Secrets of His Own

And tell them what, exactly?

It was doubtful they’d treat Tia as a missing person. She’d run away from her wedding to come here to the island of her own free will.

The letter Carrie received had been a bit strange, but certainly nothing the police would construe as evidence. And as for the midnight phone call, Carrie wasn’t even certain it had been Tia’s voice on the other end of the line. The police would probably argue that Carrie had been too quick to jump to conclusions. And they might very well be right. What if she’d launched a wild-goose chase because of nothing more than an overwrought imagination?

Maybe she wanted Tia to be in trouble so that she could ride to the rescue and clear her conscience once and for all.

Okay, enough with the psychoanalyzing, Carrie chided herself. She’d once paid a therapist a fortune to do exactly that….

Her thoughts scattered as she caught sight of something in the pool. The water was so dirty she could barely see through it, but something white gleamed on the bottom.

It was probably nothing more than reflected light, but for a moment it looked as if…

No! It couldn’t be.

But it was.

A body lay on the bottom of the pool. Carrie could just make out the outstretched arms, and her hand flew to her mouth as her heart slammed against her chest in horror.

Chapter Three

Tia!

Without thinking, Carrie kicked off her shoes and prepared to dive into the murky water, but someone grabbed her arm and yanked her back from the edge. She spun in shock, her gaze colliding with her captor’s. She recognized him at once. He was the man she’d seen earlier from Tia’s bedroom.

Fear shot through her as she tried to tear her arm from his grip. “Let me go! Someone’s in the water!”

He held her fast. “Take it easy, okay? It’s not a body.”

“But I saw—”

“Trust me, you don’t want to jump in that water. Just stand back.”

Releasing her, he bent to pick up a metal pole that had been discarded near the side of the pool. Plunging it into the filthy water, he dragged the bottom where Carrie had seen the body. As he parted the water and stirred away dead leaves, she caught another glimpse of the outstretched arms.

Sick with dread and fear, she watched him maneuver the pole beneath the lifeless form and pull it up to the surface.

He was right. It wasn’t a body. He was able to lift it too easily. But Carrie couldn’t stop shaking even when she saw that what he’d snagged with the pole was an old shirt.

Stepping back up to the edge, she peered into the water, praying that nothing else was down there. But the flash of white she’d spotted earlier had indeed been nothing more than fabric. Somehow the shirt must have floated open on the bottom of the pool, making her think that she was seeing arms and a torso.

Behind her, the man tossed the pole out of the way, and the loud clang of metal against stone caused Carrie to jump.

She turned in embarrassment. “You must think I’m an idiot.”

“It was an honest mistake.”

His voice was deep and strangely unsettling. And his eyes…

My God, Carrie thought. She’d never seen a pair of colder, bleaker eyes.

Except…

She blinked away the memory as she found herself at a complete loss for words. She didn’t usually rattle so easily, but after days of worrying about Tia and then spotting what she thought was a dead body in the pool…it was all taking a toll on her poise.

And now that deadly stare.

She glanced away. “I’m not usually so excitable. But I came all the way out here to see my friend and no one seems to know where she is.” She paused, then said apologetically, “Not that you have any idea what I’m talking about. Maybe we should start over. I’m Carrie Bishop.”

She started to extend her hand, then thought better of it. Did she really want to make physical contact with a man whose eyes seemed to pierce right through her soul? “You’re not by chance Ethan Stone?” she asked hopefully.

His expression remained stoic, but a shadow flickered in his eyes. “Not even close. I’m Nick Draco.”

Nick Draco. Carrie rolled the name around in her head. It sounded familiar for some reason. Had Tia written about him in her letter? “Do you live on the island, Mr. Draco?”

“For as long as the job holds out.”

Ah. Now she knew who he was. He was the carpenter Cochburn had told her about. That would certainly explain his dark suntan and the muscles she could see bulging through his shirtsleeves.

“Mr. Cochburn mentioned that he’d hired someone to renovate the house.” She glanced up at the crumbling mansion. “You certainly have your work cut out for you. It’s a beautiful place, but it looks as if it could take years to restore.”

“I’m here to plug a few leaks. I doubt Cochburn has much more than that in mind.”

His gaze never left Carrie’s face. Tiny shivers raced up and down her spine. She couldn’t remember the last time a man had affected her so strongly. She wanted to look away again, but his eyes were almost hypnotic.

“Why did you think I was Stone?” he asked suddenly.

She shrugged. “I was looking for him earlier and when I turned and saw you standing there, I guess I just assumed you were he. Sorry for the confusion.”

“No harm done.”

Without another word, he started to turn away, but Carrie said, “No, don’t go. I’d like to ask you something.”

He waited reluctantly, one brow lifting as his gaze connected with hers again.

“As I said, I came out here looking for my friend…Tia Falcon. Do you know her?”

“Brown hair…about your size?” His eyes dropped slowly, then lifted. “I’ve seen her around.”

Carrie tried to ignore the ripples in the pit of her stomach. “Do you remember the last time you saw her?”

He thought for a moment. “A few days ago, I guess.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t more recent?” she asked anxiously.

He frowned. “Could have been, I guess. I can’t say for sure. I stay pretty busy around here. I don’t keep track of who comes and goes.”

Somehow Carrie doubted that. She had a feeling Nick Draco missed very little of what went on around him. “But it’s such a small island. If a boat came out here to pick her up, you would have seen it, surely? Or at least heard the engine?”