Rachelle McCalla - Survival Instinct

“I do know. But once the land goes into easement, it can’t be developed-not even by future owners.”

“Exactly.” Scott gave her hand a squeeze. “That’s why it makes sense that Mitch would be in a hurry to get me and Mom out of the picture before the easement goes through.”

“In enough of a hurry that he’d resort to desperate behavior.” Abby squinted her eyes with comprehension.

“The kind of desperate behavior that got him killed,” Scott finished for her.

“I still have trouble accepting the fact that Trevor shot him. I mean, I knew as well as anyone that he wasn’t a very nice guy. But to be involved in all this, and then to shoot Mitch.”

“I feel the same way about Mitch,” Scott agreed. “I never liked him, but even when everything started to point to him, I still had trouble believing he’d stoop so low. I guess familiarity breeds trust, even when it’s completely unfounded.”

“You’re probably right.” Abby made a face. “And to be honest, I’m not entirely surprised. Trevor’s one of the few people in this world who I can actually imagine killing someone in cold blood. He just has a sinister personality.”

As the boat made headway through the maze of islands, Scott considered Abby’s words. She sounded as though she’d accepted that Trevor’s act hadn’t been accidental. But at the same time, her words didn’t sound vengeful like those of other scorned lovers he’d counseled. No, she simply sounded as though she knew Trevor well enough to see past his façade. “It always puzzled me that you dated him in college.”

Once again, Abby shuddered, and her shiver radiated through their thick coats, causing Scott’s own spine to tingle. “I didn’t know who he was,” Abby mused aloud. “That’s part of why I find him so disturbing. When we first met, he was so charming, the perfect gentleman. Even though he wasn’t the most handsome guy, all the girls in my dorm adored him. When he singled me out, I felt like Cinderella at the ball. But the closer we became, the more I was able to see through him. I didn’t like what I saw.”

“But you stayed together?”

“I tried to break up with him several times,” Abby admitted, “but he always managed to get me back. Sometimes he acted like he didn’t care, told me no one else would ever love me.”

“That’s emotional abuse.” Scott felt the anger rise inside him at the way Trevor had treated Abby.

“I know.” Abby sighed. “But he was so subtle, so convincing. I’ve often wondered since why he bothered with me. It was almost as though he felt driven to torture someone, and I was the lucky girl. I’ve never understood why he picked me.”

“A lot of guys liked you,” Scott informed her matter-of-factly.

Abby blew out a disbelieving shout of air before popping the last of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich into her mouth. After she swallowed, she explained, “Trevor was the only guy who asked me out during my entire four years of college. And you could hardly say I was the prettiest girl there.”

“I’ve always thought you were pretty. In fact, I thought about asking you out, but Trevor beat me to it. Remember how the two of you always walked together to the cafeteria after poetry class?”

Abby rolled her eyes. “Yes.”

“Well, one day you were gone from class-”

“I only missed one day,” Abby cut in. “That must have been when I had that terrible flu.”

“I remember that going around,” Scott acknowledged. “That sounds about right. Anyway, Trevor was waiting there for you at the bottom of the steps. I’d been mulling over whether I should ask you out but I didn’t know if you were seeing anyone. I figured you were friends with Trevor, so I asked him.”

“What did he say?”

“He said the two of you were dating.”

For a moment, Abby’s face froze. Then her eyebrows knit into a sharp scowl. “But we weren’t dating. Not when I had the flu. It wasn’t until after that…very soon after that.”

“So he lied to me.” Scott’s estimation of Trevor sank even lower. “It figures.”

“Scott.” Abby squeezed his hand. “I think I know now why Trevor picked me.”

Her words sparked realization in his mind. “Because of me?”

“Because if the star quarterback was interested in me, then suddenly I was desirable. He’d been playing the field until then.”

With a sinking stomach, Scott realized Abby was probably right. He crunched some trail mix with a disgruntled scowl before chiding himself. “I led him to you. I caused the whole mess he made of your life, all the emotional abuse, everything. I should never have bothered asking Trevor about you. I should have just asked you out.”

“I wish you would have.”

Her soft words and gentle smile only made Scott feel that much worse for what had happened all those years before. He hated that he’d been a part of Abby’s painful past, even if he’d had innocent intentions at the time. And he hated that he’d let her slip past him all those years ago. He should have followed his heart and asked her out then. It was a mistake he wouldn’t allow himself to repeat. He vowed to ask her out as soon as he had the chance-if he got the chance.

Abby felt like an idiot. As Scott sat silently beside her, his expression intense, maybe even angry, she realized how absurd it was to allow herself to develop feelings for him, much less hint that she’d be open to a relationship. I wish you would have. She sounded as though she was begging him to date her!

He probably thought she was one of those angry ex-girlfriends who had nothing better to do than complain about the way the last guy had treated them. She cringed as she recalled the way she’d described Trevor’s behavior. Scott was a counselor. He probably got his fill of vindictive women whining during the week. Complaining about her ex was no way to attract Scott to her-not that she had any business trying to attract him.

Deep as her feelings already were for him, his poor mother was missing. She needed to focus on the job ahead and keep her mouth shut. Even if Scott liked her, even a tiny bit, he lived in Minnesota-too far away to develop any sort of ongoing relationship. She would do well to remember that.

“There’s Devil’s Island.” Scott’s words pulled her from her thoughts.

She looked up and saw the island, its bright fall leaves eradicated by the previous night’s wind, leaving bare skeletal tree branches stabbing morosely at the skyline. Abby hadn’t liked the look of Devil’s Island the day before. Now the sight of it filled her with cold dread, and she began to silently pray all the more fiercely that God would keep Marilyn safe.

“What’s our plan?” she asked aloud, wondering if Scott and Tracie had discussed the next step while they’d been loading supplies.

“I’m not sure, but with all the kayaking equipment we loaded, there’s a chance we might be spending some time in the water.”

“It’s a good day for it,” Abby acknowledged, noting the way their wake cut through the otherwise smooth sea. “Just cold.”

“Cold isn’t so bad as long as we don’t get wet.”

Abby stifled a giggle, relieved to know they wouldn’t be risking as much as they had on their canoe trip the day before. “No kidding.”

As the crew docked the boat, Tracie stepped over to talk to them. “Do you two have any ideas about where we should be looking?”

“I thought you were the expert on that,” Scott noted.

Tracie shook her head. “We looked everywhere last night, but it was dark and stormy. There’s a lot we may have missed. Besides, if Marilyn has only recently been returned to the island, we’ll have to recheck everything. I’m sure once all our extra manpower gets here we’ll draw up an organized plan, but for now, you might as well just start searching.”