Elizabeth Goddard - Thread Of Revenge

But her spirits appeared to lift, so he’d been right to share.

“Thank you, Gage. I’m glad you’re the one to find Karon’s killer. And... I feel safe when I’m with you.” She averted her gaze as if it was too hard to see his reaction to her words.

They had served only to further ignite his protectiveness.

He needed to focus back on task. “I’ll have to meet up with the other CGIS special agent and get his notes. I’ll read them tonight. But the fact that you were abducted from Karon’s house and left to drown on a sinking boat suggests there must be something in the house worth looking at.”

“And someone doesn’t want me digging around and finding out who killed Karon.”

A lump grew in his throat. He’d saved Sadie from the ocean, from the attempted murder. He prayed to God he could protect her until they caught the killer. Karon’s killer. Like his SAC had said, he wanted this solved quickly so no one else would die. Gage couldn’t agree more.

On the lengthy drive from the hospital back to the coast, he contacted Deputy Crowley and left a message that they were headed to the Casingses’ vacation house. A long peninsula separated Coldwater Bay from the ocean. Several rivers emptied into the bay bordered by a few small towns—Joshua, West Plymouth, Oyster City, Bay City and Jackson—where Sadie lived with her aunt on the cove side of Coldwater Bay. Finally, Gage steered the SUV down Oceanview Drive on the Washington state coastline, nearing the rental house where Karon had been staying.

Before him, the rock-studded coastline slid by.

Sadie leaned her elbow against the door and rested her chin on her hand. “Everything seems so surreal.”

Gage understood what she meant. Sadie had been out in the middle of stormy waters mere hours ago and had almost died. Likely would have if the Kraken hadn’t been on those waters, and maybe even if Gage hadn’t been there. Still, he wanted to keep her talking and asked, “How’s that?”

“I was just thinking about Coldwater Bay. The history of this place. Decades ago. A century ago even, this place was busy with trafficking, smuggling, and other crimes. But now it’s so peaceful as if none of that ever happened, with a thriving tourist economy. I guess after everything that happened today, I should say it only seems peaceful.”

“It seems like a dream that I grew up here and am back in Coldwater Bay on an investigation.” With you, no less! It hit too close to home. Fate was cruel or God had a sense of humor. He could decide which when this was over.

Finally, they neared Karon’s vacation house. Gage parked in the street in front, half on the grass, half on the asphalt. A sand drive led up to the house.

He shifted to face Sadie.

“It also seems like a dream that I almost drowned today. And that Karon is gone. Murdered.” She angled her head.

He wished she wouldn’t look at him like that, her soft blue eyes reminding him of moments like this in college. But several years and life experiences had changed them both. And today’s incident had also likely changed Sadie in ways she didn’t even realize yet.

She reached for the door handle. “She would never have been out in the water that cold without a dry suit.”

“That’s why things like that are called accidents, but now that it appears someone tried to stop you from interfering, we have to look deeper.” And end this before someone else got killed.

She opened the door.

“Sadie, wait.” Gage jumped out and ran around to stand in her way. “Wait for me. I’ve been put on this case now, sure, but it’s more than that. You can show me things I might not otherwise notice, yes, but the initial investigators have already searched the house for clues. Though they didn’t find anything, as you know, we should still be careful not to disturb anything that could turn out to be evidence or help us find out who did this to Karon.” He might want to bring in forensics. Since neither Thompkins nor Crowley had thought Karon had been murdered, they had likely missed something.

“Don’t you think I know that?” Her brows furrowed. “The initial investigators missed the proof. They probably didn’t even look at her computer. But I did and found it wiped clean.”

“Maybe they looked and found nothing suspicious. Maybe it wasn’t wiped when they were there, or they had no reason to even look. I’ll have to read through the report, like I said.” He held out his hand. “Come on. Let’s go.”

The sudden sense that someone was watching them crawled over him. Trees butted up near the house, which faced the ocean. Waves crashed against the rocks behind them. He squeezed her hand. Was he making a mistake?

A door shut. A man in a red cap that shadowed his face exited the house.

Gage froze. The man spotted him and took off running into the thick temperate forest that hugged the Washington coast.

“Wait in the truck.” Gage tossed the keys to Sadie and ran after the man.

“I’m not waiting here!” She followed Gage around the house and into the woods, but soon fell behind. He couldn’t leave her there alone. He’d lost the man anyway.

Gage backtracked through the trees and found Sadie behind a tree. He grabbed her hand and kept walking back toward his SUV. “This is too dangerous. I should never have brought you here.” He tugged his cell out to call for backup.

The air whooshed from his lungs as a concussive explosion slammed his back, forcing him to the ground.

* * *

Sadie lifted her face out of the sand, gasping for breath. What just happened? Her ears were ringing. Strong arms gripped her. Pulled her up and against a wide chest. Once again she found herself in Gage’s capable arms.

His face appeared blurry. His mouth was moving, but she couldn’t hear his words, understand them. But she knew he asked if she was okay.

She nodded. “I think...” How could she be sure? She focused on Gage. “Are you okay?”

He looked dazed himself. They sat there together for a few seconds.

Flames consumed the house—Karon’s family vacation house. Gage stood and pulled Sadie to her feet.

Dizziness swept over her, but she ignored it as she took in the utter devastation heating up the air around them. “Oh, no, Gage.”

Though her ears were still ringing, she heard her own voice this time.

He searched the ground near their feet and closer to the SUV.

“What are you looking for?” Sadie noticed a few chunks of the house—the roof, shards of glass from the windows, a splintered door—all these unintentional deadly weapons littered the yard.

“My cell. I was about to call for backup. Now we need emergency services. A fire truck.”

They could have been killed a thousand times over. They could have been inside the house when it blew up. Thank You, God! Her knees wanted to buckle but she refused to give in.

“There. I see it.” Sadie pointed at his cell on the ground a few yards away. She stuck close to him as he found the phone and examined it.

His demeanor on edge, he made a call as he held her gaze. “It’s ringing. Seems to be working fine.”

Phone to his ear, he led Sadie back to his SUV and they both climbed in. He locked the doors as he relayed the information regarding the blast. When he ended the call, he reached for Sadie’s hand, hesitated, then pulled back.

“They’re sending an ambulance too. I want you to go with them. You need to make sure you don’t have a concussion or internal injuries.”

“I think I’d know if I did.” Wouldn’t she? Though she couldn’t say she’d ever experienced a concussion before, or internal injuries for that matter. “And what about you? You need to make sure you’re all right too. Don’t try to be all tough guy on me, CGIS special agent Gage Sessions.”