Dead Reckoning (Lantern Beach Mayday Book 2) Read online

  “You’ve already done enough.” Senator Williams narrowed his eyes as he glanced at Jimmy James. “Now you need to stay out of it.”

  Kenzie felt her breath catch. How was this ordeal going to end? She wasn’t sure.

  Please, Lord. Help us!

  “Guns never solve anything,” Jimmy James said.

  “Funny you say that, because you look like the kind of person who’s been in a few fights in his day,” the senator sneered. “The type who’d use a gun to solve a problem.”

  “Well, appearances can be deceiving. The two of you are a case in point.” Truth rang through Jimmy James’ words.

  The senator’s eyes narrowed, and he abruptly turned the gun from his wife to Jimmy James. “Don’t talk to me like that. I’m doing my best. Can’t anyone understand that? I just can’t make everyone happy, and I’m tired of trying.”

  “Senator—” the bodyguard started.

  Williams’ eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. “I’m tired of talking!”

  His hands went to the trigger as his gaze focused on Jimmy James.

  “No!” Kenzie shouted.

  Before the senator could pull the trigger, she lunged toward him. The bodyguard tried to grab her, but Kenzie slipped out of his grasp.

  Her hands hit the senator’s shoulders, and he tumbled to the deck.

  As he fell, the gun went off before slipping from his grasp.

  She held her breath, uncertain where the bullet had gone.

  Had it hit her? Was the pain not registering yet?

  When she heard a cry across the room, she realized the truth.

  Lori Williams had been hit instead.

  Jimmy James grabbed Senator Williams’ arms and jerked him from the floor. Then the captain shoved his arms behind him, subduing him.

  Kenzie snatched the gun from the floor before the wrong person grabbed it instead.

  A moment later, she heard the welcome sound of the Coast Guard announcing themselves as they flooded the boat.

  Maybe this could all really be over.

  She prayed that was the case.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Stars sparkled overhead, an avid audience to the events that had unfolded. Jimmy James stood on the aft deck and ran a hand over his face as he tried to comprehend the surreal situation that had happened on his boat.

  The Coast Guard had boarded. Arrests had been made. Evidence was being collected.

  The crew was separated for questioning.

  Kenzie was being treated by a medic. She’d gotten a scrape on her arm when she tackled Lori.

  But it was all over now, and everyone was okay—except for Lori, but she would be okay. The wound had been mostly surface.

  This yacht seemed to be a magnet for trouble.

  And trouble was the exact thing Jimmy James was trying to stay away from.

  As he sucked in a deep breath, his friend Axel strode up to him. When he’d alerted the Coast Guard, they’d let him come along for the rescue, thinking his expertise could come in handy.

  “Hey, man,” Axel murmured. “You sure you’re okay?”

  Jimmy James nodded and took another sip of water from his bottle. “I’m just glad the Coast Guard arrived when they did.”

  “Me too.”

  Despite the fact that Lori was still claiming to be a victim, they had numerous witnesses as to what had happened, and Jimmy James and his crew should all be in the clear. He’d already made a call to Mr. Robertson to let him know what had happened. As expected, Robertson hadn’t been happy.

  But Jimmy James knew that none of this was his fault.

  He thought that being here on this charter was what he wanted.

  On second thought, maybe it wasn’t. Maybe working for the elite rich wasn’t what he was called to do. Maybe managing a team of strong-willed yachties was more than he could handle. And maybe crime would always follow him, no matter how hard he tried to leave that life behind.

  The senator and his people had been escorted from Almost Paradise onto a Coast Guard boat. Once back in Lantern Beach, the children’s grandmother would meet them and somehow try to explain why their parents had been arrested.

  Another coastguardsman would remain aboard Almost Paradise while they headed back to Lantern Beach to dock. More evidence would be taken, the crew would be questioned, and they’d go through the whole song and dance again.

  Jimmy James was just happy this was nearly over.

  His eyes searched the crowd again for Kenzie. The two of them hadn’t had a moment to talk since this had all started.

  He desperately wanted to know how she was doing. How she was really doing. Beyond the physical. She was clearly shaken, as was everybody who’d witnessed what had happened.

  But Kenzie was much stronger than most people gave her credit for. What she’d done had been brave. It had required courage and selflessness.

  Jimmy James was proud to call her a friend right now. She’d been willing to sacrifice her life for his. That wasn’t something he’d ever been able to say about anyone before.

  But there was no way he’d ever want someone like Kenzie to be hurt or killed in place of him.

  No way.

  As Axel began talking to a coastie, Jimmy James stepped across the deck and found Kenzie sitting in a lounge chair.

  He and Kenzie didn’t have to say anything to each other. Instead, he pulled her up into his arms and gave her the biggest bear hug he could muster.

  “I’m glad you’re okay,” he whispered in her ear.

  “I’m glad you’re okay.” She pulled away and offered a glassy smile, almost appearing like she wanted to cry.

  Tonight’s events had really shaken her up, hadn’t they?

  She drew in a deep breath as if trying to pull herself together. Questions raced through her gaze. “Have you heard anything about Thatcher’s bodyguards yet? The ones who strangled Ashley and disposed of her body?”

  “Cassidy and her crew are on their way to arrest them. From what I understand, the work for an agency called the Dagger Group. Lori paid them both to do her dirty work. They had absolutely no loyalty to Thatcher—or to anyone. Their allegiance was only to money.”

  “What about their alibis? The one they supposedly had on the night of the murder?”

  “Axel told me they slipped out of the restaurant and paid some people to vouch for them.”

  Kenzie let out a sigh. “How did they manage to hide Ashley’s body like they did? That still doesn’t make sense to me.”

  “From what I heard, the two of them had a small rubber dinghy at the bottom of Thatcher’s yacht. That’s where Ashley fell. Then the two of them took her body out to deeper water and chained an anchor around her so she’d sink. The black boat combined with their dark clothing helped them to blend in with the darkness and water, which is why no one saw them.”

  “How did that guy get off the boat before the police were able to find him?”

  “Most likely, when you came inside to get me, whichever bodyguard strangled Ashley jumped in the water, swam to the boat where his partner waited, and they pulled away before anyone found them. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.”

  “What about that lingerie I found?”

  He shrugged. “Who knows what Thatcher had going on the side . . . ?”

  Kenzie rubbed her arms as if she were chilled. Her gaze wandered as she stared in the distance, no doubt filled with bad memories of what had transpired this evening.

  He wished he could take those images away from her—but he could only be there to support her instead. He prayed that was enough—and that she didn’t push him away.

  Her gaze fluttered back up to meet his. “Jimmy James . . . when we were in the standoff in the salon . . . I knew you’d do whatever you could to protect me. I just want to let you know how much that means to me.”

  “I’m glad you know that. Because it’s true. I don’t want anyone to ever hurt you. Including me.” He shifted. “But you were the real hero back there.
They threatened to set me up, didn’t they? If you didn’t do what they told you?”

  She shrugged. “They wanted me to put myself in a compromising position with the senator. Lori was probably going to take pictures and blame them on the bodyguards. That’s my guess.”

  “I’m sorry you were put in that position. You should have told me.”

  “I just keep thinking about those photos of you on Seas the Day. You’ve worked so hard, and you only boarded that boat to help me. What if you went to prison and—”

  “You should have told me.”

  She frowned. “Maybe. I didn’t know what to do.”

  “You can always talk to me, Kenzie.”

  She smiled softly. “Thank you. Maybe we make a pretty good team.”

  “Maybe we do.”

  She pressed her lips together as moisture filled her eyes. “Jimmy James . . .”

  He shook his head. “How about you and I talk later? Once we get back to Lantern Beach. Can we do that?”

  She stared at him another moment, more emotions welling in her eyes. “Yes, I would love that. I need to just go somewhere I can breathe. Where I can forget about all of this.”

  “I know just the place,” Jimmy James said.

  “You do?”

  He nodded. “I’ll show you.”

  “I’ll look forward to it.”

  He just hoped that next time he would be able to express his emotions a little more clearly.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  “Where exactly are you taking me?” Kenzie glanced at the water surrounding Jimmy James’ Bayliner.

  She’d thought he was taking her to an actual destination, but the ocean seemed to be the end point instead.

  “I’m taking you to the place I think has the best sunsets in the whole entire world,” Jimmy James said as he idled forward. “I want to share it with you.”

  “So, you’re not ditching me in the middle of the inlet where no one will ever find me?”

  He grinned. “I think you’ve been reading too many crime novels.”

  “Reading too many? You mean, living too many.”

  He chuckled as he continued to slowly direct the boat forward. “You’re right. I can’t argue that. Plus, you know I’d never hurt you.”

  “You’re right. I do know that.” She cast him a soft smile as she gripped the edge of the cockpit, trying to hold steady as rolling waves rocked the watercraft.

  In fact, she knew beyond a doubt that this man would protect her with his life.

  A few seconds later, he cut the motor—still in the middle of the water. He dropped the anchor before turning toward her. “We’re here.”

  “Here?” She still had no idea what was happening here.

  “You’ll see,” he muttered.

  As Jimmy James hopped off the boat, she expected him to sink in the water. Instead, he stood beside the boat and held up his hands to help her out.

  Kenzie realized that the water was surprisingly shallow in this area.

  A sandbar, she realized. They were all around these barrier islands, which made them tricky to navigate, from what she’d heard.

  She tested the water’s depth, just to make sure she was correct, before sliding out of the boat and walking away from the edge, onto firmer sand.

  “If I said I’d always believed you could walk on water, no one could argue.” Jimmy James winked at her as he reached back into his boat.

  “You’re full of one-liners this evening.”

  “What can I say?”

  She turned toward the western horizon, and her breath caught. The sun sank over the water, the clouds creating an awe-inspiring smear of colors and shapes. This was what he’d brought her to see, wasn’t it?

  “It’s beautiful,” she murmured, already mesmerized at the sight of it.

  Jimmy James grabbed a beach chair from the back of the boat and set it on the sandbar. Kenzie settled on the bright orange fabric, anxious to continue watching the greatest show of all—the sun disappearing beneath the horizon.

  Jimmy James placed a cooler and a matching chair beside her and sat with her. He pulled some bottled lemonade from the cooler and grabbed a paper bag filled with homemade cupcakes from a bakery in town.

  Kenzie accepted a lemon-flavored treat and let the delicious flavors wash over her tongue. Lemonade, lemon cupcakes, and a sunset? The moment couldn’t be more perfect.

  “Sometimes you can see dolphins out here.” Jimmy James pointed to the water in the distance as if visualizing it. “I like to come here when I need to think. Not many people know this sandbar is here.”

  “Do you bring a lot of people here?” She raised her eyebrows in curiosity.

  He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “You’re the only one.”

  Surprise—and a touch of delight—raced through her. Kenzie had to admit that she liked knowing she was special to Jimmy James. The realization made her feel like she was floating on the clouds.

  Jimmy James leaned toward her, his gaze searching hers. “Kenzie, do you know what a dead reckoning is?”

  She shrugged, curious where he was going with this. “I’ve heard the term before. But I can’t say I know for sure.”

  “It’s a term used in boating when you’re trying to navigate unfamiliar waters without any radar or other equipment you might normally use to make the passage.”

  “Interesting.” She still wasn’t sure what he was getting at.

  “From the moment I met you, Kenzie, I felt like I’ve been navigating unfamiliar but exciting waters. I feel like I’m heading toward a destination I’ve always dreamed about going to but never thought I’d actually be able to reach.”

  “I’m the destination?” Her throat tightened.

  “Maybe analogies aren’t my thing.” He flashed a smile. “But I guess I’m just trying to say that part of me doesn’t feel like I know what I’m doing. I want so badly to do the right thing by you. I want to be the person you deserve. I’m just not sure I know how to do that.”

  Kenzie pressed her lips together, sensing he wasn’t finished yet. She gave him time to compose his thoughts.

  “I know I messed things up with you after your dad came to town,” he continued. “I just want to say that I’m sorry. You’re one of the best things to ever happen to me. I don’t want to ruin that. But I know I did, and I deeply regret that.”

  Kenzie licked her lips, praying she had the right words and that she could speak from her heart. “I know you have a good heart. I do. I can even see where you might have thought breaking up with me was the right thing. But that doesn’t take away any of the hurt your decision caused.”

  “How could I make it better?” He squeezed her hand, his gaze latched onto hers.

  A rush of warmth flooded her. Kenzie definitely still had feelings for Jimmy James, despite the hurt.

  She looked away and stared across the water as the sun continued to sink lower.

  After everything that happened, she might think that being alone in such an isolated place with Jimmy James would be unnerving. But it wasn’t. She knew she could trust him. Knew he’d always look out for her.

  That was a realization she’d always treasure.

  But still . . . there were other issues she needed to deal with, and it was better to tackle them head-on than to ignore them or pretend as if they didn’t exist.

  “I don’t know that I’m ready to jump back into a relationship yet.” Kenzie’s throat ached as she spoke. “It actually takes a lot for me to open up my heart.”

  Some of the hope faded from Jimmy James’ eyes.

  “But I might be willing to one day,” Kenzie rushed.

  His eyes brightened again, but the intensity remained. “What needs to change for you to possibly consider that?”

  “I guess I just need to see with my own eyes that I’m not going to be hurt again.”

  “See with your own eyes?” He tilted his head as if confused.

  “I don’t want to put myself in a position
where I try to take a plunge only to have the person jumping with me back out at the last minute.”

  “Kenzie—”

  “I know.” She held up her hand to stop him. “I understand what you told me, and maybe part of me even appreciates where you’re coming from. I guess I just need time to test the waters and make sure that the ground beneath me is as stable as I want it to be. Maybe exploring these waters with you is a bit of a dead reckoning for me too.”

  He pressed his lips together and brushed a hand across her cheek. “I will do whatever I need to do to prove that I won’t make the same mistakes over again.”

  Kenzie felt her emotions catch in her throat. “I hope that’s true. I hope that the two of us . . . I hope we can figure things out. I guess I’m just saying I need a little time.”

  “I’ll give you all the time that you need.”

  She smiled at his words before scooting her chair closer to his. She rested her head on Jimmy James’ shoulder as she glanced out at the last glimpse of the sun disappearing on the horizon.

  The nice part about sunsets was looking forward to the sunrise the next morning.

  And that was exactly what Kenzie was doing now.

  ~~~

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  Coming Next: Tipping Point

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  Also by Christy Barritt:

  Other Books in the Lantern Beach Series:

  LANTERN BEACH MYSTERIES

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