Chapter 19 - David
DAVID
David turned over in bed for what felt like the hundredth time that night.
Sleep had escaped him completely.
His mind kept ticking over everything that had happened. The moment Mia had stepped out of that car. The recognition. The memories flooding back. Her face. Nancy’s face looking back at him through their daughter.
Twenty-eight years collapsed into a single heartbeat.
He turned and saw the photograph on his bedside table, the one Lila had found in his room. Nancy and Morgan, frozen in time. Mother and daughter smiling at the camera, as if they had all the time in the world.
It didn’t seem real.
Then anger ripped through him, hot and sharp.
William.
William had known they were here. Had known he’d put David’s daughter and granddaughter in danger by bringing them here. Now, of all times to bring them to St. Augustine.
It took everything he had not to call his uncle right then and there, no matter that it was only four thirty in the morning.
David glanced at Chaos’s empty bed near the door. His dog was out on patrol with Dan, doing a perimeter sweep of the property.
He needed to get some sleep.
But the moment he’d laid eyes on Mor...
No.
Mia.
He smiled as her name settled in his mind, feeling the rightness of it.
Morgan Isabella-Anne.
Mia.
“That was so clever, my love,” David whispered, turning to look at the photo again. Nancy had always been brilliant. Taking their daughter’s full name and creating something new. Something safe.
“Mia. I like it.”
A noise came from the other room.
David went still, listening.
He knew the sounds of his cabin. Knew Chaos’s footsteps. Knew the way Dan moved when he raided the refrigerator in the middle of the night.
This wasn’t either of those sounds.
David slipped out of bed, pulled on his jeans and a shirt, then grabbed his sneakers with the quiet soles. He moved silently down the hallway, his senses on high alert.
He reached the edge of the living room and froze.
A man sat in one of his chairs, completely at ease. A glass of David’s bourbon in one hand. A handgun in the other.
His demeanor was familiar, but his face had definitely changed. Surgically altered. Nose different. Jawline softer. But the eyes were the same.
Cold. Calculating. Devoid of conscience.
“Hello, David,” the man said, his voice smooth. “I see you have your father’s taste in bourbon.”
David kept his face neutral, his body relaxed despite every muscle coiling for action. “I see you’re still helping yourself to whatever you want.”
His senses screamed at him.
This man wasn’t here alone. He was a coward. Always had been. He wouldn’t come after David on his own. No, he only did that to women and children.
“So this is your new look,” David said. “And I believe you even had a name change.”
The man smiled, cold and reptilian-like. “I think we’ve all changed a lot.” He drawled the words out, taking a sip of bourbon. “Look, David, I’m not here to disrupt your life. You know what I want. All you have to do is give it all to me and...”
“You’ll what? Bury me in a shallow grave?” David quipped, his eyes never leaving the man’s face. “No thanks.”
He kept his ears perked, listening for movement behind him. To his left. Anywhere.
“I was afraid you would say that,” the man sighed.
He downed the bourbon in one swallow.
Then everything happened at once.
Before David could react, something hard and heavy slammed into the back of his head.
Pain exploded through his skull.
The world tilted.
David crumpled forward, darkness rushing up to meet him.
Eve
Eve glanced at the clock on her bedside table.
Six in the morning.
She’d tossed and turned the entire night, her mind alive with everything that had transpired. How was this happening? It felt like living in some weird soap opera. Or rather, a telenovela.
She got up, took a quick shower, and got dressed in jeans and a sweater.
As she was brushing her hair, she heard movement in the other rooms.
A knock came at her door.
“Aunt Eve?” Lila’s voice. “Are you ready for breakfast? And Milly wants to know if we’re all packed for Uncle William’s. Nolan is coming to get our luggage and put it in his car.”
Eve opened the door and smiled at Lila, though her heart squeezed at the sight of the young woman she had claimed as her great-niece since the day she was born.
Lila looked like she hadn’t had much sleep either. There were dark circles under her eyes and her face was pale.
“Hi, honey,” Eve said gently. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m torn between pinching myself because I feel like I’m trapped in some surreal dream,” Lila admitted, “and wanting to go home. Away from this place and everything that’s happened here.” She gave a tight smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “But look where running away got Gran and Mom.”
“Oh, sweetheart.” Eve crossed to Lila and pulled her into a hug. “This isn’t their fault. They were just trying to stay safe, and have some semblance of a normal life.”
“I know,” Lila said, but her eyes flashed with anger. “I blame him...” Her voice filled with barely contained rage. “David. I’m sorry, Aunt Eve. I know you like him...” She swallowed and shook her head. “But look what he did to Mom... to Gran!”
“Honey, David didn’t want what happened to happen,” Eve explained gently. “He was just doing his job.”
“I’ve decided I’m going to be a surgeon now,” Lila said, shocking Eve with the words. “David is a prime example of why a person shouldn’t become a cryptographer or analyst.”
Eve sighed. “Sweetheart, there are risks in every job.” She glanced at the door. “Look at what happened to your mother recently.” She rubbed Lila’s arms comfortingly. “I’ve had my fair share of trauma in the trauma department, too. We all have.”
“Yeah, but I wanted to work for the military,” Lila reminded her. “And now... well, now I don’t.”
“Sweetheart, you still have time to decide,” Eve pointed out. “Don’t let what happened to David sour your dream. Your experiences won’t be the same.”
“Thanks, Aunt Eve,” Lila said, hugging her tighter. Then she pulled back and grinned. “Now we’d better get going. G.I. Milly wants us out of the rooms at zero six twenty.” Her grin widened. “It’s now zero six nineteen.”
Eve laughed despite everything.
As they reached the door, Nolan was there waiting in the hallway.
He greeted them with a warm smile, and it wasn’t missed on Eve the way he and Mia looked at each other as Mia emerged from her room.
Eve’s heart squeezed.
She was torn between wanting to be happy for them and being terrified. Nolan worked in a dangerous line of work. Mia had lived in the shadow of danger her entire life, even if she didn’t remember it then. Eve didn’t want more of that for her.
She gave herself a mental shake.
Mia was a grown woman. It would ultimately be her choice.
But still.
Eve could worry.
They headed down to the dining room together. The early morning light streamed through the windows, making everything look deceptively peaceful.
Erika was serving breakfast, moving between tables with a coffee pot.
Lila and Eve pointed her out subtly to Milly.
Nolan had just come back from putting their luggage in his car. He leaned close to the table. “Let me handle it.”
He walked over to where Erika was refilling the coffee pot at the long table, where all the breakfast cereals and juices were.
Eve watched him engage her in quiet conversation.
Then she felt Mia stiffen beside her.
Eve turned and saw a guest walking into the dining room.
“That’s Calvin,” Mia said softly, her voice tight. “He seems to be everywhere I am.” She paused, then added, “I know this might sound paranoid...”
“No, Mia,” Milly assured her, her voice firm but kind. “There’s nothing wrong with double-checking your gut instincts. They’re usually trying to let you know something.” She gave Mia a reassuring smile. “I’ll look into him.”
Nolan came back to the table and placed a glass of apple juice in front of Lila.
“Sorry, I had to seem like I was getting something,” he said.
“No problem, I wanted some apple juice,” Lila said, taking a sip. Then she looked up at him. “What did Erika say?”
“A guest paid her to leave a note at the front desk,” Nolan told them, keeping his voice low.
“Did she tell you which guest?” Mia asked before anyone else could.
Nolan nodded and leaned in closer. “Calvin.”
They all refrained from instantly turning toward his table, though Eve realized they all wanted to.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket.
Eve pulled it out and glanced at the screen.
Unknown number.
She clicked on the message and froze.
Need to talk in private. Don’t alert anyone at your table. Because I have David.
Eve’s breath caught in her throat. Her head lifted, and she glanced around the room, suddenly feeling like a thousand eyes were on her.
A photo appeared. David, unconscious, slumped against what looked like a wall. His head tilted to the side. Blood on his temple.
Another message appeared.
Get up, make an excuse, and walk outside to your car. Drive in the direction I will send you. If you alert anyone... David dies. And just for added measure: Know I have someone watching the rest of your group in the Inn.
Eve swallowed hard.
Her heart was pounding so loudly she was sure everyone at the table could hear it.
“Excuse me,” she said, standing. Her legs felt like jelly, but she forced them to hold her. “It’s the hospital.”
“Is everything alright?” Mia looked at her worriedly.
“Yes,” Eve said, hoping she sounded convincing. Hoping her voice didn’t shake. “I’ll be back shortly.”
She hurried out of the dining room, through the lobby, and out the front entrance.
Her whole body felt like it was shaking.
At the back of her mind, she knew she should alert someone. Hadn’t she seen movies like this? The person who goes alone always makes things worse.
But the picture of David flashed through her mind. Unconscious. Bleeding.
What Milly had told her last night echoed through her brain.
The kind of danger that doesn’t think twice about sending an assassin to eliminate threats.
Eve knew she had to do as they said.
She climbed into her rental car with trembling hands, and she started the engine.
A pinned location popped up on her phone.
She put the car in drive and pulled out of the parking lot.
Her hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles turned white.
She was pulling out of Anastasia Island, crossing the bridge back toward the mainland, when she nearly rode off the road.
A figure sat up from the back seat.
Eve screamed, the car swerving.
“Steady there, Eve,” a man’s voice drawled from behind her. “Just keep calm. Do as I say, and no one will get hurt.”
Eve’s eyes flew to the rearview mirror.
She recognized him as another guest at the inn, instantly.
“You!” Eve breathed. “It’s you?”
He lifted his hand, and she saw the gun pointed at the back of her head.
But it was his wrist that made her breath catch.
His sleeve had risen, revealing a vicious scar across his forearm.
Even after all these years, she could see the teeth imprints where flesh had been torn.
Tyson’s bite.
It was definitely him.
“Surprised, Eve?” He drawled, his voice cold and amused. “Then again, we’ve both changed a lot, haven’t we, Nancy?”
Nancy?
Eve’s mind reeled.
He thought she was Mary.
Her heart hammered wildly in her chest.
“Don’t worry,” the man continued, his voice conversational despite the gun in his hand. “I checked for scalpels. You won’t attack me as easily as you did my employee the last time.”
Eve’s hands trembled on the steering wheel.
He didn’t know.
He didn’t know Mary was dead.
He thought Eve was Nancy, alive and well after twenty-eight years.
“Now,” the man said, his voice hardening.
“You’re going to drive exactly where I tell you.
And then you’re going to tell me where David hid the evidence.
Or I’m going to kill him. Then I’m going to kill that beautiful daughter of yours.
And that granddaughter.” He paused. “One by one. Until you give me what I want.”
Eve’s vision blurred with tears.
But she kept driving.
Because she didn’t know what else to do.