Cedar Cove Collection

Her sister drove up in her rattletrap of a car, the exhaust belching oil. Leaning across, she unlocked the passenger door and shoved it open. Teri leaped gratefully inside, damp from her short sprint to the car.

“Have you heard from James?” Christie asked before she’d said hello.

Teri hid a smile. “Not a word.”

“I’ll bet he’s at your place now,” Christie speculated. “He just forgot to come back for you.”

Teri didn’t believe that for a minute. James was a paragon of responsibility; he’d never shirk his duties. Despite her resolve not to worry, she was beginning to feel anxious.

Christie was unusually quiet on the ride home.

“Does he have the hots for her?” she blurted out as they approached the long driveway on Seaside Avenue.

“What?”

“You know.”

“James for Rachel, you mean?”

“Who else do you think I’m talking about?” Christie asked irritably.

“No way.” If James was interested in anyone, Teri suspected it was her very own sister.

As soon as they pulled in, the front door flew open and Bobby rushed out into the cold, drenching rain. He practically yanked her from the car. Then he was holding her. Hard. His fists dug into the small of Teri’s back and his breathing was shallow and fast.

Something was drastically wrong. He’d been worried about her in the past, but he’d never done anything like this.

“Bobby! Bobby, what is it?”

By the time he let her go, they were both soaked to the skin, wet hair matted to their heads, rivulets of water running down their faces. He started babbling, the words frantic, incoherent.

Before he’d finished, the sheriff’s vehicle rolled into the driveway, lights flashing. Troy Davis stepped out, and the four of them went into the house together.

“So everything’s all right?” Troy said, looking at Teri. “You’re all right?”

“Of course I am. Did my husband contact you?” Really, this was too much, even for Bobby. She was only an hour late.

“Kidnapped,” Bobby said.

“What are you talking about?” Christie looked from one man to the other.

“He said he had you,” Bobby said, his eyes wide with a mixture of shock and relief. “He didn’t say it, exactly, but he implied it.”

“Who?” Troy Davis asked sharply.

“Vladimir.”

“James!” Christie shouted as understanding came. “They have James and Rachel.”

Teri stared at her, then at Bobby. That was it—James and Rachel had been kidnapped. Whoever had taken them must’ve assumed they had Teri. If it was the two men who’d originally confronted her, they’d realize quickly enough that they had the wrong woman. The question was what they’d do once they became aware of their mistake. Terror froze her and she couldn’t breathe.

The ringing of the phone cut into the room, freeing Teri from her sudden paralysis. Dragging in a deep breath, she lunged at the jangling phone. Caller ID told her it was Bruce Peyton.

She couldn’t imagine why he’d called her unless he’d somehow heard.

“Bruce,” Teri said, picking up the receiver. It took all her strength to speak normally.

“I’m sorry to bother you, Teri, but do you know where Rachel is?”

“Ah. Was she supposed to see Jolene tonight?”

His hesitation was brief. “No. I need to talk to her and I can’t seem to find her. She usually has her cell phone but I haven’t been able to get hold of her.”

“Perhaps you should come to my house,” Teri suggested. She couldn’t very well tell him over the phone that Rachel had been abducted.

Again he paused. “Is everything okay?”

“Not … really. Could you stop by at your earliest convenience?” Then, thinking quickly, she added, “It’d probably be best if Jolene wasn’t with you.”

“This sounds serious,” Bruce murmured, but without quizzing her further, he said he was on his way. When she’d replaced the receiver, she turned to the sheriff, intent on hearing exactly what had happened. Bobby, not surprisingly, was an emotional mess.

Before she could ask a single question, the phone rang again. Teri would’ve been content to let voice mail pick up when Christie suddenly screamed, “It’s James!”

She would’ve grabbed it if not for Sheriff Davis. “Let me take this,” he said.

Nodding shyly, Christie backed away, her mouth covered with both hands. Teri noticed that her sister was trembling. At this point, she didn’t know whom to comfort first, Bobby or Christie.

“Sheriff Davis,” Troy announced. He listened for a minute, then said, “I’ll send a patrol car for you. They’ll be there in five minutes.” He immediately ordered a patrol vehicle to the Dairy Queen off Highway 16, then requested an APB on Bobby’s car. When he’d finished, he spoke to Teri, obviously considering her the most rational of the group. “It’s James Wilbur and Rachel Pendergast. I’m having them brought into the station for questioning.”

“You won’t keep them long will you, Sheriff?” Christie asked.

“No, they’ve been through enough as it is.” He frowned. “Apparently the two men in question pushed your friends out of the limo and made off with it. We’ll be on the lookout.”

He left soon afterward, telling them he’d be in touch soon, and Teri made a fresh pot of coffee. She was desperately in need of a heavy dose of caffeine laced with sugar, and she assumed the others were, too. The shock was just beginning to hit her; she couldn’t seem to stop shaking.

They were sitting at the kitchen table, trying to make sense of what had taken place, when Bruce arrived. Teri answered the door.

“What’s going on with Rachel?” he demanded as soon as he was inside the house. “Where is she, anyway?”

Teri released a pent-up breath. She wasn’t sure how to explain that her best friend had been kidnapped, that the men who’d been after her had mistakenly grabbed Rachel. Apparently they’d decided to grab James, as well; they must have overtaken him and stolen the car. Had they forced him to drive?

She glanced at her watch and tried to speak calmly. “My guess is that Rachel’s talking Sheriff Davis’s ear off right about now.”

“Sheriff Davis? Why?”

“She was kidnapped.”

“Kidnapped!” Bruce’s eyes widened and his mouth sagged open as if he couldn’t believe what she’d told him.