Chapter 7 Tessa
TESSA
Trent was quiet for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice was softer. “I know you were trying to do the right thing. But next time, trust me enough to let me help from the beginning. Okay?”
“Okay,” Tessa promised. “But I’m hoping there is no next time. I’m thinking of going into family law after this.”
“You think that will be any better?” Trent asked. “I hear that can get pretty dangerous.”
“Maybe I’ll just retire and write a book,” Tessa said.”
“That sounds like a better plan,” Ryan agreed. “Now, tell me, is there anything else I should know? Any injuries? Are you safe in the dinghy or is it damaged?”
“The dinghy seems fine,” Tessa said. “And I’m not injured. Just the stitches in my forehead from before, but those are okay. And Trent, there’s something else you need to know.”
She told him about the grocery bag. The food and water. The isotonic drinks. The phone.
“The giant left it for me,” she said. “I’m sure of it. He hid it under a tarp so whoever’s in charge wouldn’t see it. He’s being forced to do this, Trent. I’m certain of it.”
“So you’re saying the person who kidnapped you also saved your life?” Trent scoffed.
“Yes,” Tessa said.
“I’ll find out,” Trent promised. There was a pause. “Tessa, do you honestly think this is tied to the Whittaker family?”
“Yes,” Tessa answered, her voice clipped. Before she could say more, Trent interrupted.
“I’ve just had a message back from Ryan,” Trent told her. “He says, hang on. They’re nearing your location.”
“I’ll survive a little while longer,” Tessa said, trying to joke despite the fear still churning in her stomach.
“I have...” She went through the bag again, listing items. “Three peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, two ham and cheese. Six granola bars, three packages of crackers, dried fruit. Four bottles of water and three isotonic drinks. Some candy bars. Pain pills. A tarp. And this phone.”
“Whoever giant is, he made sure you’d survive,” Trent observed.
“The sandwiches are smart. Peanut butter and jelly won’t spoil in the sun.
Ham and cheese might get warm, but it’ll be safe for a day or so.
The granola bars and crackers will last even longer.
He gave you everything you’d need.” Another pause.
“I’ll thank the brute after he’s been arrested. ”
“No, Trent,” Tessa stopped him quickly. “We need to look into him carefully. I don’t think he wants to do what he’s been made to do.
You need to find someone who works with or knows Elias Dane’s cases.
There was a reason Elias was here, keeping an eye on the cottage.
I have a feeling it had to do with the Giant and the Whittakers. ”
“Okay,” Trent said. “I’ll look into it.” He paused. “I see Glory’s already on it, actually. She’s been cross-referencing everything.”
“How...” Tessa gave her head a slight shake and immediately regretted it as pain shot through her skull. “Don’t worry. I don’t want to know.”
“I knew all this before you told me,” Trent assured her. “As soon as you requested that information about the Whittaker family, I started looking into what was going on. I’ve had people monitoring the situation.”
“Of course you did,” Tessa said with a sigh.
“You just put the pieces together for me,” Trent told her. “Oh, look to your starboard.”
“Which way?” Tessa asked, not knowing nautical terms. “I don’t speak boat.”
“Your right,” Trent clarified with a deep sigh. “Look to your right. You should see them coming.”
Tessa turned her head, scanning the horizon. At first, she saw nothing but water and waves. Then she spotted it. A boat. Moving fast across the water toward her.
Her heart lurched in her chest, and she was suddenly overcome with emotion. Relief so intense it made her dizzy. Fear that she’d imagined it. Hope that this nightmare was finally ending.
“I see them,” Tessa whispered, sucking in air and trying desperately not to burst into tears. “Do you need to go? They’re close now.”
“Not a chance,” Trent told her firmly. “You stay on this line until you’re on Jake’s boat and I hear your voice telling me you’re safe.”
“Okay,” Tessa said, swiping tears away with her free hand. “Ryan shouldn’t be out of the hospital. He just had surgery.”
“Uh-huh, and the guy looks like death,” Trent told her, but there was amusement in his voice. “Did I ever tell you the real reason he could never have a real relationship?”
“No,” Tessa said, watching the boat get closer. She could make out two figures now. One at the wheel, one sitting but leaning forward like he was trying to see something.
“Well, this has just proved it to me,” Trent told her. “He’s in love with you, Tessa.”
The words hit her like a physical blow. Ryan.
In love with her. The man who’d shut her out in that basement.
The man who’d nearly died getting her to safety.
The man who was supposed to be in a hospital bed right now but was instead on a boat in the Atlantic because he refused to let anyone else rescue her.
“Oh,” was all she could get out through her treacherous emotions. The tears fell harder now, and she hiccupped, her chest tight with feelings she didn’t know how to name.
“Hey, my beautiful sister, it’s okay,” Trent said gently. “They’re almost there.”
“How do you even know where they are?” Tessa asked, grasping for a safer subject.
“Ryan stole Lori’s phone from her purse so he could escape the hospital and come rescue you,” Trent told her, and she could hear the grin in his voice. “I caught it all on video if you’d like to see it later.”
“What?” Tessa asked, confused. “How did you... You know what? I don’t want to know.”
“I wasn’t going to tell you anyway,” Trent said. “Is that engines I hear?”
“Yes,” Tessa whispered.
The boat was close now. She could hear the rumble of the engine, could see Jake at the wheel and Ryan beside him. Ryan was pale, dressed in jeans and a dark T-shirt. He was gripping the side of the boat like he needed it to stay upright.
But he was here. He’d come for her.
Tessa gathered up the supplies the giant had left and stuffed them back into the grocery bag. The phone stayed pressed between her shoulder and ear.
That’s when she saw it. A note in the bag the phone was in.
She pulled it out. It was from the Giant.
“Trent,” Tessa said, her voice urgent. “He left me a note. The giant. He says he did this for his sister. Someone’s using his sister, Heather, to force him to do these things. He finished it with a name. Ray. His name is Ray.”
“That should make it easier to find him,” Trent told her.
“Trent,” she said urgently. “Please find the giant. You have to find him fast, and when you do, you’ll find the person threatening his family. I’m sure they are. He left me this note. I’ll send you a picture of it as soon as I have a phone that can take photos.”
“I promise,” Trent said. “We’ll find him.”
“Tessa!”
Her head snapped around at Ryan’s shout. The fishing boat had pulled up alongside her dinghy, engine idling. Jake was already moving. Tessa threw him the rope on the front of the dinghy, and he secured a line to keep the boats from drifting apart.
Ryan was trying to stand, but Jake pushed him back down with one hand while reaching for Tessa with the other.
“Stay seated,” Jake ordered Ryan. “You try to stand, and you’ll tear your stitches worse than you already have.”
Jake leaned over the side, reaching down to Tessa. “Grab my hand. I’ve got you.”
Tessa took his hand, and he pulled her up steadily, guiding her over the side of the fishing boat. Her legs nearly gave out when her feet hit the deck, and Jake caught her, supporting her weight until she found her balance.
“Easy,” he said. “You’re safe now. You’re okay.”
Ryan was there in an instant, despite Jake’s orders to stay seated. He grabbed Tessa and pulled her to him, his arms wrapping around her so tightly she could barely breathe.
“I thought I’d lost you,” he said into her hair, his voice breaking. “I thought they’d taken you somewhere I’d never find you.”
The phone slipped from Tessa’s fingers, and Jake caught it before it could hit the deck.
“You came for me,” Tessa said, pulling back to look at Ryan’s face. “You’re supposed to be in the hospital. You just had surgery.”
“I will always find you,” Ryan said. “And I didn’t want to wait any longer to tell you...” He stopped, seeming to struggle with the words.
“Tell me what?” Tessa prompted.
“That I’m sorry,” Ryan said. “For how I acted in that basement. For pushing you away when all you were trying to do was comfort me. For being such an idiot that I nearly died before I could tell you how I really feel.”
“Ryan, wait…” Tessa said, her heart pounding.
“No, I need to say this. I love you,” Ryan said simply.
“I’m in love with you. And I know you don’t trust me yet, and I know you’re scared I’ll hurt your daughter like your ex did.
But I swear to you, Tessa, I will spend the rest of my life proving to you that I’m nothing like him.
That I’m someone you can trust. Someone who will love you and Maggie with everything I have. ”
Tessa felt fresh tears streaming down her face. “Ryan…” she swallowed down the lump in her throat.
Ryan’s face fell. “I know. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come on so strong. But I don’t care. I needed you to know—”
“No, Ryan, I’m the one who needs to apologize.
I treated you terribly and didn’t even give you a chance,” Tessa interrupted.
“The truth is, I’m in love with you, too.
And have been for a very long time.” She cleared her throat, struggling to hold on to the emotions swirling inside her.
“And you were right about what you said. I’ve been terrified to admit it because what if I was wrong?
What if you broke my heart? What if you hurt Maggie?
But then you nearly died, and all I could think was that I never told you. I never told you that I love you, too.”
Ryan stared at her for a moment, like he couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. Then his hand came up to cup her face, his thumb wiping away her tears.
“Say it again,” he whispered.
“I love you,” Tessa said. “I love you, Ryan Brandon. And I want to be with you. I want to see where this goes. I want—”
He kissed her. His lips crashed against hers with an intensity that took her breath away. She kissed him back, her arms wrapping around his neck, not caring that they were on a boat in the middle of the Atlantic with Jake standing three feet away.
From somewhere near, Tessa vaguely heard Trent’s voice come through the phone speaker. “Hello? What’s going on? Tessa? Ryan? Someone talk to me.”
Jake cleared his throat, his voice suspiciously gruff. “She’s safe, Trent. And well... she and Ryan are having a happy reunion.”
“About time,” Trent said, and Tessa could hear the happiness in his voice. “Are you crying, Jake?”
“I have seawater in my eyes,” Jake replied, wiping at his face. “It really stings, you know. Then when your eyes water, you start sniffing.”
Tessa pulled back from Ryan, laughing despite the tears still streaming down her face. She took the phone from Jake.
“I’m okay,” she told her brother. “I’m safe. Ryan and Jake found me, and I’m okay.”
“Good,” Trent said, and his voice was thick with emotion. “Now get back to shore and call me the second you’re on dry land. I want a full explanation of everything that happened. And Tessa?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you. And I’m really glad you’re safe.”
“I love you too,” Tessa said. “Thank you for finding me.”
“Always,” Trent promised.
Tessa decided this was both the most terrifying and second happiest day of her life. Her happiest day was when Maggie was born. That was the only day that could top this one.