Chapter 6 Tessa
TESSA
The first thing Tessa became aware of was the nausea.
It rolled through her stomach in waves, matching the rhythm of something beneath her. Bobbing. She was bobbing. Up and down, up and down, in a sickening pattern that made her want to vomit.
The second thing she became aware of was that her mouth tasted like chemicals.
Like she’d gargled with rubbing alcohol and paint thinner.
Wait, she knew this taste—Chloroform. Why on earth would she have been chloroformed?
Then it hit her. She’d been taken again.
Geez, her life was turning into one of those bad movies where one of the main characters just didn’t learn, and you threw your popcorn at them on the screen, shouting.
Something rolled against her leg, startling her.
Tessa’s eyes flew open, and she sat up too quickly.
The world spun violently, and she had to squeeze her eyes shut again as dizziness washed over her.
Her head started to thump, a deep ache that pulsed in time with her heartbeat.
The stitches in her forehead pulled tight, sending sharp pains across her skull.
She forced her eyes open again, more slowly this time, and looked down at what had rolled against her.
A liter bottle of water. It was in a clear plastic, unopened bottle, sitting beside a small bottle with a few headache pills rattling around inside. And beyond that was a folded tarp.
What on earth? Why was she...
Her eyes grew wide as she took in her surroundings.
She was in a dinghy. A small inflatable boat, barely big enough for two people. And around her in every direction, as far as she could see, was water. Blue-green water stretching to the horizon, choppy waves making the little boat rise and fall with each swell.
She was out at sea. In the Atlantic Ocean. Alone in a dinghy with nothing but a bottle of water and some pills.
Panic slammed into her chest like a physical blow. Her breath came in short, sharp gasps. The nausea intensified, and she gripped the edge of the dinghy with white-knuckled hands.
No. No no no no no. This couldn’t be happening. She couldn’t be here. She hated boats. Hated the ocean. She got violently seasick even on short ferry rides. And now she was in the middle of the Atlantic in a tiny inflatable boat that could capsize with one strong wave.
She was going to die out here. She was going to die alone in the ocean, and no one would ever find her body because it would be eaten by some man-eating predator of the deep. Where was a pod of dolphins that would pull her back to shore when she needed them?
Stop it, she told herself firmly. Stop panicking. Panic won’t help. Think, Tessa. Think.
Her hand flew to her wrist, checking for her watch. It was still there, thank goodness. The watch Trent had given her. The one she’d vowed never to take off after that snowstorm incident three years ago.
She’d been driving home from a case and got caught in a blizzard.
The snow had come down so fast and thick that she couldn’t see the road.
She’d pulled over, thinking she’d wait it out, but within minutes the car had been completely covered in snow.
Buried. She couldn’t see out any of the windows.
Couldn’t tell which direction was the road and which was the ditch.
All different fears had swirled through her mind that night.
Freezing to death. Suffocating. Being found days later, frozen solid in her car, or being hit by a 26-wheeler.
But it hadn’t taken Trent long to send rescuers.
Less than an hour from when she’d hit the panic button, emergency services had found her and dug her out.
That was the day she’d made two decisions. First, never take the watch off. Ever. Second, get similar watches for the people she loved. Maggie had one now. So did her mother. She made a mental note to get one for Lori, too.
Well, if she survived this, then she’d get Trent to get Lori a watch.
Tessa’s fingers found the small button on the side of the watch. The SOS button. She pressed it firmly, holding it down for three seconds until she felt the watch vibrate against her wrist. The signal had been sent.
Now she just had to hope that Trent or Mitch would see it.
That they’d find the signal and come get her before she died of dehydration or got eaten by sharks or capsized in a storm or any of the thousand other horrible ways someone could die alone in the middle of the ocean.
Before she washed up on some deserted island. We’ve all seen that movie.
The nausea surged again, and this time Tessa couldn’t fight it. She leaned over the edge of the dinghy and vomited, her stomach heaving until there was nothing left to bring up.
Then a new fear hit her. Was there blood in the vomit from where she’d bitten her tongue? Blood attracted sharks.
Her panic rose again, threatening to overwhelm her completely. Sharks circling beneath the boat. Bumping against the thin rubber. One bite and the dinghy would deflate, and she’d be in the water with them.
No. Stop it. Squash the panic. There’s no time for that. And you bit your tongue earlier this morning.
Tessa took a deep breath, then another. She forced herself to look around, to assess her situation properly. Mom had made her join Girl Scouts when she was young. Had insisted she learn survival skills. So what did she know about ocean survival?
Don’t drink seawater. It would dehydrate her faster. She had the liter bottle of water, but that wouldn’t last long in the heat.
Look for land. She scanned the horizon in every direction, but all she could see was water. No islands. No coastline. Nothing but endless blue.
Look for ships. Maybe she could flag one down. But the ocean was empty. No boats. No planes overhead. Nothing.
Try to catch fish. What was she thinking?
She didn’t have anything to fish with. No line, no hook, no net.
And even if she caught something, she couldn’t cook it.
She could have sushi. Stop it, Tessa! She wanted to make herself feel better by thinking she’d been in worse positions before, but she was stuck in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on a dinghy with a liter of water, a tarp, and some pain pills. It didn’t get any worse than this.
Her foot kicked against the tarp, and something crinkled beneath it. Tessa frowned and pulled the tarp aside.
There was a grocery bag underneath. A plastic bag from a local market, tied at the top.
Her heart started to race as she opened it with shaking hands.
Inside were snacks. Granola bars, packages of crackers, and some dried fruit. A few sandwiches wrapped in plastic, and she could see they were simple ones. Peanut butter and jelly. Ham and cheese. Things that wouldn’t spoil quickly in the sun. More bottles of water. Isotonic drinks for dehydration.
And at the bottom of the bag, wrapped carefully in a waterproof pouch, was a phone.
Tessa stared at it, not quite believing what she was seeing. Why would...
An image flashed through her mind. Being kidnapped at the front door of Seabird Cottage. The giant’s look of genuine apology when he’d pressed the chloroform cloth to her face. The way he’d lowered her gently to the floor, like he was trying not to hurt her.
Did he put these things here? Hide them beneath the tarp where whoever was orchestrating this wouldn’t see them?
Who was that man? Why was he helping her?
Tessa dug further into the bag. More candy bars. Energy bars. Enough food for maybe two days if she rationed it carefully. And the isotonic drinks would help with the dehydration from seasickness.
This definitely wasn’t from the maniac who’d orchestrated her kidnapping. This was from the giant. The man who’d held them captive but apologized. The man who’d asked if Ryan was okay, who’d seemed genuinely concerned.
She drank some water, the cool liquid soothing her raw throat. Then with shaky hands, she pulled out the phone and switched it on, praying there was a signal out here.
The phone took what seemed like forever to boot up. Tessa watched the screen, her heart pounding, as it searched for a signal.
One bar. She had one bar of signal.
Thank you, she breathed. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
She opened the phone app, her fingers trembling so badly she could barely tap the screen. She dialed the only number she could remember right now. The one number burned into her brain—
Trent’s cell phone.
She held the phone to her ear, listening to it ring. Once. Twice. Three times. It was going to go to voicemail. He wasn’t going to answer. He was overseas on an operation and couldn’t take calls, and she was going to die out here alone and—
“Hello?” Her brother’s voice came through the phone, and Tessa burst into tears.
“Trent,” she sobbed. “Trent, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you. I thought I could handle it, and now I’m in the middle of the ocean, and I don’t know where I am and—”
“Tessa, slow down,” Trent said, and she could hear the fear and relief warring in his voice. “Take a breath. Are you hurt? Are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” Tessa managed, wiping tears from her face with her free hand. “I’m in a dinghy. Someone put me in a dinghy and left me in the Atlantic. But I’m okay. I’m not hurt. Just scared.”
“I know where you are,” Trent told her. “I saw the SOS alert from your watch. And Tessa, Ryan’s on his way to you right now. He and Jake are in Jake’s fishing boat. They’ll be there soon.”
Fresh tears spilled down Tessa’s cheeks. “Ryan’s coming? But he just had surgery. He should be in the hospital.”
“Yeah, well, apparently he doesn’t listen very well when it comes to you,” Trent said, and she could hear a smile in his voice despite the tension. “We had a conversation earlier. He and the others tried to convince me you were on a date with Jake. Said you’d gone deep-sea fishing.”
“What?” Tessa gave a watery laugh. “They told you I went fishing? I hate boats. And why would I be on a date with Jake? We’re just good friends.”
“I know,” Trent said. “Which is why I didn’t believe them for a second. But they tried. It was actually kind of entertaining watching them dig themselves deeper into the lie.”
“I’m sorry,” Tessa said again. “I should’ve told you what was happening. I just didn’t want to worry you while you were on assignment.”
“Tessa.” Trent’s voice turned serious. “I’m your twin brother. I’m always worried about you, whether you tell me things or not. And I’d rather know what’s happening so I can actually help instead of sitting here overseas feeling helpless.”
“Where are you?” Tessa asked again for the second time that day.
“Nice try. But even stranded on a boat in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, you know I can’t tell you that,” Trent said. “But I can tell you that the second I got your SOS alert, I started mobilizing every resource I have. You’re not alone out there. We’re coming for you.”
“Thank you,” Tessa whispered. “I’ll let you go so you can—”
“No,” Trent interrupted firmly. “We’re staying on this line. I’m not hanging up until you’re safely on Jake’s boat. Now tell me what kind of boat you’re in. Describe it for me.”
“It’s a dinghy,” Tessa said. “Small inflatable. Maybe eight feet long. Orange. There’s a rope attached to the front.”
“Good,” Trent said. “That’ll make it easy to spot. Now tell me what happened. Give me the short version.”
Tessa took a breath and started talking.
She told him about what had happened since she’d come to visit Lori right up until that morning after coming back to Seabird Cottage with Lori.
About finding the threatening message on the mirror.
About going downstairs to get Lori’s phone.
About the knock on the door and, suddenly, realizing too late who the person threatening them was.
“Wait,” Trent interrupted. “You know who it is? You know who’s behind this?”
“Yes,” Tessa said, her jaw clenching. “I figured it out. Well, not who the actual person was, but who they were connected to. That’s why I called you this morning to ask for those records on that family. I needed to confirm my suspicions. Then, when I answered the door, it hit me who it was.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me what those suspicions were?” Trent’s voice was tight with controlled anger. “Tessa, you could’ve been killed. You could be dead right now, and I wouldn’t even know who to go after.”
“How would you have helped?” Tessa shot back. “You’re overseas. You can’t just drop everything and fly home.”
“Yes, I can,” Trent said flatly. “You know I would’ve dropped everything. I would’ve been on the next plane home. That’s what family does, Tessa. We don’t keep secrets when lives are at stake.”
Tessa’s throat tightened. “I know. I’m sorry. I just wanted to be sure before I made accusations. I didn’t want to ruin someone’s life if I was wrong.”
“And what about your life?” Trent demanded. “What about Ryan’s life? Or Lori’s or Mitch’s? Did you think about that?”
“No,” Tessa admitted quietly. “I didn’t think it would go this far. I thought I could figure it out and then tell them when I had the proof. I didn’t think they’d kidnap me again.”