The blare of the TV in the background wasn’t enough to crowd out the scream of frustration that kept pinging through Lina’s mind. She hugged her arms, glaring at the four walls closing in around her. This wasn’t how it was supposed to end—her sitting in a crummy apartment on house arrest awaiting trial for the attempted murder of Effie Romeo. An inferno of hatred boiled inside her gut as she thought of the interior designer that had stolen Talon’s heart. Tears of rage bubbled in her eyes. She would get her revenge on that twit if it was the last thing she did.
She looked down at the electronic device shackled around her ankle. The wretched thing made her skin itch terribly. A hot, suffocating panic seeped through her as fingers of hysteria pricked at the base of her skull. How was she supposed to live like this? A prisoner. After the trial … if she were found guilty and sentenced to prison, then she’d be staring at bars instead of four sheetrock walls. Her throat thickened as she swallowed. Think! she ordered herself. There must be a way out.
Many would call her cruel or a monster for the things she’d done, but Lina preferred to think of herself as a survivor. An image of her dad flashed through her mind. She saw him passed out drunk on the couch, his breath reeking of alcohol. This was after he’d screamed obscenities at her and punched her in the jaw, bloodying her lip. The minute she graduated from high school, she broke out of her horrible upbringing by taking off to LA to become an actress.
Lina’s need to escape the ugliness of her reality fueled her desire to act. When her dad berated her, she’d pretend that she was being lavished by praise. When kids in school made fun of her shabby clothes, she pretended they were showering her with compliments. When she went hungry because her dad used the last of their grocery money for booze, she’d pretend that she was on a hunger strike for some noble humanitarian cause like saving starving children in Africa.
Her stunning good looks were Lina’s greatest asset, but even that wasn’t enough to forge her way into the acting world. When she could no longer pay her rent, she went back home to Rainsville, Alabama, where she worked at a mechanic shop. Yes, she stole five thousand dollars, but only because Old Man Billings kept forgetting to lock the safe, and he was too cheap to pay her what she was worth. She knitted her brows, thinking about her next job at the nursing home. Even now, after all this time, the stench of old people and urine still permeated her memory, souring her gut. It wasn’t her fault that Mrs. Adams refused to take her pills. Lina hadn’t hit her that hard. The old bat had stopped breathing. She shuddered, thinking of those glassy, vacant eyes.
She hugged her arms as she tried to clear her mind. That was the problem with being cooped up in this infernal apartment. Too much time to think! No internet. No one to talk to. How was a person supposed to stay sane?
Her thoughts drifted to her past. After the nursing home incident, Lina turned her back on Rainsville and vowed to never go back. She changed her name to Lina Holt and reinvented herself. Everything changed when she moved to Summerhaven and met Talon Chasing. While Lina may not have been able to convince the powers that be in Hollywood that she was a good enough actress to take note of, she had a knack for making men fall in love with her. Talon was no exception. Lina worked hard to mold herself into the type of woman who would catch the eye of the son of one of the most influential families on the East Coast. That Talon was also handsome and charming was an added bonus.
The problem with pretending is keeping up the act for the long haul. If only Madeline Chasing, Talon’s spiteful mother, hadn’t hated her so much, then maybe Talon wouldn’t have turned against her. It wasn’t Lina’s fault that Wesley Laramie stepped into the picture, promising her a future in Hollywood. Lina still had no idea who sent those incriminating pictures of her and Wesley to Talon and his parents. She didn’t know who sent her that text the night of her birthday party, demanding that she meet at Pembrooke Lighthouse or else the person would go public with the dirt they had on her. She pushed out a long sigh. In some ways, the events of that fateful night might’ve happened only yesterday. Other times, it seemed like they happened a lifetime ago.
Her focus came back to the present as she looked around the shabby apartment, her disdainful eyes falling on the stained carpet, worn furniture, and dingy blinds. “I shouldn’t be here,” she seethed as she balled a fist. “I should be with Talon.” Effie’s face flashed before her eyes. Before she came back to Honeysuckle Island, Lina had worked out her plan with meticulous detail, but everything had backfired.
Effie should be dead right now! While Lina was away, Effie Romeo, Miss Superstar Interior Designer, swooped in and made Talon fall in love with her while working on the hotel renovation. Now the two of them were a couple. Effie would soon live in Talon’s magnificent beachside home. She would share Talon’s bed and have his children.
Hatred burned through Lina’s veins. Forget that she’d not wanted children before. Forget that she and Talon’s relationship had been rocky and that they were divorced when she disappeared. Lina wanted children now. With Talon!
She jumped, hearing the doorbell ring. The only person who came to visit on a regular basis was her pot-bellied, balding attorney, Ellis Rutherford. Her spirits perked up. Hopefully, Ellis would have some information on who paid her one-million-dollar bail. The judge deemed Lina a flight risk due to her previous disappearance, and a bail bondsman wouldn’t work with her. It wasn’t like she could have scrounged up the 100 or 150K required to pay the bail bondsman. Just before she disappeared, Lina stole $250K out of Talon’s safe. He owed her that much for all the grief his family put her through. Lina blew through the bulk of that money living on the run for an entire year. Playing dead wasn’t cheap. Then, out of the blue, someone paid the entire one-million-dollar bail that got her out of jail and put on house arrest. Lina had no idea who her benefactor was. However, she’d been around long enough to know that no one did anything kind or noble without expecting something in return.
The doorbell rang again. “I’m coming,” she grumbled as she got up from the couch and went to the door. She looked through the peephole, a jolt of surprise running through her. Well, well. She never expected this. A crafty smile wound over her lips as she fluffed her hair and adjusted her clothes. “This ought to be interesting,” she smirked. The lapdog couldn’t stay away. Ian always was a sucker.
She opened the door, throwing him a dazzling smile as she laid on her Southern accent thick as molasses. “Ian Russell, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
His jaw stiffened with a rugged determination as he nodded curtly. “Lina.”
A cackle tickled her throat. Ian always was the brooding type. She let her eyes run up and down the length of his lean, muscular frame. “Looking good, Sheriff.” Before Talon entered the picture, she and Ian were a thing. He was uncommonly good-looking with deep-set penetrating blue eyes, even features, a shock of thick blond hair, and a sexy cleft chin. Aside from that, it was Ian’s raw masculinity and bad-boy vibe that excited her. Too bad she’d had to dump poor Ian for Talon. A sheriff’s salary just couldn’t compare to the luster of the Chasings.
“We need to talk,” Ian said brusquely.
She thrust out her lower lip in a pout and batted her eyelashes. “Just talk?” The evening was turning out much better than she’d anticipated.
“Cut the crap, Lina,” he growled. “Or should I call you Britney?” He looked her in the eye, a checkmate expression written over his chiseled face.
She flamed hot inside like someone had lit a Roman candle as she clamped her arms over her chest. “What do you want?”
He closed the door behind him as he motioned to the living room. “Let’s sit down.”
She thought about throwing him out on his ear, but that would be hard to do considering he outweighed her by a hundred pounds or more. “Fine,” she sulked as she went over and plopped back down on the couch.
He sat down in a chair across from her.
She cocked an eyebrow. “What’s wrong, Ian?” she taunted. “Are you afraid to sit close to me? I don’t bite … much.”
It gave her a ping of satisfaction when his face darkened with fury. She shouldn’t be toying with him, but he made it so dang easy. “You know,” she began, pouring sweetness into her voice, “in some ways, it’s a shame that I never could talk to you about my past. You had no idea how similar our backgrounds are—both of us growing up with alcoholic fathers. Both of us having to scratch and claw our way to the top.” She glanced to see how he was receiving her little heart-to-heart. His lips were set in staunch, hard lines. “See,” she cooed. “You and I are not that much different.”
“Growing up hard does not excuse bad behavior,” he shot back.
Her pretense of playing nice was stripped bare as she cackled out a bitter laugh. “Still playing Superman, I see. You can channel your feeble efforts into saving the world all you want, but I’m gonna get what’s mine.”
Disgust clouded his features. “Look at what you’ve become. It didn’t have to be this way,” he added under his breath. They sat in tense silence for a few seconds until he threw an annoyed look at the TV. In a flash, he grabbed the remote from the coffee table and turned it off. He dropped the remote back down with a heavy plunk.
“Hey,” she protested. “I was watching that!”
She could feel animosity radiating off him like a nuclear spill as he clasped his hands together, pinning her with a hard look. “Why did you do it?”
So, he wanted to play rough. She could do that. “Do what?” she asked innocently.
“All of it,” he growled. “You disappeared for over a year and let everyone think you were dead.” His eyes blazed. “I mourned your death.” His voice caught. “I blamed Talon Chasing for your death. He was innocent.” His features tightened. “You paid Nova money to start a fire in the hotel to hurt Effie Romeo.” He shook his head. “You broke into Talon’s home and tried to kill Effie.”
“Stop it!” she snapped, hating the way he was looking at her … like she was a monster. “Effie took Talon away from me,” she sniffed. It didn’t matter what Ian thought of her. She had to be ruthless to survive.
He gave her an incredulous look. “Is that what you tell yourself to help you sleep at night? You and Talon were divorced.” His eyes lasered into hers. “Why did he divorce you? Was it because you had an affair with Wesley Laramie?”
Her words rushed out as she spewed saliva. “How did you know about that?”
He smirked. “I didn’t know for sure … until now.” A thin smile spread over his lips. “I thought that might be the case when Talon and Wesley got into a fight at the hotel party. Onlookers heard Wesley say something to the effect of him wanting to share Effie like they’d shared you.” His voice went low and hoarse. “I don’t know why I ever fell for you.” Weariness overtook his features. “What happened to Brent Allen?” His eyes held hers. “The truth.”
“Someone was blackmailing me. I asked Brent for help. He met me at the lighthouse. Shots were fired. Brent went down. I ran through the marsh and escaped. End of story.”
“Who was blackmailing you?”
She threw her hands into the air. “Heck if I know!” She was telling the truth about that. She still had no idea who sent those incriminating pictures to Talon and his parents, or who sent the text asking her to meet at the lighthouse, or who paid her bail, for that matter. So many unanswered questions!
Speculation simmered in his eyes. “There’s more to the story,” he surmised. “Something you’re not telling.”
Ian was right, of course. There was more. But she wasn’t about to divulge everything to the police.
“You said you have information on someone higher up. You wanted to use it to bargain for a lighter sentence.”
Hope mingled in her breast. “Is that why you’re here? To bargain?”
He grunted. “Not on your life.” His words sliced through the still air. “Did Brent know about your information? Is that why he was killed?”
There’s a certain kind of power that comes from holding all the cards. She just sat, looking at him as he fumed.
A haunted expression shadowed his features. “Brent was a good man. A good friend,” he added quietly. “He didn’t deserve to die.”
Why was it always about someone else? “And I didn’t deserve to have my marriage ripped apart by incriminating pictures. I didn’t deserve to get blackmailed. Or to have some other woman steal my man.”
A humorless laugh left his throat. “You really are something. It’s all about you.” He stopped, tipping his head. “What incriminating pictures?”
She blinked. Oops. She’d let that one slip. She moistened her tongue, her thoughts spinning a mile a minute. Then again, that part didn’t matter. What could it hurt to tell Ian about it? He already knew about her affair with Wesley. “Someone sent pictures of Wesley and me to Talon. And to Banks and Madeline Chasing.” Fire burned a hot inferno through her veins. She spat out her words through clenched teeth. “Those pictures wrecked my marriage.”
A hard amusement flashed in his eyes. “If there hadn’t been an affair, there would be no pictures.”
She shifted in her seat, adopting a coquettish expression. “Why’re we wasting our time talking about nonsense?” she asked in a silky tone. “Think of all the fun we used to have together.” She made a point of looking at his lips. A dalliance with Ian would take her mind off the monotony. It was fun to watch his expression go cherry red. A spurt of power zinged through her, bringing home the delicious knowledge that Ian was still carrying a torch for her. Having the sheriff in her pocket was a bonus she hadn’t counted on. He’d driven the hour and a half from Summerhaven to Wilmington. He must’ve been desperate to see her. “I—I’m sorry.” She forced a tremble into her voice as she clasped her hands and looked down. “You’re right. I’ve done some terrible things.” She made a point of hamming up the remorse. Her lower lip quivered as she looked back up at him with what she hoped was a tremulous expression. “Help me.” She gave him a beseeching look.
“Help you what?” he asked flatly.
“I don’t want to go to prison.” This time, the terror clawing at her was real. Her chest squeezed. “Maybe if you could talk to the judge, explain my situation.” His cynical laughter cut her off short. She narrowed her eyes. “What?”
“It won’t work, Lina.”
“I—I don’t understand,” she stammered in a wounded tone.
He shook his head, loathing weighing heavily on his features. “Your manipulation and lies.”
She straightened her spine, leveling him with a look that she hoped would convey all the disdain she felt for him and every other law enforcement officer. “Why did you come here?”
He pursed his lips together as several emotions she couldn’t read zipped over his features. He took in a deep breath as he pushed a hand through his hair. “I dunno,” he mumbled. “Maybe a part of me was hoping that you would tell me the truth about what happened to Brent.”
“I am telling you the truth,” she cut in.
“The whole truth,” he countered.
No, she couldn’t tell Ian everything. That would mean giving away her leverage, and she wasn’t about to do that. It was clear that Ian Russell was now beyond her reach. Therefore, she had no further use for him. “It’s time for you to leave.”
He gave her a long look. “Brent was a good deputy. He had his whole life ahead of him. He didn’t deserve to die.”
She rolled her eyes as she swished her hand. “How many times do I have to tell you that I had nothing to do with Brent’s death?”
“After you received the threatening text, you said you called Brent for help.”
“Yes.” She wondered where he was going with this. Was he trying to trip her up somehow? She needed to be on hyper-alert.
He steeled his jaw. “Why did you call Brent?”
She bunched her brows. “What kind of lame-brain question is that? He was the deputy over the island. That’s why I called him.”
He kept his penetrating gaze fixed on her. She’d forgotten how forceful Ian could be. “Why didn’t you call me?”
Laughter rose in her throat. Her words rushed out in hard balls that clicked against her tongue. “Um, let me guess.” She cocked her head, feigning thinking. “Maybe because I knew you were ticked at me for breaking up with you?” That sounded plausible.
“I’m not buying it. You and Brent had some sort of understanding. Did you have a relationship with him too?”
She felt her eyes widen. Her voice shot up an octave. “What kind of person do you take me for?” As if she would stoop low enough to get involved with a nobody like Brent.
He didn’t skip a beat. “One who’ll stop at nothing to get what she wants. Did you sleep with him?” he pressed.
“Not hardly,” she scoffed. “Brent was a peon.”
“That you took advantage of.”
She clutched her hand, her fingernails digging into her flesh. “You know what? I don’t have to take this. Get out!” she pointed toward the door. “If you’ve got anything else to say to me, you can say it to my attorney.” The nerve of him coming in here and treating her like dirt!
His eyes were balls of ice as they locked with hers. “The only sliver of satisfaction that I can find in this situation is knowing that you’re about to be put away for a long time, where you can never hurt anyone again.”
Tears clouded her vision. “Get out!” she screamed.
He stood and strode to the door. He opened it and went out, closing the door behind him, not looking back.
Hot, black lava spewed inside Lina before it erupted, choking her throat with a guttural sob. A second later, she was weeping in ragged gasps. She was a pathetic trapped animal.
She didn’t know how long she sat there before another knock sounded on the door. Letting loose a string of curse words, she jumped up and practically ran to the door. She threw it open and began hurling insults, calling Ian every filthy word she could think of. Then, her vision cleared, and she saw the shocked face of a teenage boy holding a pizza box. She blinked several times. “I thought you were someone else.”
He thrust the box at her and fled.
“Wait!” she called. “I didn’t order this.” But the kid was almost to his car.
She stepped back inside and opened the box, the aroma of the pizza invading her nostrils. Lina couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten carbs or cheese or pepperoni. The kid hadn’t asked for payment. Did someone send her the pizza? She was about to toss it into the trash but then saw the edge of a neon yellow piece of paper sticking out beyond one of the slices. Forgetting her anger, she carried the pizza box to the nearby table, put it down, and lifted the slice.
The yellow paper was a sticky note. A message was written in block letters with black ink.
Go outside on your back patio. Midnight tonight. Let’s talk escape.
Her brain whirled. Escape? She looked at the note. Was it written by her benefactor? Could she trust this person? Chills slithered down her spine. Maybe this note was written by the person who’d tried to blackmail her. The one who shot and killed Brent. Was the person coming back to finish the job? She glanced at the landline attached to the wall in the kitchen. Fearing the line might be tapped, Lina hadn’t made any calls except to her attorney. Maybe she should call Ellis Rutherford and get his take on the situation.
No. Bad idea. What if this person was willing to help her escape? Calling Ellis could ruin everything. A tendril of hope sprouted in her breast, dispelling the heavy clouds of gloom closing in around her. The next second, her thoughts seesawed back down. She had no idea what to do.
She pulled out a chair and slumped down, staring into the distance as she drummed her fingers on the table. Finally, she reached a decision. At midnight, she would meet the person behind the note. It would either lead to her demise or her redemption.
Anything was better than sitting in this decrepit apartment, waiting for a trial that was sure to imprison her.
