Dark Harbor

Paula always said her parents sounded too stuffy and saw things too much in black-and-white. Madelyn couldn’t quite bring herself to believe that, though.

As the music continued outside the shed, Madelyn sank to the wooden floor.

Maybe Zach Davis was desperate to maintain his good reputation in the community. The only way to keep up this ruse was to get rid of Madelyn. She had no idea how he would have found what she was really up to. But he was probably resourceful.

Okay, Madelyn. Think.

She was in a shed. Certainly there were tools in here, some type of resource she could use to escape.

Blindly, she began feeling the space around her. Finally, she felt what she thought was a hammer. Could she bang her way out of here?

She didn’t have many options, so she decided to give it a shot. She pounded the tool against the wood, trying to make as much noise as possible.

“Please help me!”

Just then she heard a rustling on the other side. Had the man come back? Was he determined to keep her quiet once and for all?

She raised the hammer, determined not to be a victim.

The door opened.

The man standing on the other side caused her blood to go cold.

* * *

Zach blinked with surprise when he saw Madelyn Sawyer inside the shed with a hammer raised above her head. He thought he’d heard a noise coming from the building as he walked back to his truck. But he’d never expected this.

Madelyn looked frightened and rightfully so. Why was she in the shed with an unclasped padlock holding the door shut?

Before he could ask, she scrambled out, moving so frantically that she tumbled into his arms. As quickly as his hands went to her waist, she pulled back, obviously flustered. She raised the hammer again.

Her hands were shaking and her knuckles bleeding. Her normally well-placed hair looked disheveled. But that was nothing compared to the panic in her gaze.

The brief moment of relief in her eyes quickly turned to anger. Anger over what?

His concern morphed into curiosity.

“You can put the hammer down,” he urged, realizing how ugly this could turn.

The outrage remained in her gaze. “How do I know I can trust you?”

“I’m not going to hurt you, Madelyn. Please, put the hammer down. Assaulting the police chief isn’t the way you want to start your stay here.”

At that moment, she looked down at his feet. He followed her gaze and glanced at his tan boat shoes. Something about his footwear must have reassured her because she dropped the hammer on the ground and squeezed the skin between her eyes.

“What are you doing in the shed?” He felt like he should reach out to her, to reassure her, to offer some kind of comfort in the midst of her frightened state. But he also sensed that she would reject any touch he offered. For that reason, Zach stayed back, trying to give her space and time to compose herself as the sounds of the party continued to murmur in the background.

“I just thought I would check it out for my article.” She straightened her clothes—now stained—and raised her chin, some of her pride returning. She’d pushed aside her broken state, and determination now stained her gaze.

She started past him, but Zach grabbed her arm. Had a crime happened here? He couldn’t just pretend like he hadn’t seen any of this. He had a duty to the law. “No, really. I need to know what’s going on.”

She turned toward him, heat in her gaze.

It wasn’t the normal reaction he received after he’d helped someone. But nothing about Madelyn seemed normal. Not her uneasiness, her beauty, her interactions with him.

“A man locked me in there,” she said, her voice low and hard. “I don’t suppose you know anything about it?”

Surprise flashed through him. Was she accusing him? “Why would I know anything about it?”

She grabbed her purse, which was lying outside the shed like she’d dropped it, and reached inside. A moment later, she shoved her phone in his face. “Does this text message look familiar?”

His eyes widened as he read the words there. “That’s not my number, and I never sent that text to you.”

“Sure it’s not.”

As she started to storm away again, he gently touched her arm. Compassion echoed through him as he realized she was frightened and shaken. The implications of what had happened washed over him. “No, really. It’s not my number, Madelyn. Look at my phone if you want.”

She stared at him a moment, as if trying to figure out if he was telling the truth. “How do I know you don’t have two phones?”

He shrugged. “I suppose you don’t.”

“Tell me why someone would send me a text and put your name in it?”

“That’s a good question. For some reason, someone wants to ensure that you don’t trust me.”

She stepped closer, challenge in her gaze. “Is that because you’re trying to hide something?”

His cheeks warmed with irritation. She was overstepping her boundaries—big time. “You need to tread carefully, Ms. Sawyer.”

“Is that a threat?” Her hands went to her hips.

That text message had done its job, it appeared, because the woman obviously didn’t have any faith in him.

“By no means is it a threat. I just think you’re not doing yourself any favors storming into town and making accusations.”

Flames lit in her eyes just as fireworks began exploding over the water. “What am I supposed to think?”

He crossed his arms, growing agitated. “I suppose you should consider that someone must really not want you here.”

“Exactly!”

“But why?” Why would someone feel this threatened by her? That’s what didn’t make sense. He’d asked himself that question many times since her arrival in town. There were obviously things about Madelyn Sawyer that he didn’t know yet. He had to keep prodding until he found some answers. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Isn’t it your job to figure out why this is happening?”

They stared at each other another moment. Tension crackled between them. He didn’t usually have such explosive encounters with pretty newcomers in town. In fact, most people thought he was levelheaded. But there was something about Madelyn that brought out a different side of him.

“Oh, there you are!”