Chapter 1
ONE
There was something suspicious happening around Skeleton Island. Maddy knew it in her bones. She just couldn’t prove exactly what it was yet.
Seated in the cozy work nook she’d set up for herself in her friend Blaine’s downstairs suite where she currently lived, Maddy reviewed the latest video footage on her computer screen while Loreena McKennitt’s magical voice and harp music played through her headphones.
She studied the one segment that intrigued her the most, isolating it frame by frame.
She’d hacked most of the footage from various cameras posted up and down that specific area of the west coast, close to here at Cedar Point.
It was tricky work because of lack of coverage, as so many areas around the island were still uninhabited and had no surveillance cameras whatsoever.
This particular view showed the area a little bit north of where the orca strandings had happened a few weeks ago, just over an hour before the first animal had been reported on the beach. She paused on a frame, zooming in to examine it with a critical eye.
It was faint, but there was a definite shadow moving just beneath the clear green surface of the water. Not large. Smaller than she would have expected given her suspicion. Whatever it was moved from north to south through the frame.
The military still denied any activity in the area at that time, but she didn’t believe they were being honest. All the evidence she and Blaine had managed to find thus far seemed to confirm that something manmade had been moving under that water.
It had to be some sort of a submarine. Maybe a new prototype the military was keeping under wraps? Something small and more maneuverable that could avoid detection more easily.
Xanthe was a world-renowned marine biologist specializing in cetaceans. She said it was unusual for orcas to strand, let alone for them to be involved in a mass stranding event.
The necropsy report on the dead female orca known as Onyx showed some toxic chemicals in her bloodstream at the time of death, but the levels weren’t high enough to be the cause of death.
There was no sign of disease. Her stomach contents had been minimal but normal, and there were no signs of entanglement or blunt force trauma from a boat strike.
Xanthe was convinced the strandings must have been caused by a strong underwater sonar signal that had disoriented the experienced matriarch.
A loud sonic event could have stunned and confused Onyx.
Too weak to fight the currents in her emaciated state, she had washed ashore with two of her pod members following.
Given all the information at her disposal, Maddy was just as convinced that she was staring at the source of it. And something told her the explanation behind it was even more sinister than they realized.
A light tap on her shoulder made her yelp. She yanked off her headphones and whirled in her seat to find Xanthe standing next to her, wide-eyed.
“Sorry,” Xanthe said, holding her palms up as she stepped back.
Maddy put a hand to her galloping heart and closed her eyes for a second as her nervous system grappled with the sudden spike of terror. She couldn’t respond yet because her airway seemed to have shut off.
Because it had been just like Syria. Exactly the same, barring the gentle tap.
Stop it. You’re not in Syria now. You’re fine.
Her nervous system didn’t agree.
She dragged in a shaky breath. Leaned over the desk as the shakes took hold. Shit.
“Oh my God,” Xanthe said, sounding far away. “Blaine!”
Maddy tried to shake her head. No, don’t. She’d be okay in a minute.
The trembling took hold no matter how hard she fought it. Her throat was squeezed shut, the world spinning around her.
She was still hunched over fighting for air when Blaine’s voice came from behind her. “Mads?”
Hushed footsteps approached on the plush carpet. She caught the scent of his cologne an instant before he hunkered down beside her and covered her hand with his. His touch was warm. Solid. Comforting. “Hey.”
She wheezed in a breath. Kept her eyes shut as black spots appeared behind her eyelids. God, she hadn’t had one of these in a long time. At least, not this bad. Why did it have to be in front of Xanthe?
Blaine didn’t move. He remained silent, let her panic subside while giving her the quiet comfort and support of his steady presence.
When she could get a decent breath again, she opened her eyes and straightened in her chair. Exhaled slowly, her limbs still quivering a little. She swallowed, feeling a little queasy.
“You good now?” he asked, hazel eyes searching hers.
She nodded. Licked her lips. “Yep.” She was awesome. Two thumbs up.
He glanced over at Xanthe. “Can you bring her a cup of tea with some honey?”
“No, I’m fine,” she insisted. Well, she would be fine in a few minutes. As fine as she got, anyway. That was up for debate.
“Bad one, huh?” Blaine said softly.
“Yeah. Sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry for.”
“I’m the one who’s sorry,” Xanthe said, standing off to the side by the window with an anxious look on her face. “I said hi when I came in the room, but I guess you didn’t hear me with your headphones on.”
“It’s okay. I had the volume up too loud.” She felt so stupid.
She’d only recently started using her headphones again while working. Because she’d finally felt safe enough to. And only because this office she’d set up in one of Blaine’s walk-out basement suites was her new safe space.
Since she’d arrived almost a month ago, his gorgeous mansion overlooking the green waters of the Salish Sea had become a metaphoric fortress against all her demons.
So long as she was here, she knew she was safe.
She’d placed the beautifully carved desk facing the window so she could enjoy the view, but she would have to think about changing the setup so she could see the door.
Still, she couldn’t ignore that this situation was unhealthy. An unsustainable arrangement that wasn’t good for any of them long-term. She would have to find a place of her own soon.
She cleared her throat. Squeezed her chilled, clammy fingers around Blaine’s hand in silent thanks, and to reassure him she was fine before turning toward Xanthe. “So. What’s up?”
Xanthe stared at her a moment with pretty silver eyes, as if unsure whether to say anything more at all.
“I came down to tell you we’ve been invited to a last-minute engagement thing for Willow and Tripp tonight.
Willow’s friend Bronwyn is in town. She and Mae are putting on a get-together up at Tripp’s place. I should’ve just texted you.”
Maddy’s face was hot, her heartrate slowly returning to normal, and this news didn’t help.
Social events weren’t her thing, never had been, so her first instinct was to say no.
She would stay here by herself again tonight…
like a hermit. Retreat even further from the rest of the world and everyone in it.
Until she turned into a recluse with only two friends because they all lived under the same roof. Maybe she’d eventually become too afraid to leave the house.
That stark glimpse of her future if she continued down this path stopped her from blurting out the “no thanks” poised on the tip of her tongue.
Those images scared her. She didn’t want to end up like that. That wasn’t a life.
She’d thought she was mostly recovered from the trauma of being taken captive.
Now she was forced to admit that was a lie she’d been telling herself.
This PTSD panic attack was clear evidence that she still had a long way to go before returning to “normal.”.
Even if her “normal” was a lot different than most people’s.
Now that she’d been given this critical look at herself, at what amounted to the current situation she called her life…
she was ashamed. At what she’d become. Of how restricted and insignificant her life was and how small her world had become.
She was a mere shadow of the person she’d been before Syria.
She had to do something to change that. Fast. Because something told her if she kept going like this for much longer, she would never break free of the toxic cycle she’d created.
“Sure, I’ll go for an hour or two,” she said, ignoring the spike in anxiety at committing to it.
Xanthe blinked at her in surprise. “Really? That’s great! It’s at seven, dress casual. We’ll leave at—”
“I’ll take my own car. That way you guys don’t have to worry about me, and you can stay as long as you want.
” Unlike her, Blaine and Xanthe were both social creatures.
Loved parties and other social engagements, seemed to thrive on being around others.
Whereas they drained Maddy of some of her life force.
“We don’t mind driving you, Mads,” Blaine said, pushing to his feet beside her.
“I know, but it’s better this way.” Better for all of them, and besides, Blaine and Xanthe needed more space on their own. It was time to admit that she’d become unhealthily dependent on Blaine since he’d carried her out of that concrete cell. “You know I’m not a party person.”
“I’m aware. This won’t be so bad though. Small gathering of locals, casual, and you’ll know pretty much everyone there.”
She nodded, holding back the single question burning brightest in her brain. Being socially awkward was hard, especially at social events like this. But that wasn’t the biggest cause of her current anxiety.
Nope, that was because of the potential attendance of an alarmingly gorgeous local man she’d done everything in her power to avoid the past few weeks.