Submerged

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.