here with Jared, Nate and Gary, his long-time caving buddies. They’d been Brad’s friends, as well.

Jared stepped from below deck into the small galley and lobbed them each a shirt and jeans. “Found some dry things.”

Cobie stared at the clothes. Too big. She looked up at Jared.

He shrugged. “Adam is the smallest. You’ll have to wear his clothes.”

Adam slid from the booth and stood. “What’s going on, Cobie?”

After that first punch-in-the-gut glance into Adam’s face, Cobie hadn’t wanted to look at him again. Hadn’t she been thinking about him—how she needed to forgive—right before she jumped? God had some sense of humor. She lifted her gaze to meet his multicolored eyes. She’d never been able to decide if they were blue or green the way they seemed to change. All the hours she’d spent thinking about his eyes. But that was ancient history.

Finally Cobie caught her breath. Found her words.

“We need to call the police. Someone tried to kill me.” Cobie pressed her face into her hands. “And Laura and Jen are on their way to the island. They should be there any minute. We’d planned to meet at the cabin to go caving. They were running late, so I went to the cave to scout it out. If they arrive and go looking for me, they could run right into the man who tried to kill me.”

“What?” the male voices asked in unison.

She dropped her hands and stared at them, forcing urgency into her voice. “A man tried to strangle me. I ran away. I got trapped when he followed. I had no choice. I had to face him or jump.”

Adam’s strong jaw dropped along with the blanket. “Call 9-1-1.”

“Coast Guard’s all there is out here.” Nate held up his cell. “And these don’t work here at all.”

“Then call the Coast Guard,” she said. “Someone in authority needs to know.”

Adam scraped the SAT phone from the counter. “I could call Ray. I told him we were mapping the cave and he said he might try to get some time off and join us.”

“Ray?” Cobie asked.

“Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigation. He’s an agent. Investigates crimes. Drugs. Poaching. Anything illegal that happens out here.”

Had she really almost been a victim? And now she would have to give a statement. Answer questions. Cobie’s mind ran back over what had happened. Concern for her friends made her tense. If only she hadn’t been such an idiot. The number where she could reach Laura was with the phone at the cabin.

Adam kept his gaze on her. “He’s probably close. We’ll ask him what to do. Tell him what happened.”

Shivering, Cobie slipped out of the booth. “Can we go ahead and make our way to the other side of the island? Maybe we can intercept Laura and Jen. In the meantime, I’m changing into dry clothes.”

“Why didn’t you travel with your friends?” Jared leaned against the counter. “Why come alone?”

Adam cocked a brow.

“I took a seaplane. The pilot passes over these parts delivering mail and packages and people. My friends are coming by boat from the opposite direction. They were delayed, and I couldn’t change my flight.”

“Why not wait for them to arrive before exploring the cave?” Adam asked. “Why go alone?”

She was a big girl, but saying so would make it sound otherwise. “It shouldn’t have been dangerous. There shouldn’t have been someone else there—much less a man who wanted to kill me. Besides, he could have found me alone at the cabin, too.”

Not wanting to say more, or hear a lecture, Cobie scuttled down the small stairway below deck. She didn’t have to explain her actions to them. Adam said something to his friends, but she couldn’t make out his words, then he followed her down.

“I’ll show you where to go.”

The quarters were tight. Hard to get lost on a boat this size. She could find her own way without his help, but she kept her thoughts to herself. He showed her the master cabin with its walk-around queen bed and then took her through the private guest cabin. Beyond that, berth to port, was a large guest room. Then to starboard, Adam showed her the shower with the private door back to the master cabin where they’d started. The former fishing boat had been refurbished into a near-luxurious recreational boat.

Clinging to the clothes she meant to change into, probably getting them wet as she did, Cobie hung back, near the door to the master cabin. “I thought you were calling your forest service friend.”

“Jared is calling so I can change clothes, too. Gary will contact the Coast Guard. He’s heading to the lagoon where your friends will probably anchor.” The small space forced their proximity, and Adam stared down at her. “I...I’m glad you’re okay, Cobie.” He scraped his hand through his wet hair and looked away, then back at her. “It’s good to see you.”

She didn’t miss the pain in his eyes.

“Thanks...thanks for saving me today.” She wanted to tell him that it was good to see him, too, but she couldn’t find the words. She’d never wanted to see him again.

His clothes were still wet, like hers, and must be cold, but there was a heat emanating from him. The way he looked at her now made that heat wrap around her. She didn’t want to feel that from him, even though she was chilled to her bones.

He cleared his throat. “You can use this room to change.”

“Okay, thanks.” Cobie waited for him to leave.

He lifted a hand. Scratched the back of his head as if he was unsure what else to say. As if he wanted to say more.

Cobie knew she had more to say, too, and to a man she’d never wanted to see or speak to again. Could the day get any stranger? “I’ll be right out.”

He nodded. “Don’t worry, Cobie. We’ll find your friends and warn them.”

“I hope so.” Once she slipped inside and shut the door behind her, she quickly changed into the dry clothes she carried, though they’d grown damp from her clinging. They smelled like Adam. Musky and masculine and outdoorsy. The smells made more images rush back at her.

She pressed her face into the blue-and-gray-plaid sleeve and breathed in the scent. Made her dizzy. Memories of how she used to feel about the guy surged. But that’s all those feelings were now. Memories.

Weird that he’d never even known.

Tears threatened behind her eyes. She dropped onto the bed to gather her composure before she faced Adam again.

She let her thoughts turn to the way he had looked at her. He seemed different somehow. Changed by that day as much as she had been. Especially five years later. Weird how a tragedy, added to a few years of separation, could change a person. And yet even though Adam was different now, plenty about him remained the same. He was...well...he could have been the next all-American hero to star in a Marvel movie, with those broad shoulders and lean, muscular biceps. And he was handsome enough to make plenty of girls swoon. But not Cobie. Not anymore.

At least that’s what she tried to convince herself of, but it wasn’t working because being next to Adam made her float like it had before Brad’s death.

Cobie shoved herself to her feet. She was grateful that Adam had saved her today. Grateful for the spare too-big shirt and pants she wore now. But in spite of the few good memories that taunted her, she could never forget that Adam was to blame for her brother’s death.

* * *

Adam stumbled around in the guest cabin, trying desperately to clear his thoughts. Cobie was here on this boat.

And someone had tried to kill her.

Thank You, Lord, for saving her.

Adam reminded himself that while he’d pulled her from the water, God had been the one to save her. Bittersweet, considering Adam hadn’t been able to pull her brother from the water that day. Some things in life he’d never understand. He grabbed a towel and dried his hair. Pulled in a few calming breaths.

It took a lot for Adam to be in the same room with Cobie. He hadn’t realized just how much. Funny how five years hadn’t diminished how she affected him. At one time, she’d been the girl of his dreams. Now she was the girl he could never have. Even if he could have her, he couldn’t want her or anyone. But none of that mattered. All that mattered was that he’d make sure she was safe.

He sucked in another breath. Opened the door.

Heading back to join the rest, he passed the master cabin. Was she still inside? Maybe he’d wait for her. He had a few questions before she talked to the authorities. Leaning against the wall, he noticed the boat rocked less. Gary must have made it to smoother waters.

The door whipped open.

Cobie’s eyes widened. “You waited on me?”

“Yep.” Feeling like an idiot, he shoved his hands in his pockets. He looked her up and down. She wore his clothes now. His shirt hung off her—jeans, too. He wouldn’t be able to wear those again without thinking of her.

Reacting to his scrutiny, she looked down, held out her arms. “What? You don’t like my new duds?”

Adam smiled. Good she could find some humor. It made things bearable.

“How are you doing?” He had to go and shoot down her smile.

Her brows scrunched. “How do you think?”

His pulse jumped when he caught sight of her throat. Adam reached over and tipped her chin up. At the bruise on her neck, anger boiled in his gut. He seriously wanted to hurt the man who did this to her. Glancing at her eyes, he saw everything inside her laid bare.

Then she was in his arms. He wasn’t sure how—if he’d made the move or she had—but she was in them. And he held her tight. He couldn’t lose her, too. He’d lost his best friend, her brother.

God, I can’t lose her, too.

She didn’t sob into his shirt. Not like the day Brad had died. But he thought maybe she wanted to. Maybe he wanted to sob over all that had happened to keep them apart. Over his role in Brad’s death. And over what had happened to her today.

“Cobie,” he whispered into her soft, still wet hair. How long had he wanted to tangle his fingers in that thick mane?

She stiffened.

Cobie stepped away from him. That’s right. Keep up that wall. That would keep them both in line. He couldn’t believe he’d slipped. Let himself think about how she felt in his arms for even a second.

“Why would someone try to kill you?” he asked.

“You think I know?” She shoved by him.

That had been the wrong thing to say. But how could he get answers without questions? He followed her into the galley, where Jared and Nate both looked up.

“Ray called back after I left a message,” Jared said. “I told him everything.”

“What’d he say?” Adam smelled coffee brewing. He was glad someone had thought to put some on.

“He’s on his way. Will meet us near the beach.”

“How long?”

“An hour, maybe more.”

“He asked if Cobie was injured.” Nate studied Cobie. “If you needed medical attention. I told him I thought you were okay for now. Was I wrong?”

She shrugged. “I’ll be good when I know Laura and Jen are safe.”

Adam shared a look with Nate. She needed to have a doctor check her out all the same, with her throat bruised that way.

“We’ll do our best, Cobie.” Jared poured her coffee and handed her a steaming mug.

Adam left Cobie in good hands. She didn’t want to see him anyway. He made his way to the outside bridge up top where Gary steered the trawler. Since there was a steering station inside, he could have stayed in the galley with the rest of them where it was nice and warm, but Gary preferred to experience the full effect of being on the water. Wanted to feel the weather and smell the ocean. And maybe Gary wanted to step away from the drama they’d all just endured, Cobie most especially.

The island, one of many in southeast Alaska, loomed large ahead of them—steep bedrock and limestone exposures looked as though they’d been pushed up and out of the ocean by something ancient. The view of the greenery topping the rock of an island made Adam’s breath catch. Also made him second-guess his decision to explore the world outside the panhandle of Alaska—to get away from Mountain Cove and all the reminders of his failures. Since his business had burned down not two months ago he had this chance, this one chance, to do something different with his life.

But the beauty of the region tugged at him now, tightening the grip on his heart.

With the rain and fog and mist, lakes and rivers everywhere, fjords and glaciers, what more could he want? What more did a man need? Except Adam wanted and needed something he couldn’t put his finger on. After this expedition to map a cave, he already had the next three months planned out, and he wouldn’t be spending them in Alaska.

His sister, Heidi, had extracted one promise from him— be home by Christmas. As if it mattered if he was there or not. She and his brothers had lives of their own now. Families of their own. Adam was the odd man out. He wasn’t sure they would miss him if he didn’t show for Christmas. But he hadn’t even left yet and he was at a crossroad. Cobie suddenly turning up in his life again made for more indecision.

Yep. A serious fork in a road he had yet to travel.

“Looks like we’re almost there,” Adam said.

“There’s another boat anchored near the shore.” Gary gestured. “See? Just through there. Could be Cobie’s friends.”

“I hope they’re not already on the island,” Adam said. “They need to be warned about Cobie’s attacker. Did you see any other boats coming or going?”

“No.” Gary eyed Adam. “He must have left before we got here.”

“Or...he’s still on the island.”

THREE

“That’s Laura’s boat.” Concern for her friends kept Cobie on edge. “We’re wasting time standing here.”

She tugged the hood of the too-big rain jacket she’d pulled over her head. She’d put on Adam’s extra pair of rain pants, too, over her borrowed clothes. Although she wore gear meant to keep out the pouring rain, she knew that eventually it would find its way in and under the protective clothing. This was a temperate rain forest, after all. Wearing rain gear was an exercise in futility.

Nate and Jared stood on one side of her, Adam on the other.

Water dripped off his hood as his blue-green eyes turned dark, watching her. “Looks empty.”

“They’re probably both on the island looking for me. We have to warn them.”

“Ray said to stay put,” Jared said. “Wait until he got here.”

“We can’t wait. My friends are in danger. We have to save them.”

“You know she’s right.” Adam climbed into the skiff they’d towed that would take them where the trawler couldn’t go.

He pulled a weapon out of a holster and checked it. Chills ran down Cobie’s spine. She was leading Adam and his friends into a potentially deadly situation, but she didn’t have a clue what else to do.

His jaw set, Adam looked up at Cobie. “You’re not going.”

“What are you talking about?” Panic and rage boiled inside. “I’m going. You can’t keep me here. I’ll swim if I have to. What difference does it make if I get wet? I’m wet already.”

At the thought of getting into that water again, a knot swelled in her throat. Adam had to know it was an idle threat on her part, which made it worthless. Ignoring Cobie, Jared and Nate climbed into the skiff. There was no room for her; it was that small. Now she was spitting mad, but that wouldn’t help her make her case. She pushed her frustration down.

“Look, I have to be with you. Laura and Jen are going to freak out when they see you. They’re going to be worried about me if I’m not at the cabin. They’re going to think you’re the bad guys.” Maybe. She wasn’t sure what they would think. If they had only just arrived on the island, they were probably still looking for Cobie without realizing anything was wrong. It was worth a shot to convince Adam to let her go along.

Jared climbed out. “She’s right, Adam.”

Cobie quickly climbed in before Jared could change his mind, giving him a quick squeeze on his arm and a thank-you. Adam’s jaw tensed. He didn’t look happy, but that wasn’t her problem. He grabbed the oars and rowed the boat to shore.

They made it to the small sandy beach, the only place they could easily get ashore, away from the rocks and coral reefs that surrounded the rest of the island. She’d been fortunate to survive her jump off the bluff.

Thank You, Lord. She’d taken a leap of faith, as it were, knowing she’d either sink or swim. She’d sunk all right.

And Adam had pulled her from certain death.

Cobie shrugged off the memory and helped Adam and Nate secure the boat.

“How do we get to the cabin?” Adam’s rigid tone set her on edge, but she knew that deep down he was only worried about her. She wondered if he’d finally learned to think about consequences—something he’d never bothered to do in the past. He’d been reckless with her brother’s life, after all.

She pointed. “It’s just there. The trail is overgrown. Not many people come here, but enough do, I guess.”

Her father had. Others before him, too. Hard to believe the cave was mostly unexplored. Uncharted and undiscovered. There were hundreds of caves in southeast Alaska that they knew of. Many more they didn’t. And plenty had yet to be explored or mapped.

Cobie trekked behind Adam and Nate up the barely visible trail that would take them to the cabin. The same trail she’d taken earlier when the pilot had dropped her off. He’d escorted her to the cabin. When he’d expressed concern about leaving her alone, she had assured him her friends would arrive soon. He had a schedule to keep and had to leave, but he promised to stop by after his deliveries to check on her. Billy seemed like a nice enough guy, and she knew people who knew him in Mountain Cove. She could trust him.

As they climbed higher, the Sitka spruce grew thicker, and the birds chirped. In the distance, sea lions barked. Cobie’s encounter with the man bent on killing her seemed surreal. To think, a couple of hours ago this island had been a peaceful refuge. Now her fear gauge inched upward by the minute. What if the man was still on the island? What if he’d hurt Laura and Jen? What if he hurt Adam and his friends because Cobie had gotten them involved?

“Shouldn’t we call out for them?” Cobie glanced up, searched the trees above. Small animals scuttled across the branches. “They could be anywhere on the island.”

They could be in trouble.

“True enough, but until we know what we’re up against, I’d prefer to take the stealth approach.” As soon as he’d said the words, Adam stopped.

Nate did the same behind him, as did Cobie.

“I can see the cabin up ahead in the clearing,” Adam said.

“Let’s go.” She tried to hurry past him.

He held his arm out, clutching her waist, holding her back. “We don’t know if it’s safe.”

“Then you’d better be prepared to use that weapon.” Cobie shrugged free and ran toward the cabin. “Laura! Jen!”

* * *

Adam held back a few choice words. But what he’d said to Cobie came back to bite him.

We don’t know if it’s safe.

Those were the same exact words Brad had said to him when he’d tried to persuade his best friend to go down deeper into the cave they were exploring. Adam hadn’t heeded Brad then, and Brad had been the one to die. Life certainly wasn’t fair. Didn’t pick the person who deserved to live over the person who deserved to die.

The guilt was crushing, except Cobie wouldn’t give him a chance to stop and catch his breath. Gather his thoughts. That was the only good going on here. He rushed after her, but she was already out in the open, out of the protective cover of the trees, and yelling at the top of her lungs. Whoever was in the cabin had to know they had company by now.

With his gun in hand, he readied himself to defend them if it came to that.

“Cobie, wait!”

Adam caught up to her, grabbed her arm, pulled her back behind him. “At least let me go first. Let me protect you.”

Cobie opened her mouth to argue when the door to the cabin opened. Adam’s heart jumped to his throat. He threw himself in front of Cobie.

A tall brunette stepped out of the cabin and pointed her weapon at Adam. “Let her go.”

“Laura! Wait. This is my friend Adam.” Cobie stepped out from behind Adam.

Laura frowned and lowered her weapon. “I thought...”

Cobie ran to Laura. They hugged. Another woman, dirty-blond hair, short and sturdy like an athlete, joined the hug fest. Adam stood in the rain watching, the rapid beat of his heart keeping time with the drops. He dragged in a few breaths. That had been too close. Two friends trying to protect a mutual friend had nearly gotten one of them killed.

“Come inside.” Cobie and Laura pulled Adam and Nate into the cabin.

Cobie made the introductions. Laura cocked a brow when she recognized either Adam or his name—he wasn’t sure. He might have seen her with Cobie years ago, now that he thought about it. But she’d changed something. Lost weight. Dyed her hair. And the other woman, Jen, didn’t look happy to see him.

“We thought something had happened to you,” Jen said. “We went to the cave looking for you. You didn’t tell me you were bringing other friends, Cobie. Guy friends.”

“No, wait. You don’t understand.” Cobie started to explain but then stopped. “What’s...what’s all this?”

Laura and Jen moved out of Adam’s line of sight so he could see gear was strewn across the floor. Bags ripped. Junk tossed.

“I don’t know. We found it like this. And you were gone.” Laura flashed a suspicious look at Adam. “That’s why we were so worried.”

Cobie covered her mouth and glanced at Adam. Her eyes said everything she couldn’t say. This guy had tried to kill her. Had rummaged through her things. Why? Adam wanted to hug her to him. He thought about that brief moment on the trawler when she’d been in his arms. He wanted to comfort her like that again. Protect her. But he wasn’t the man for that.

“What’s going on, Cobie?” Laura asked, looking from Adam to Cobie. Nate didn’t merit a glance.

Cobie told them about the man who had tried to strangle her to death at the cave. About the jump off the bluff. And about how she’d almost drowned before Adam pulled her out.

Jen leaned against the wall and slid down. “Gotta sit down. My legs are shaking.”

“Mine, too.” Cobie joined her on the floor. Laura was next.

Tears welled in all three women’s eyes. Adam looked away. He couldn’t take watching them cry. It wasn’t that he had a hard heart. No. It was the exact opposite. He was too softhearted for his own good, and that had always gotten him into trouble. He had to work hard to protect himself. At least Cobie’s friends were here to comfort her. Adam wanted to join them in their efforts, but he couldn’t afford to let his heart grow soft again when it came to Cobie.

Nate shifted around the cabin, drawing Adam’s attention. He moved closer to his friend, away from the women who huddled next to Cobie, talking among themselves.

“The guy could still be here,” Nate said under his breath. “We need to keep our guard up.”

“Yep. Wish Ray would get here.”

Adam looked around at Cobie’s things all over the floor. Man, she’d brought a lot of stuff. How long had she been planning to stay? But then she’d need fresh clothing after she explored the cave, and maybe after she stepped outside, too. This could have gotten awkward real fast, considering he and his friends had planned to use this cabin while they mapped the cave. Had Cobie made a reservation, too? Or had someone overbooked the cabin?

“Cobie, you missing anything?”

“I don’t know. What could I have that anyone would want?”

Someone knocked on the door. The women against the wall yelped. Laura stood, pressed her hand against her gun. Adam frowned. “You might be good with your weapon, but I don’t need you shooting a hole in my friend.”

She scowled. “How do you know it’s him?”

“Is Cobie’s attacker going to knock?”

“Stranger things have happened.” Jen was on her feet, pulling Cobie up with her.

Adam’s gut churned. What if? He pressed his hand against the sidearm in his shoulder holster. Approached the door.

“Nate? Adam? You in there? It’s Ray.”

Relief flooded Adam and he opened the door to his stern-faced friend.

“I told you to stay put.”

Adam shrugged and swung the door wider. “Might as well come in.”

Ray stepped inside the cabin followed by another shorter man, about ten years older—probably the friend Ray had mentioned he’d invited to explore the cave. “Ladies, this is Ray Hamburg,” Adam said. “He’s a special agent with the Law Enforcement and Investigation division of the Forest Service.”

Ray didn’t give Adam his usual warm grin; he kept his authoritative expression in place. He’d been a park ranger before moving over to LEI. Maybe he would solve this quickly. “And this is Mel Timbrook. Also LEI. Looks like we have an investigation to get behind us. I headed off the Coast Guard. We’re usually not the first to respond, but I’m already here and this is my region.”

Mel and Ray looked around the room. Then Ray spoke again. “Looks like the cave-mapping expedition has turned into something much different. Someone want to tell me what’s going on?”

Face pale, Cobie stepped forward. “I... Someone tried to kill me.”

Adam didn’t miss Ray’s attention on Cobie’s neck or the anger that he worked to suppress as she told him how a man had tried to strangle her to death. Adam experienced the same rage after the initial shock of pulling Cobie from the water. That someone could do that to anyone. That someone could do that to Cobie MacBride.

Her voice shook as she relayed the facts, and Adam relived every terrifying detail with her. He remembered the moment when he’d seen someone jump from the bluff. The image of her underneath the water before he was able to grab her—her face pale, the terror of certain death in her eyes. And that moment when he realized the jumper was Cobie hit him like a blunt object.

The big adventure he’d planned away from Alaska over the next few months had been an attempt to escape the past he shared with this woman. Instead he was getting sucked right back in. But he had to keep her safe. Find this guy before he succeeded in killing her.

How could he protect Cobie? How could he be part of her life again and get his life back at the same time? Because there was no way he wanted to get wrapped up in her world again. If he had to, in order to protect her, in order to find this guy, then how could he possibly protect his heart?

FOUR

She thought Ray’s questions would never end.

Cobie leaned against the wall on the far side of the small log cabin as though that would give them privacy. Mel hung back and listened. Outside, the wind gusted, bringing more rain and blowing the wet weather through the island. Though a couple of portable lamps burned in the corners, the cabin grew darker with the storm. Nate started a fire in the fireplace that sent shadows dancing along the walls. She’d taken off her rain gear and, though she was still layered in Adam’s flannel shirt over a T-shirt, she grew chilled, in body and spirit.

To his credit, Ray was attentive and concerned while he took notes, never showing any skepticism, although the story Cobie told sounded implausible, even to her own ears. Still, Adam and his friends had seen her jump. And her neck revealed evidence that someone had assaulted her. Had the villain stood at the top of the bluff and looked down just to make sure she didn’t resurface? She certainly hadn’t looked back to check, and Adam and his friends had been focused on her. Did her would-be killer know she was still alive?

Ray flipped to a new page in his notebook. “Tell me again why you’d come alone?”

She fought the need to roll her eyes. “My friends were on their way. Would have been here within the hour. I didn’t see the harm in going by the cave first to get the lay of the land. It shouldn’t have been dangerous. There’s not supposed to be anyone else on this island.”

“Normally that’s true enough, and I haven’t seen any DTO activity in this area, either.”

“DTO?”

“Drug traffic organization.”

Cobie hugged herself tighter. “Maybe...maybe they’re hiding drugs in the cave and didn’t want anyone to find it? Could be that’s why the man tried to kill me.”

Ray studied her, considering her words. “We’ll find out soon enough.” He reviewed his notes. “You said you knew about the cavers planning to map the cave, and you wanted to go in ahead of them. Why?”

“The truth is I wanted the cave to myself, and my friends wouldn’t distract me as much as another group might. They might prevent us or interfere with our plans.”

Ray’s manner was easygoing and so far he’d kept his face unreadable, but Cobie caught suspicion in the angle of his head. “How so?”

“What does it matter? What does any of this have to do with the man who tried to kill me?” His question made her feel as if she’d been the one to commit a crime, but she didn’t dare say that. That would give him ammunition to ask more questions about why she was getting defensive. Or if she had committed a crime, which she hadn’t.

“Humor me. Maybe it has nothing at all to do with your attacker, but I’m digging, asking questions hoping that I’ll get at why someone tried to kill you today. Okay?” His smile disarmed her.

“Okay.”

The man was good at what he did, no doubt there. “Did anyone else know you were coming here today?” Ray continued.

The back of her throat grew tight. “No, there is no one else. I’m a dentist, and my office staff knew I was heading to an island, but Laura and Jen were the only ones who knew which island.”

“Any particular reason you chose this island and cave?” Ray blinked up at her.

Again, why did her reasons matter? But she wouldn’t antagonize a man trying to help her resolve this. “I... My father wrote about this cave in his journal. It was the last entry—the most recent. I haven’t seen him in years. I thought... I wanted to see something he’d seen. Walk where he’d walked. I know it sounds crazy, but I thought I could get some closure.”

Ray had been writing in his notebook again, but he lifted his gaze and studied Cobie. “Closure?”

“He disappeared six months ago.”

Someone behind her gasped. Adam stepped forward. “Cobie, I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

“It’s... He was absent in my life long before he went missing.” She shrugged, trying for an indifference she didn’t feel. She hadn’t wanted it to mean so much. But she was at this cave for that reason. Her mother had died when she was born, and her father and brother were all she had. Except her father had barely been part of her life or Brad’s life because his occupation required travel. He was even more distant, if possible, after Brad’s death. Then last Christmas, he’d called like always, but this time he’d told her he wanted to make up for lost time. To make up for the past. He just had something to take care of first. And those last words kept Cobie from believing that anything would ever change. There was always something more important than family in her father’s life.

But her indifferent words to Ray had done damage. Something behind his eyes changed. Next to her, Adam shifted on his feet. Cobie fought to keep her composure. She didn’t need complete strangers seeing her pain. Didn’t want Adam to see it, either.

Flipping his notebook closed, Ray gestured behind Cobie. “You and your friends can wait here, or we can escort you to your boat to wait there while we search the island. It might take a while. We’ll look for your attacker, though I doubt he’s still here. We’ll gather evidence if we find any.”

That he hadn’t asked her more questions, especially at the news of her father’s disappearance, surprised her.

“Are you saying we can get into the cave today?” Nate asked.

“I can’t say for sure now, but I’ll know more in a couple of hours. I had planned to explore the cave with you, and we’ll do that together, after we decide it’s safe.”

“You don’t think he could be hiding in the cave?” Laura spoke up.

“That remains to be seen. But if he has any sense, he’s long gone,” Ray said. “What’ll it be? Stay here or go to the boats?”

“We could chow down back on the boat. I’m getting hungry,” Nate said. “Besides, Gary will want to know what’s happening.”

“Okay, that settles it,” Mel said. “Everyone back to the boats. We’ll escort you there.”

“Should we leave our things, then?” Cobie asked.

“I don’t think anyone else is going to bother your stuff. Plus, after we search the island, I might want to look at the damage done here again. Is that okay with you?”

“Sure.”

Adam stepped up to speak to her, misery apparent in his eyes. But Laura and Jen got in his way, intentionally or accidentally blocking him; Cobie wasn’t sure. She snatched up a few of her own clothes from her bag—eager to wear something that fit, eager to be free of Adam’s clothes, though she slipped back into his rain jacket. And then her friends ushered her out like bodyguards. Ray and Mel followed them to the beach.

Laura led the way and climbed into an inflatable dinghy, Jen behind her. Ray approached Cobie before she got into the dinghy. “We’re going to look for evidence of another boat on the beach, though that alone won’t prove anything. Then we’ll head up to the cave entrance where you say the attack happened. If we can find the specific rock you hit him with, we may at least get DNA evidence.”

Adam joined them. “What about Cobie, Ray? She’s not safe.”

Ray tucked his chin. “He’s right. Until we know more, you need to be aware of your surroundings.”

“That’s it?” Adam clenched his fists. “Just be aware of her surroundings? She needs protection.”

“And she has it,” Laura said, brandishing her weapon.

“Cobie, you and your friends should go home.” Adam pressed his hand on her shoulder. “This isn’t a place you should stay, with this creep still out there. He knows you’re here. He could come back and try again.”

“I came here to get answers, Adam. I’m not leaving without them.”

* * *

The rain had finally stopped.

Adam stood at the stern of Laura’s boat. He needed to speak to Cobie. When he opened the hatch to head down the steps below deck, feminine voices rose to meet him. The tone was serious. He tried to make enough noise so they’d know he was on his way down. He didn’t want to hear anything he shouldn’t. Cobie’s friends didn’t like him; of that, he was sure.

She had her reasons for being at odds with him, but in spite of that, there was some sort of crazy electricity that sparked between them every time he saw her. Did she feel it, too? Even if she did, what did it matter? After what had happened, Adam would never let himself be hurt like that again. Secretly loving his best friend’s sister from a distance, watching the pain he’d caused, had scarred him. His actions, his poor judgment, had cost a life, changed lives and caused his own pain, forever affecting them all.

The thoughts weighed heavily on him, but he shook them off. He had more important matters to focus on. He paused before taking the steps down.

“I wish we didn’t have to head back tomorrow,” Laura said. “I’m sorry I couldn’t spend more time with you.”

“That’s why we need to do this today. See the cave if the powers that be will allow us inside. We’ll join Adam and his group if we have to.”

“I’m proud of you. I know these last few years have been hard. Having Adam here makes it worse, I’m sure.”

Adam cringed. Why hadn’t they heard him? Why had he stopped and listened? Now he figured he should turn around and go back to the boat that housed people who liked him. His friends. But he would finish what he started. He clomped down the steps and into the galley, making his presence known. No turning back now.

The three women stared wide-eyed at him.

“Uh, sorry. Thought you’d hear me coming down. Didn’t mean to surprise you.” For that matter, Adam could have been Cobie’s attacker and he would have caught them all off guard. So much for the overprotective, gun-brandishing Laura.

Tension crackled in the cabin.

“Are you hungry?” Jen grabbed a plate. “Might as well eat while we wait to get back on the island. I made my special—macaroni and cheese.”

Adam pulled off his hood and ran a hand through his tangled hair, his gaze snagging on Cobie’s amazing blue eyes. But she averted them. “No, thanks. I’ve already eaten. I...came to see Cobie.”

“Well, here she is. You see her.” Laura stirred the macaroni and cheese on her plate as if she was angry with it.

They weren’t making it easy for him. He saw the hint of a smile on Cobie’s pretty lips. She thought this was funny. When she dared to glance at him, he caught her gaze and trapped it with his own. She didn’t look away this time.

“I need to talk to you when you’re done eating.”

“You can talk to me now.”

He hesitated, glancing at her friends. “All right. Mind if I sit down?”

“Make yourself at home,” Laura said.

Adam shrugged out of his extra raincoat. Hung it on the rack. He took the chair across from Cobie. “Nothing from Ray yet. Maybe they caught the guy. But he should contact us soon.”

Cobie looked down at her plate. Shoved the cheesy pasta around. Either Jen’s special wasn’t so special, or his appearance had ruined their appetites.

Adam measured his words. He’d never felt more unsure of himself. He used to be confident, even overconfident. So much had changed. Years did that to people. Years and tragedies.

“Back in the cabin. When you talked to Ray—”

“What’s really bothering you?” she asked.

Her tone begged him to get on with it. So be it.

“I’m sorry about your father, Cobie. I had no idea he’s missing.”

Cobie kept her gaze on the table. The other two stared at him as if they wished he would go away. Get out of her life and stay out. But he was caught up in this drama the same as the rest of them.

“He was already gone, to me, in a way. After Brad, he just disengaged from my life completely.”

Adam hung his head. He’d done this to her.

Cobie drew in a ragged breath. Maybe Adam should go, after all. He’d made a mistake in coming here. He’d only opened the hurt back up.

“I need some air.” She bounded up the stairs.

Adam grabbed his jacket and followed. Her friends couldn’t stop him if they tried.

Cobie stood at the bow and leaned against the handrail. The wind whipped her hair around, reminding him of when she’d jumped from the bluff. A fist clenched around his heart at the reminder. He could only thank God they’d been there to pull her from the cold water.

Clouds hung heavy in the sky and turned everything gray and dark. This morning, the forecast had said it would be a beautiful day. But beautiful was in the eye of the beholder. Maybe the meteorologist liked gray and rainy.

Standing next to Cobie, Adam half expected her to lash out at him.

“I wanted to close this awful chapter of my life,” she said. “That was my whole purpose in coming to the cave. And then after this, I’d planned to build something new and fresh for myself.”

Adam understood that sentiment. He was shooting for the same thing. Rain started up again, sprinkling her exposed skin, clinging to her long lashes. He took off his jacket and gently hung it across her shoulders. That she didn’t object surprised him.

“What do you think happened to your father?” he finally came to his reason for being here.

“I don’t know. The police opened an investigation into his whereabouts. His work travel could have taken him anywhere. Sometimes I would believe he was one place only to find out he’d been a thousand miles away. I wasn’t the one to call the police, of course. How could I know he was missing? I only talked to him on birthdays and Christmas.”

Emotion grew thick in his throat, and he cleared it. “Who called the police then?”

“Barbara Stemmons. A woman he stayed with in Seattle. An address he called home. I’ve never met her. She said he hadn’t come home in weeks, and she hadn’t been able to contact him.” Her voice sounded teary, but she stared ahead, her features hard. “The police said given his pattern, he didn’t want to be found, and that was that. They’re overworked and had nothing else to go on, but they would keep him listed as missing on their website, if anyone else had a lead. I can’t blame them for not doing more. And I can’t help but believe that I contributed to their attitude. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything. Maybe they would still be searching for him if I hadn’t been so negative about the way he traveled and lived.”

Adam was taken aback at her words. Clearly she was being too hard on herself. Blaming herself when she shouldn’t. And her desperate need for her father’s love and approval—something she might never get—rang through her words, loud and clear.

Adam said the only thing he could say. “He loved you, Cobie. You have to believe that. He just couldn’t handle—”

“I know he loved me, okay? Or loves me. I can’t stand to think he’s gone, really gone.” She swiped at another tear. “At Christmas, he told me that he wanted to make up for lost time. That he was coming back to Mountain Cove to see me, but that he had something to take care of first. I resented him for that—it was the same mantra I had heard all my life. There was always one more thing he had to do before he could make time for me. But then Barbara sent his journal to me. Said she’d found it in his things with a note from him asking her to send it to me.

“I could hear that he loved me in the words in his journal, even though he had a terrible way of showing it. He wrote that he couldn’t take the pain of losing my mother when I was born, so he threw himself into his work. After Brad died, well, that was one more reason to stay away. Seeing me only reminded him of all he’d lost. I came to see the cave because he wrote about it. It was my way of being somewhere he’d been. My only way to get close to him and say goodbye. If he’s dead. And maybe even if he isn’t. And somehow I hope to find answers in the cave. He wrote about it as though it held some secret he wanted me to find.”

For Cobie’s sake, Adam hoped her father was still alive, but a sick feeling swirled inside that made him think otherwise. “Cobie, your father is missing. Maybe he wanted you to have the journal because he believed he was in danger and that he wouldn’t have a chance to tell you in person how much he loved you in case something happened to him. Maybe he never meant for you to actually come to the cave, to find it. Or he could have been warning you away.”

She turned to face him. The cold in her blue eyes stabbed him. “Are you suggesting that my attack today had something to do with my father, a man I haven’t seen in years?”

“Maybe there’s something hidden in the cave, and that’s why you were attacked.”

FIVE

Cobie wore some old running shoes and layered her clothes under fleece and her rain gear. She put on gloves to protect not only her hands but the cave formations from the oils in her skin that could stop stalagmite growth. She wore a headlamp attached to a helmet and carried an extra flashlight.

They waited at the slim entrance to the cave while Ray and Mel took the lead as a safety measure. After searching the island, they had concluded that her assailant had fled. Ray had taken as evidence the rock she’d used to hit the man. Thankfully, it had fallen in a sheltered spot and the rain hadn’t washed it free of the blood. The slightest chance that the man had hidden in the cave remained, so Ray’s reasons for going along served more than one purpose—keeping him on the job as part of his investigation, protecting them and exploring the cave with his friends the way he’d already wanted to. He hadn’t asked more questions, only assured Cobie they would find her attacker.

Right. The man could have been anyone at all, out for a joy kill instead of a joyride. He could be anywhere by now.

Including right behind her again.

After Ray and Mel, Adam’s friends, Nate, Jared and Gary, went next, readying their tape, ropes, compass, a clinometer to map the cave and a first aid kit, just in case. They seemed genuinely excited to be part of mapping the cave for the Forest Service.

But Adam hung back, studying the place where she’d run from her attacker. Since Ray and Mel had already searched that area, she wasn’t sure what Adam thought he would find there. Still, it warmed her heart that he was searching. He seemed determined to keep her safe and to figure this out.

She leaned against the mossy limestone and thought back to when he and Brad had gone along with a more experienced team as novice surveyors. She hadn’t realized how much donning the gear would affect her. How the memories would rush back just by seeing Adam wearing the headlamp and helmet. Only this time, Brad wasn’t at his side.

The memories hurt and reminded her of the pain and anger she’d felt toward Adam all these years. But Adam—his heroic effort to save her today, his protectiveness afterward, and, yes, maybe even his sturdy form and thick hair framing his rugged, handsome face, made it hard to hold on to her resentment. Being with him seemed to soften all the hardness around her heart, and her grip on her negative attitude was slowly slipping. And with that, part of her wished her friends wouldn’t give him such a hard time.

Just then—as if Adam had heard her thoughts—he turned and glanced at her, then started back to them.

“Back off of Adam, okay?” she whispered to Laura.

Jared called from the cave. “Come on in, guys. Get out of the rain.”

“Go ahead, Cobie,” Laura said. “Jen and I will go next—then Adam can be last.”

Cobie feared what her friends might say to Adam if she left them alone. Maybe she should let them have their say, but Adam had saved her life. That couldn’t make up for the past—no way—but the least she could do in return was save him from her friends.

“No, you go ahead,” she said. “Then Jen.”

“What are you doing?” Laura angled her head, her silent question ringing loudly in Cobie’s ears. Why are you staying behind with Adam?

“I need to talk to him alone, okay?” It was the only answer Laura would accept.

Her friend frowned. Shrugging, she slipped into the cave. Jen followed. Cobie had forgotten how overbearing Laura could be.

When Laura and Jen had disappeared inside, Adam approached. He studied her. What was he thinking? Okay, maybe she made a mistake. Maybe she didn’t exactly want to be left alone with him.

“Is that true?” Adam lifted his hand as though he would reach out to her but then dropped it.

“Is what true?”

“You told Laura you needed to talk to me alone.”

How did she answer that? “Um...honestly, I was protecting you.”

His questioning frown shifted into that knee-weakening grin that had won her heart years ago. A mistake, she’d definitely made a mistake.

“I’m not sure what I need protection from, but I won’t reject your offer.”

“It’s not what—it’s who. I didn’t want my friends to say anything to you.”

His grin dropped. He scraped a hand over his face. “Yeah, they’re pretty brutal. I appreciate your effort, but I can’t blame your friends for their low opinion of me. They’re trying to help you.”

Cobie saw the question in Adam’s shimmering blue eyes. All the lush greenery had turned his eyes more blue today, and they asked Cobie if she had a low opinion of him. She hadn’t yet decided. Regardless, there could be no future for them. That much she knew. Funny how nothing much had changed there. When she was younger and Brad was still alive, she had had such a huge crush on Adam and he never once looked at her. She hadn’t thought there could be a future then, either.

An odd feeling swirled up inside and rolled over the dingy walls of her heart. The way Adam looked at her now, she almost got the sense that he looked at her as more than his best friend’s sister. He looked at her like a woman—a desirable woman. In all her years of dreaming about him, she’d never seen that in his eyes.

She gasped for air. “I’d better go.” She made for the cave.

“Hold on, Cobie.” Adam adjusted her helmet. Squatted enough to be at eye level while he did it. Why did his nearness make her insides shaky like this? She was a traitor to let the man she blamed for her brother’s death affect her this way.

“What are you doing?” She moved to step away.

“Wait.” He messed with the headlamp. Then he flashed her his triple-threat grin. Oh, God, help me. I don’t know if I can do this.

Cobie swallowed. “I can take care of myself.” She stepped back from him, but not nearly far enough.

“Of course you can.” Adam crossed his arms. “Just like I can protect myself from your friends, but I’m not opposed to letting you fight for me.”

Cobie crushed down the fierce need to express her frustration. He turned everything into playful banter, and she didn’t want to play games with him. The events of today were certainly not unfolding the way she’d expected.

Waves crashed against the rocky edges of the island, reminding her that somewhere near was the bluff she’d jumped from. Part of her wanted to back out of exploring the cave.

“Cobie, neither of us planned this today. I know being here with me, going into this cave, brings back a lot of unwanted memories. But maybe there are some good ones, too.” Adam closed the distance she’d just created. “I—”

Laura slid out of the small crack in the limestone.

“You guys coming or what?” Though half her face was covered in mud, Cobie could see that Laura’s eyes held concern. “Cobie? Are you sure you want to do this?”

Laura and Jen had both taken time off from their jobs and families and traveled to meet her. She’d asked a lot of them, especially since she hadn’t had much contact with them since Brad’s death.

“Yes. I’m sure.” Cobie glanced at Adam. “I need to finish this while I’m here. And after it’s over, I need to move on with my life.”

Something flashed in Adam’s eyes. Regret? Hurt? Cobie wasn’t sure. When he didn’t say anything, Cobie followed Laura into the cave—a dark and muddy chute that she slid down until it delivered her into a cavern. When she arrived, she was grateful for the multiple headlamps spread out like streetlights.

Cobie climbed to her feet and carefully stepped out of the slippery stream that continued twisting through the cave. Her headlamp lit up the limestone walls marbled with white and black and gray. She wanted to lay her hand over them but didn’t want to cause any damage. The limestone was fragile enough she could easily chip a small piece off with one touch. Everywhere she looked, beauty and wonder met her gaze. Adam wasn’t kidding about the mixed memories connected to caving, but for this moment, she tried to focus on the good ones. And make new ones.

Adam came down the chute after her and joined his friends in exploring and surveying the cave. They had work to do, after all, and Cobie would leave them to it. Jen and Laura explored the far wall of the ten-foot-tall room, and Cobie hadn’t caught up to them yet.

She tried to picture her father standing here, at this very spot. Had he come to the cave in search of something for his job as a scientist, or for the sheer love of caving? If so, he hadn’t mentioned either reason in his journal. He hadn’t written in the journal religiously, and most of his notes were vague ramblings regarding people he met or a day on his job as an archaeologist. But most of the writing were old, except for a few notes about this cave. Nothing that held her attention or stood out. That’s why Cobie hadn’t paid much attention to the fact that pages had been torn from his journal after the mention of the cave.

Maybe Adam was right to think that her father’s disappearance had something to do with the man who had tried to kill her. The big question was what did this cave have to do with any of it? How long would it take them to map a caving system like this, which could have innumerable passages, loops, crawlways and rooms?

“Hey, guys,” she called to Laura and Jen. “I see a room through this tight spot. Just going to explore. I’ll be back up in a few.” They nodded their acknowledgment.

Cobie squeezed through, her headlamp easily illuminating the next passage. She noticed a small spring emerging and water streaming away beneath the wall where she couldn’t follow. And in the shadows, she saw something else.

Had someone left a pack? Was it her father’s pack? Her heart skipped, and she held her breath. It couldn’t be that easy. This couldn’t belong to her father. She crept closer to what she thought was a pack.

Instead she found a bundle of rags. She shone her flashlight to get a better look and screamed.

The rags were clothes covering human remains.

* * *

The scream echoing through the cave walls pierced Adam’s ears and sent his heart into his throat. “Cobie!”

Where had she gone? They were supposed to stick together. He ran back through the tunnels and rooms of the cave, keeping track of where he’d been, while stuffing the sketch pad into his pack. Then he slid through a tight space. Ray and Mel were close behind. They’d all gotten caught up in exploring the beauty of the unmapped cave.

Had her attacker come back?

“Someone help!” Cobie’s call echoed through the tunnels. Had something happened to one of the others?

“Where are you?” he yelled.

He made the first room near the entrance, the others on his heels. Laura and Jen climbed from a crawlway.

“Here. I’m in here.” Cobie’s voice came from the opposite direction.

Adam followed her voice, barely managing to squeeze through the tight passage and into the room. He found her hunched over a mound, sobbing. Without thinking about his actions, he grabbed her shoulders and gently pulled her to her feet, turned her to him and into his arms.

Then he looked down at the body.

Ray and Mel had followed him in, and they tucked away their weapons as they stood over the remains of a person long dead. Adam barely registered their words. Cobie was in his arms, after all. He needed her there, again, and this time he wanted to protect her from the world. As if Adam could actually do that. She shuddered, and he ran his hand down her back, through her hair, comforting her.

“It’s hard to say how long the body’s been here,” Mel said. “Could have been months.”

Cobie gasped against his shoulder; he thought he could feel her warm breath seeping through his rain jacket and the layers beneath meant to keep him dry.

She swiped at her eyes, shook her head and pressed her hand on his shoulder. “Sorry about that. It’s just... It’s just...” Cobie covered her face.

He suspected she remembered the last time she’d sobbed into his shoulder—when she’d learned that Brad had died. At the time, she hadn’t known Adam’s part in his death. He wanted to say more to her, but they weren’t alone. Now wasn’t the time. Besides, he shouldn’t let his past feeling for her rise up like this. He shoved them down.

“Well, people,” Mel said. “Whoever this was could have drowned. The debris along the wall near the ceiling shows the previous flood line. Or this cave could be a crime scene now.”

“And we’ll treat it as such until we know different,” Ray said.

A thick knot, gnarled with pain and guilt, lodged in Adam’s throat. Adam and Brad had been in a cave when Brad drowned. That had been an accident. A foolish mistake, but an accident. He let his arms drop when Cobie moved away. He glanced up to the gunk left near the ceiling—the signature of a recent waterline—that Mel had pointed out. This cave had flooded at some point. Had the water washed the body here? Nausea roiled at the thought, at the sight of the body.

“Why do you say that?” Adam asked. “Couldn’t it have been an accident?”

“Do you think the same man who attacked Cobie killed this man?” Jen asked.

Ray shook his head, the light from his helmet swathing across the cave with his action. This stunning underground world was destroyed by the sight of death. “No way to know if this is related. But we can be sure this didn’t happen anytime recently.”

“You said this could be a crime scene.” Jared crossed his arms. “What makes you think this man was murdered? Like Adam said, couldn’t it have been an accident?”

“I can’t know for sure how he died. But he’s not wearing the equipment he would need to traverse this cave alone. There’s no flashlight or headlamp. I don’t think he came here alone. Someone came with him or forced him inside. Either way they left him here. Or he was washed up from another room.” Ray scraped a hand over his face. “Investigating this is going to be a mess. From this point on, touch nothing else.”

“Wait, are you saying we can’t map the cave?” Nate had garnered this opportunity from the Forest Service to begin with; he would feel this loss the most.

“That’s what I’m saying. Until we know more.”

To everyone’s surprise, Cobie bent down and lifted something from the body.

“Cobie, what are you doing?” Ray demanded. “Don’t touch anything.”

She held up a ring dangling from a chain, grief evident in her features. Instead of answering Ray, she looked at Adam and held his gaze as though the two of them were the only ones in the cave, in the world.

“These clothes, they’re what my father always wore. And he always wore this ring on a chain around his neck. It was my mother’s.”

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