12. CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 12
L iam stood at the bow of the Coast Guard vessel, his eyes fixed on the yacht bobbing ominously on the horizon. His mind raced, piecing together fragments of the chaotic puzzle that had led them here. The salt-laden wind whipped his hair, and the sound of the boat cutting through the ocean waves did little to calm his fraying nerves. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this entire scenario was meticulously orchestrated, from Carl’s mysterious poisoning to the sudden revelation of Dawn’s whereabouts. It was too precise, too clean.
As the boat neared the yacht, Wade, with a jagged line of dried blood down his temple from a head wound, lurched to his feet. In a blur of motion, Wade leaped from the Coast Guard vessel to the yacht, propelled by a mix of desperation and fury. Liam followed as soon as he could, his adrenaline surging. But unlike Wade, he was not sure he’d be able to make the leap as confidently and agilely as Wade had. Instead, Liam had to wait and board the boat with the Coast Guard.
Pushing ahead of the men, Liam’s heart pounded in his chest, mirroring the rhythmic slap of the waves against the hull. He barely set foot on the deck when he saw Wade, like a force of nature, collide with Ben with an impact that resounded through the tense air. They looked like two giants clashing in brutal hand-to-hand combat.
“Wade!” Dawn’s voice was shrill and raw as it cut through the air. “Stop!” She tried pulling them apart.
Liam’s heart nearly pounded right out of his chest when he saw the two men stop and pull apart just far enough for Dawn to jump between the two well-over six-foot angry powerhouses fueled by fury and adrenaline. The instinct to protect her pushed him forward. As he reached them, the phone that one of Scott’s security team had given him rang.
“Get out of my way, Dawn!” Wade hissed through clenched teeth. He looked at Ben. “Hiding behind a woman now, Ben?” He gave a nasty laugh. “Figures.”
“You should know all about that!” Ben volleyed back, his voice dripping with venom. “Oh wait!” he taunted. “You weren’t hiding behind a woman. You were being led around by your nose ring, blinded by a pretty smile and innocent-looking eyes! Hiding a she-devil behind them, who had you playing the patsy for her teenage rebellion.”
“Move, Dawn.” Wade’s shoulders stiffened. His voice was a low growl, dangerous and bristling with fury. “Or so help me, I’ll move you.”
“No!” Dawn’s voice tore through the chaos, raw and desperate.
“Don’t test me, sister!” Wade’s violet eyes clashed with his sister’s.
“No!” Dawn spat, her arms wide, blocking Wade’s advance. Her eyes blazing with a mix of fear and defiance as she refused to move. “That’s enough, Wade.”
Wade cocked his head to the side, glaring at Ben. “What’s the matter, Ben?” His eyes narrowed as he taunted. “Scared? Got no tricks left now that you’ve been caught red-handed?”
He reached over Dawn’s head and shoved at Ben.
“WADE!” Dawn’s voice rose. “Why won’t you just listen? This isn’t like you to just swing first and ask questions later.”
Wade’s eyes, clouded with anger, flickered with hurt. “And you’d know, right?” He turned his full attention to Dawn. “Because you know me so well.”
Ben, wiping a trickle of blood from his chin, laughed bitterly. “Oh, cut the martyr act, Wade. You’re no victim here.”
If steam could really come out of human ears, Liam was sure it would’ve done so from Wade’s at that point. Liam managed to catch up to them, sneak an arm out, and pull Dawn out of the way, feeling the tension spike as the air crackled like a charged storm about to burst.
Liam had no sooner pulled him and Dawn out of harm’s way when Wade lunged at Ben, his fists flying. Ben met him blow for blow, their anger a tangible destructive force. Their cutting slurs hit each other as forcefully as their blows. Their words came out as grunts, punctuated by the impact of fist meeting flesh.
“I trusted you, and this is what you do?” Wade seethed and swung at Ben, who hadn’t moved and had let the first hit land.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, buddy !“ Ben cut back.
The scene that unfolded was chaotic—a tempest of emotions and fists that seemed to blur the lines between victim and aggressor. Liam likened it to a barroom brawl he’d once witnessed, raw and brutal in its honesty.
“Wade, stop!” Dawn’s voice cut through the melee.
She was trying desperately to pull her brother away while sidestepping stray punches. Wade grabbed Ben by the collar and swung him against a wall. Dawn took that opportunity to jump onto her brother’s back, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck in a desperate attempt to pull him away from Ben. Her pleas were frantic, laced with fear and anger. She yanked desperately at Wade, locking her legs around his waist so he couldn’t swing her off.
“Get off me, Dawn,” Wade growled.
He tried to swing her off, opening him up to an assault from Ben, sending both of them sprawling backward. Wade instinctively grabbed onto a mast to balance himself and protect his sister.
Liam, backed by the Coast Guards, sprung into action. The Coast Guards, trained to be calm in any storm, moved swiftly to intervene. They pulled apart the combatants with firm, practiced hands, managing to restrain Wade and Liam, who struggled to get out of their grip.
Before Liam could get through the mash of bodies and extract Dawn, who was still latched onto Wade’s back like a backpack, one of the Coast Guards grabbed her and pulled her off.
“Don’t touch me!” Dawn yelled at the man who now had her around her waist, trying to be careful with her while she wiggled and flayed to get out of his grip. “Put me down.”
“Not until you calm down, Miss Vanderbilt,” the man said politely, and Liam could see he was struggling.
“Let go of her,” Ben hissed, breaking free of the men and restraining him. He lunged at the man who was holding onto Dawn, who looked like a wild cat trying to escape its confines.
“Ben, stop,” Liam intervened, stepping between a storming Ben and the poor man trying to hold onto Dawn.
Liam held his breath, waiting for the impact, but Ben dodged Liam and lunged at the man.
“Leave my sister alone,” Wade snarled.
He broke free, rushing forward to tackle Ben. The two giants plunged to the deck with a thud as Dawn turned and bit the guard holding her. The man yelped and dropped her. Liam reached out to grab her, but she slapped his hand away and jumped on top of Wade, smacking at him.
“Stop it, stop it,” Dawn yelled at her brother.
Wade spun, pushing her out of the way as he and Ben came to their feet. This time, Liam caught Dawn. His arm looped around her waist and pulled her toward him.
“Dawn, please don’t get in their way,” Liam warned.
“Let me go.” Dawn started to wiggle. “My brother’s being a hot-headed idiot.”
“I think there’s a lot of hot-headedness going on there that goes far beyond just what’s happened today,” Liam told her.
The Coast Guards switched to tactic B and went to break up the brawl without kid gloves, this time managing once again to restrain Wade and Ben as Liam’s phone rang. He fumbled for the device, trying to hang onto a surprisingly strong Dawn.
“Not now, Scott,” he muttered as he saw the caller ID flash across the screen. Scott had called him on video chat, so his face appeared as soon as Liam hit answer.
“What the heck is going on?” Scott said, hearing all the commotion.
“We found Dawn and Ben,” Liam said, struggling to hold onto a wiggling Dawn.
The Coast Guards were having the same battle as they held onto the two men, fuelled with years of pent-up rage.
“I believed in you, and you repay me by kidnapping my sister?” Wade yelled, pulling against the men and restraining him.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ben seethed back. “But like always, you rush headlong into things, not bothering to look left or right or who you knock over with you.”
“Me?” Wade’s voice boomed. “You were the one that dragged us into the mess because of yours and Bailey’s private war!”
“Uh…” Liam said as Dawn got wigglier. “Stand still, Dawn,” he whispered in her ear before returning to his conversation with Scott. “It seems we have a bit of a clash of the titans going on here.”
“I can hear that,” Scott said. “Turn me around.”
As Liam repositioned the phone, Dawn stomped on his foot.
“Ouch!” He winced.
While Liam battled to hang onto Dawn and the phone while hopping on one foot, she managed to spring free and position herself between Wade and Ben, whom Liam could see were about to break free of their bonds.
“Uh oh!” Liam said.
He rushed forward to save Dawn as Wade broke loose and lunged at Ben, sending the coast guards flying and Dawn spinning as they bounced into each other and hit the deck with a resounding thud before rolling in a ball of flying fists. Soon, the coast guards and Dawn jumped into the fray, and Liam lost track of the whirl of bodies.
“Enough!” Scott’s voice boomed from the small speakers. His command resonated with an authority that seemed to transcend the chaos, vibrating through the phone and into the core of the conflict.
Liam’s brows shot up when, like magic, all activity instantly ceased. Wide-eyed, Wade, Dawn, Ben, and the Coast Guards turned toward Liam, their expressions a mix of confusion and surprise. Their breaths were heavy with exertion while their eyes were centered on the phone in Liam’s hand.
The vessel bobbed gently as the aftermath of the brawl settled. Wade and Ben, chests heaving, glared at each other. A warning that the fight was paused but not forgotten.
“What on earth is wrong with you all?” Scott’s voice resonated with anger and authority that even made Liam stand to attention.
Ben, Wade, and Dawn all started talking at once as they tried to outdo each other and tell their side of the story.
“Enough!” Scott’s voice cracked like a whip through the air, once again silencing the three of them.
Liam could see that Wade and Ben were still bristling with anger, but they were held in check by the weight of Scott’s stare. His gaze flicked between Ben and Liam.
“Wade attacked Ben unprovoked,” Dawn said quickly, glaring at Wade.
“Taking everyone else’s side again,” Wade sneered. “Why am I not surprised?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Dawn swung around and advanced on her brother.
“Oh, no, here we go again,” Liam muttered, starting to walk forward to break them up, but Ben stopped him.
“Leave it,” Ben warned as he pulled Liam slightly away from the squabbling siblings. “This is their fight.”
“You’re so quick to defend everyone else and make me out to be the bad guy,” Wade growled back, his voice thick with hurt, frustration, and anger. “Even when I’m defending you !“ He pointed at her as once again their eyes locked in a silent war that had been raging for years. His hand shot out and circled the top of her arms. “Have you any idea how terrified I was when I came around to Liam telling me you’d been kidnapped?” His voice rose as his emotions heightened.
Liam was about to intervene but stopped when he saw Dawn’s shoulders sag as her eyes searched her brothers. “I’m sorry, Wadie.” She pulled free of his grasp, and her voice broke. She reached up and wrapped her arms around her brother’s neck. “I’m so, so sorry, baby brother.”
Liam felt a lump gather in his throat when he saw the look of pain in Dawn’s eyes as tears rolled down her cheeks. Wade wrapped his arms around his sister’s waist and hugged her as if he was drawing life from her.
“It’s okay, Dewdrop.” Wade’s eyes had misted over before his lids dropped, and he lifted her off her feet. “It’s okay.” He kissed her hair.
“I’m sorry too,” Ben said, wrapping his arms around them both.
“You must teach me that trick of projecting your voice enough to freeze an ocean.” Liam was floored. He cleared his throat as his voice was hoarse from witnessing the emotional scene. “How on earth did you manage to stop that fight like that while even the Coast Guards couldn’t physically restrain them?”
“Years of having to get into the middle of all the spats I’ve had to stop since we were kids,” Scott told Liam. “But this glimpse of tension between Wade and Ben does give me a lot more insight into things.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Liam, the phone still in hand, turned away to catch his breath, his gaze falling on the horizon where the yacht had been a silent witness to the chaos.
“Time for explanations later,” Scott said. “I’m going to need you to keep those two guys in order. I’m not sure when Harley’s back from his trip, but until he is, I need you to be Harley for a few days. I don’t want to have to put Sam in a position to break those two up.”
“Do you have a hose or shock collar, perhaps?” Liam joked.
“I doubt even that would keep those two from rumbling if it came to it.” Scott chuckled. “I’ve reset their bio bands, and I’m sending you the key to them.” He paused. “I’m sending a few for the rest of your family, Harper, and Dawn as well. Until I know whose boat you’re on and behind this, I’d like to know where you all are at all times.” He stopped. “Sorry, I hope that’s okay with you?”
“Yeah,” Liam said with a nod. “I think I’d feel much better about that.” He blew out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. “I wish there was somewhere I could send my Aunt, Lila, and Harper where I know they’d be safe.’
“I’ll come to fetch them,” Scott told him. “My wife would love to take them all for a trip to Los Angeles.”
“I thought your wife and Harper were clashing?” Liam looked at him, startled by his suggestion.
“They do, and then she misses Harper and starts to moon around the house,” Scott told him, rolling his eyes. “I think it’s a wonderful idea. Sam can go with them, and I’ll see if Harley and Jennifer want to join them.”
“I know Jennifer will jump at the offer,” Liam assured Scott. “She loves L.A.”
“That’s settled then,” Scott said. “And I’ll stay behind to ensure my brother and Ben don’t kill each other and take my sister with them.”
“Sounds like a plan. We can solve this together.” Liam glanced toward where Dawn, Wade, and Ben were now talking calmly. “I don’t think I’m going to get much help from those three. It seems it doesn’t take much to spark a flame there.”
“A lot of unresolved issues,” Scott told him. “Liam, don’t tell them our plans or that I’m on my way there.”
“When are you planning on arriving?” Liam asked. “I can get you a suite ready.”
“I’ll be there tonight,” Scott surprised him by saying.
Before Liam could reply, a commotion sprung up once again. He swung around and sighed in unison with Scott.
“Uncuff him now!” Dawn demanded as one of the Coast Guards secured Ben’s wrists with cable ties.
She started trying to release them, and another Coast Guard pulled her away.
“Take your hands off her!” Ben and Wade shouted in unison.
“Uh-oh,” Liam said, springing into action and positioning himself between all of them. He nodded toward Ben. “Release him. He’s not the criminal here but one of the victims.”
The Guard looked at the phone to Scott for confirmation.
“You heard the man,” Scott said. “Liam’s in charge.”
Ben was released from his restraints.
“How are we going to get the boat back to shore?” The Coast Guard in charge asked Scott and Liam. “We’re not equipped to tow it back with the boat we’ve got here.”
“I’ll check it out,” Wade offered, turning toward the cockpit of the boat. “It’s like a much smaller version of the Black Ocean Two.”
“It’s laid out like the Black Ocean Two, but it’s so tacky in its extravagance and overstated elegance,” Wade added. “You should see the inside.”
“Let’s go check it out,” Wade said to Ben.
The two of them turned to go look at the boat, stopped, and turned back to Dawn. “You coming?” Ben asked her.
Liam’s breath caught in his throat at the looks of sheer joy that lit up Dawn’s face. She nodded and ran to catch up with them.
“And just like that, it’s like nothing happened.” The main Coast guard shook his head as he watched the three of them disappear before turning to Scott. “Have you managed to find out anything about the boat?”
“No.” Scott shook his head. “I’m having no luck with the yacht’s ownership. The registration details are a maze of shell companies and dead ends. No one seems to own it on paper, yet it exists, bobbing there beneath your feet.”
“We’ll try and help with that,” the Coast Guard told Scott and Liam. “If you’ll excuse me? I’ll go find out if your brother is able to get the yacht started, or we’ll have to radio in for a tow.”
Liam nodded, and Scott thanked the men for their help.
“I’ll see if Sam can look into this as well,” Liam told Scott. “He has friends in all walks of life and may be able to help.”
“Good idea,” Scott agreed. “I’m sure the owner already knows we’re looking into the boat.”
“What I can’t understand is,” Liam’s brows drew together in contemplation, “what was all this about?” He glanced toward the cockpit, where he could see Wade and Ben, their temporary truce as fragile as the calm sea around them. “Why leave Ben and Dawn out here? Whoever’s behind this must’ve known we’d find them.”
“I know what you mean,” Scott said. “The false poisoning of Carl, the way they managed to get Ben’s bio band off without it alerting me…”
“Leaving the bio band next to Wade, who someone knocked out in his room with a candelabra.” Liam blew out a breath. “Even the thefts prior to all this. It’s like it was staged. But why?”
“I figure it’s either a badly planned and executed kidnapping, scaremongering, or a warning,” Scott told Liam.
“Wait!” Liam said. “When Carl was taken, the person with him said that Dawn had something they wanted back.”
“They also said they were returning something with an added surprise,” Scott remembered. “You said that was the journal, watch, and locket.” He paused. “I wonder what the added surprise was?”
“I’ll ask Dawn,” Liam said.
“Give me a minute,” Scott could be heard shuffling in the background for a few minutes before he came back. “I just replayed that recording. The person’s exact words were she was going to give back what she took. They also mentioned payback for an old friend.”
“Why give Carl a sedative that mimics that poison?” Liam was confused, and his mind whirled as another thought struck him. “Whoever took Ben knew he had a bio band on.”
“My thoughts, too,” Scott admitted. “If they knew what Ben was wearing, they must’ve known Carl was wearing one too.”
“This was a huge elaborate setup,” Liam stated. “They knew you were recording the conversation with Carl, and that’s why that person chose their words so carefully.”
“I did pick that up,” Scott agreed. “From what I can gather, two entities are working together. One wants something Dawn’s got, and the other wants payback for something.”
“Okay, so I’d understand why they may have targeted Dawn,” Liam pointed out. “But why target or set up Ben?” His brow creased. “Misdirection?”
Scott went quiet for a while. “Where is everyone else? Are you out of earshot?”
“They’re all in the cockpit as far as I can see,” Liam craned his neck to look toward it.
“Ten years ago, Ben and Wade were accused of kidnapping Bailey Blackwell,” Scott explained. “Well, it was mainly Ben, but Wade was charged with aiding and abetting him.”
“I got snippets of that story,” Liam told Scott.
“It was no secret that there was no love lost between Ben and Bailey,” Scott continued. “As soon as Wade and Ben became friends, Wade started getting into trouble.” He sighed. “You know, usual teenage angsty things like joyriding in Alex Blackwell’s Lamborghini, stealing his yacht, and a few other incidents. Whenever the two of them caused trouble, it seemed to be aimed at the Blackwells.”
“You think it was Ben egging Wade on because of his dislike of Bailey?” Liam guessed.
“Something like that,” Scott confirmed. “The night of the kidnapping, Ben had supposedly spiked Bailey’s drink and then lured her towards Wade’s sports car. Bailey told us that Ben had lied to Wade to get him to help her get to her brother’s yacht so she could sleep off being intoxicated where her family wouldn’t see her.” He paused. “But when they got to the docks, he knocked Wade out, or at least that’s what she can remember, as whatever Ben had spiked her drink with was making her woozy.”
“Really?” Liam’s eyes widened in alarm.
“When Ben was taking Bailey to the car, a security guard realized she might be in trouble and tried to stop him,” Scott told him. “Ben laid into the guy, and Wade jumped in to help out his friend, thinking the security guard was out of line. They roughed the guy up so badly he nearly never made it.” Scott paused again. “The next morning, Wade was found passed out near the docks where Alex’s boat had been moored, and the boat was missing. The Coast Guard was able to track it and catch Ben trying to get the boat started after it had been remotely deactivated. They found Bailey bound, gagged, and drugged, locked in one of the cabins.”
“What?” Liam breathed in disbelief.
“Ben and Wade told a whole different story,” Scott said. “Wade even said he had evidence to prove it, but the evidence was never brought to light, and when they were pressed for it, Wade and Ben just said they were trying to get people to believe them. They thought if everyone thought they could prove it, everyone would listen to the truth and not the words of a rebellious, jealous, eighteen-year-old on some war path for revenge against Ben.”
“Why would they say that about Bailey?” Liam asked. “I met her at Alex’s wedding. She was here for a few hours before having to fly out again. But she seemed great.”
“Mmm,” Scott answered. “That’s what I’ve always thought as well. But it’s not what Ben, Clem, Ben’s twin sister who was also Wade’s ex-fiancée at the time, their parents, and many others who knew Bailey back then have said.” He paused for a few seconds. “When Clem got Ben out of prison and pardoned a year ago, I reopened the case, secretly, of course. I went to speak to the Blackwells, and they finally admitted to disagreeing with Bailey’s version of events back then. She’d become so rebellious, angry, and spiteful. They didn’t recognize her.”
“But of course, they’re not going to say that in court,” Liam guessed. “Instead, they sided with her and sent a potentially innocent man to prison.”
“Wade, while he didn’t get as harsh a sentence, was put under house arrest for a year and a criminal record as well,” Scott told Liam. “The strange thing is, near the end of the trial, it was like Wade and Ben had just shut down and went along with the verdict. They no longer contested anything or tried to argue their version of the story was the truth.”
“What was their version of the story?” Liam was curious.
“Ben was trying to save Bailey after seeing a guy slip something into her drink,” Scott explained. “Before he could talk some sense into her, she’d deliberately defied Ben by taking big gulps of the drink. When he tried to grab it from her, she threw what was left of the drink in his face. It was Bacardi, and it got into his eyes. Ben wears contact lenses.”
“Agghh,” Liam felt his pain. “The Barcadi would’ve been bad enough, but with contact lenses.” He drew in a breath and shuddered.
“Even with the pain stinging and blurring his vision, he went after Bailey as she made a beeline from the back door of the exclusive club where they were,” Scott continued with the story. “When he got outside, he saw some men grab her and put a sack over her head. Ben tried to stop them, but they grabbed him as well, telling him he’d save them the bother of having to try and lure him out to grab him.”
“So Ben claimed they were not only after Bailey but him too?” Liam clarified.
“Yes,” Scott confirmed. “Clem hadn’t been feeling well, so Wade had taken her home, and when he came back to get Ben, he saw him struggling in the alley with three men, one of which was the security guard that they beat up.”
“No one believed that story?” Liam’s brow furrowed.
“It was decided, given Wade and Ben’s past history of pulling pranks on Bailey and their previous offenses, that their story was a well-fabricated lie in order to save their hides.” Scott cleared his throat. “Nothing they said added up, and there was no evidence of the black van Ben and Bailey had allegedly been put into.”
“But Ben was caught on the boat, and Wade was found passed out in his car on the docks,” Liam reiterated. “While they pleaded they were set up, Bailey told a different story while fighting the effects of some sedative, and everyone believed her.”
“Yup, the Blackwell Princess.” Scott’s voice deepened with disgust. “Don’t get me wrong. Bailey was a sweet kid and a wonderful woman. But she has been known to do anything to get her way no matter the cost.”
“But what would she gain from sending Ben to prison?” Liam asked in disbelief.
“Ben out of her way,” Scott’s voice was soft. “I couldn’t believe it at first either. For years, I’ve been trying to break into a recording taken from the first prototype of the Bio band.”
“Okay,” Liam said with a frown. “What has that got to do with ten years ago?”
“Wade helped me design the bio band,” Scott amazed Liam by saying. “He and Ben agreed to be the test subjects. Earlier on the eve of the kidnapping, Clem and Wade had had a fight. She’d told Wade that she had to agree with Ben, that Bailey hated her and Ben for getting between Bailey’s relationship with Wade. Clem had seen long ago that Bailey had a huge crush on Wade.”
“Ah!” Liam nodded. “But surely her spite wouldn’t have been so bad as to push her to do something that heinous?”
“I don’t know,” Scott confessed. “What I do know is that Wade and Ben’s recordings from their bio bands that night were damaged and nonrecoverable.” he sighed. “They had gotten really smashed up in the fight like someone had taken a hammer to them.” He went quiet. “It occurred to me many times that that’s precisely what happened to them. They didn’t record remotely like they do now. The data was stored on a tiny SD card in the device.”
“You think someone deliberately destroyed the devices?” Liam asked.
“I do,” Scott said. “And I’m inclined to believe it was Wade that destroyed them.”
“What?” Liam spluttered in disbelief. “Why would Wade destroy evidence that could potentially get him and Ben cleared?”
“That’s what I’ve always wanted to know,” Scott admitted. “And when I’m on Plum Island in a few hours, I intend to find out.”
Liam started to walk toward the cockpit when the engines suddenly roared to life, and the boat rocked. Liam’s hand shot out to steady himself, leaning against a window. He turned to look inside, and his eyes caught an insignia on the glass. He frowned and looked closer at it.
“Liam?” Scott called. “Is everything okay?”
“It seems like Wade may have started the boat,” Liam told him.
“I knew he would,” Scott’s voice was filled with pride. “I always told him he’d missed his calling. Wade can hack anything.”
“Scott, this may seem insignificant, but there’s an insignia on the windows of the yacht,” Liam told him as he moved from one window to the next. “It looks like a dagger with TBC curved beneath it.”
“That’s not insignificant,” Scott told him and went quiet for a while. “Sail back with my brother, Ben, and Dawn to keep the peace. I’ll be there tonight, and we can talk.”
“Why? Who are TBC?” Liam asked.
“A whole lot of trouble,” Scott said before saying goodbye and hanging up.
Liam was left staring at the emblem with a sinking feeling in his stomach that had nothing to do with the rocking motion of the boat as it swayed like a racehorse waiting to burst free from the starting gate.