Chapter 5 Ryan
RYAN
Ryan’s world narrowed to a single point. The phone in Lori’s hand. Trent’s voice coming through the speaker. And the words that made his blood run cold.
Eight miles off the coast of Nantucket, and moving farther out into the Atlantic Ocean.
Tessa was on a boat. In the ocean. The one place she would never willingly go because sailing made her violently seasick, and she was scared of being so far out in the sea. Which meant she wasn’t there by choice.
Someone had taken her out to sea or… he swallowed, and his heart jumped into his throat, had sent her out to sea on her own.
Ryan’s mind raced through the implications. He reined in his mind, not letting him go to any dark places. Tessa was alive. They knew where she was now, and they would find her.
But first, they needed to buy time. Needed to keep Trent from doing something that might put Tessa in more danger.
Ryan pushed himself further upright, ignoring the sharp protest from his side. His father shot him a warning look, but Ryan shook his head slightly. He could handle this. He had to handle this.
“Trent,” Ryan said, his voice steady despite the pain and the fear coursing through him. “I can explain.”
“I’m listening,” Trent said, and there was steel in his voice. The voice of a highly trained federal agent who knew he was being lied to and was waiting to see how far the lies would go.
Ryan’s mind worked quickly, piecing together a story that might be believable. Something that would explain why Tessa was on a boat without revealing that she’d been kidnapped. Something that would keep Trent from alerting the Coast Guard and potentially getting Tessa killed.
“She went on a date,” Ryan said. “With Jake. He took her out fishing.”
There was a beat of silence on the other end. “Fishing,” Trent repeated flatly.
“Yes,” Ryan said, warming to the lie now. “You know how Tessa loves fishing. She wanted to try going out to sea. Jake has a new boat, and he offered to take her.”
“My sister,” Trent said slowly, “who gets seasick on ferry rides, decided to go deep-sea fishing?”
“She’s been wanting to try it for a while,” Ryan continued. “Said she wanted to get over her fear of boats. Jake thought it would be good for her.”
Glory caught on quickly, jumping in to support the story. “Yes, Jake just got a new fishing boat. He’s been dying to take it out, and Tessa volunteered to go with him.”
“A new fishing boat,” Trent said, and Ryan could hear the skepticism dripping from every word.
“Brand new,” Glory confirmed. “It’s beautiful. Fast too. They probably made it out past the harbor before Tessa even realized how far they’d gone.”
Mitch had caught on now as well, nodding along even though Trent couldn’t see him. Lori looked terrified, her face pale, but she kept her mouth shut, letting Ryan and Glory handle the conversation.
The lie was getting bigger now, more elaborate. Ryan could feel it spiraling, could feel the weight of it pressing down on him. But he couldn’t stop. Not yet. Not until Trent believed them, or at least pretended to believe them long enough for them to get to Tessa.
“So let me get this straight,” Trent said, his voice dangerously quiet. “My sister, who hates boats, went on a date with Jake, who apparently just bought a fishing boat that no one mentioned before, and they’re currently eight miles offshore in the Atlantic Ocean.”
“That’s right,” Ryan said.
The silence on the other end stretched out, heavy and oppressive. Ryan held his breath, waiting. His side was screaming at him, the pain medication wearing off, but he didn’t move. Didn’t give any indication that something was wrong.
Finally, Trent spoke. “So if I call Jake right now, he’ll verify this story and let me speak to my sister?”
Ryan’s mind raced. “They’re out at sea,” he started to say, but Glory cut him off.
“You know there’s no signal out there,” Glory said quickly. “They’re too far from shore. Cell phones don’t work that far out.”
“Tessa’s phone will pick up a signal,” Trent countered. “It uses satellite technology. It doesn’t rely on cell towers.”
“She doesn’t have her phone,” all four of them said at once.
Ryan closed his eyes briefly. That was a mistake. Saying it in unison like that made it obvious they’d coordinated the lie. Made it obvious something was wrong.
He glared at the others and took over quickly, trying to salvage the situation. “She lost it the other day when she was taking Misty for a walk.”
“That’s strange,” Trent challenged. “Tessa’s usually very careful with her phone.”
“She was distracted,” Ryan said, and at least this part was partially true. “We had a huge argument. I did what I usually do and made her extremely angry. She stormed off and left her phone in the park where we were. When she went back to find it, it was gone.”
That much was mostly accurate. They had argued.
She had been angry. The phone had been left in the park, just not quite as Ryan described.
“Listen, buddy,” Ryan continued, softening his voice, trying to sound casual and reassuring.
“I’ll let Tessa know you called. She’s coming to visit me later today. ”
“Thanks,” Trent said, but there was no warmth in his voice. “I hope she’s taken seasickness pills.”
“Yes,” Lori answered quickly. “We got her the prescription ones just the other day.”
“I have to go,” Trent said abruptly. “I’ll call back soon if I haven’t heard from her in a few hours.”
The line went dead.
They all stared at each other for a few seconds, breathing a collective sigh of relief.
But Ryan knew better. He’d known Trent for a long time and knew how his friend’s mind operated.
Trent hadn’t believed a single word of that story.
He was probably already contacting the Coast Guard, already mobilizing resources to find his sister.
“We need to find Tessa now,” Ryan warned them, glancing at Glory. “Can you make sure Trent doesn’t alert the Coast Guard? Oh, and call Jake. Tell him not to answer his phone for a while.”
Glory nodded, already pulling out her phone. “Already on it.” She knew exactly what Trent was going to do; she was also a friend of theirs and had cottoned on that Trent hadn’t believed a word they’d said.
“We have to get going,” Mitch said, looking at Ryan. “Jake’s coming to sit with you.”
“Oh no, he’s not,” Ryan told his father, already swinging his legs over the side of the bed. “I’m coming with you.”
“Oh no, you’re not!” Three voices that brooked absolutely no argument said to him in unison.
Ryan tried to stand, but the room tilted sideways, and he had to grab the edge of the bed to keep from falling. His side felt like it was on fire, and he could feel something wet seeping through his hospital gown. Probably blood. Probably tearing his stitches again.
“I’ll just call the nurse and get her to knock you out again,” Mitch warned, and his expression made it clear he wasn’t bluffing.
Ryan looked at his father, then at Lori, then shifted his eyes to Glory. He could see the determination in all their faces. They weren’t going to let him leave this hospital room. Not in his condition. Not when he could barely stand without nearly passing out.
He nodded slowly and lay back down, a plan already forming in his mind. “Before you go, can I get some water, please?”
“I’ll get it,” Lori offered, already pulling her purse off her shoulder and setting it on the nightstand beside Ryan’s bed.
“I’ve got the coordinates,” Mitch said, looking at Ryan, then explaining.
“Tessa installed a tracking app on my phone this morning before she and Lori left for the hospital. It shows both their phone locations and links to the GPS tracker Trent put in her watch. We have to get a boat, so we have to move. I know someone who can lend us one.”
“Okay,” Glory said, closing her laptop. “Let’s move.”
They started walking toward the door, and Ryan called out. “Keep me updated. Promise me you’ll call as soon as you know anything.”
“We will,” Mitch promised. “You just rest and heal. We’ll bring Tessa back.”
They left, and the moment the door closed behind them, Ryan reached over to the nightstand and hooked Lori’s phone from her purse.
He pulled it under the covers, hiding it from view.
He wasn’t proud of what he’d just done, stealing from Lori like that.
But there was absolutely no way he was going to sit this out.
Not when Tessa was out there somewhere, scared and alone, probably thinking no one was coming for her.
The door opened again, and Ryan quickly tucked the phone deeper under the blanket as Lori came back in carrying a cup of crushed ice.
She leaned over and kissed his cheek gently. “I’ll call you as soon as we know anything, okay? As soon as we find her.”
“I don’t have a phone,” Ryan pointed out.
“We’ll call Jake,” Lori told him. “He’ll have his phone with him.”
Ryan nodded. “Do you have Tessa’s tracking app on your phone too?”
Lori’s expression softened. “I have a tracking app on my phone. Trent installed it years ago, after my husband died.” She smiled sadly. “He already knew what Trevor was inadvertently involved in.”
She picked up her purse, seemingly unaware that it felt lighter than it should. “I’d better go. They’re waiting for me.”
She kissed his cheek again and left, closing the door softly behind her.
The moment she was gone, Ryan pulled out her phone and started going through the apps. “I really should tell Lori to password-protect her phone,” he muttered to himself.
He found a familiar-looking app and raised his eyebrows at the tracking app. “Geez, Trent. You really don’t trust anyone, do you?”
Ryan opened the app and was amazed to find it was already logged in. “I really have to get Lori to password-protect her phone,” he said again, shaking his head.