SADIE
HE WAS HERE.
I’d seen him coming out of one of the banks with an older woman on his arm who looked like Queen Elizabeth. He’d escorted her to her chauffeured car and then took off on foot.
I couldn’t lose him.
Simon McCoy had been dressed in all white, John Travolta style. White shirt, white pants, white jacket, and white shoes. His designer sunglasses couldn’t hide his height, his sandy blond hair, or the fact that I would know him a mile a way.
I didn’t shout his name because I knew he had no idea I was following him. I didn’t care how long I had to follow him; there was no way I was stopping until I caught up with him.
Seeing him was such a shock, I’d jumped at the sight. I didn’t have my phone, my purse, anything. I knew Jaxson would be worried, but I couldn’t give up this opportunity. I had to confront Simon and find out what happened to Riley. Find out why he’d turned his phone off. Find out why he’d lied.
The wharf roads ran along the harbor, and I trailed him as he wove his way toward them.
Nausea curled in my stomach with each step I took. I was worried what he’d say. How Riley was, and yet I had to know.
Wooden schooners were loading and unloading, people were chatting, others selling fresh seafood and snacks.
Simon passed the Christ of the Deep statue and then started up a long dock.
I froze, watching him, as he strode to the end where a fifty-foot yacht stood. Its name was Moongate.
Blood prickled under my skin.
He boarded it. I walked a little further down the dock, hoping like hell he didn’t turn around. He didn’t. He climbed several steps and opened a glass door, closing it behind him.
The wind blew my dress, and suddenly I felt so cold, even under the blaring sun.
I didn’t know that much about yachts, but I knew this one wasn’t going anywhere fast—the mooring lines were still secured.
The closer I got, the more knotted my stomach became. Weeks had passed without this uneasy feeling taking me over, and now it was back more vicious than ever.
Sure, I had to be out of my mind as I boarded the luxury yacht, but I was pure crazy when I pulled the unlocked glass door open.
Simon was over at the wet bar, stocked with only high-end liquor. When he looked up to see me, a mix of surprise and hatred filled his face, but somehow he seemed to pull it together and say, “Sadie, this is quite a surprise.”
“Simon,” I said, my tone barren of anything warm and fuzzy.
“Would you care for a drink?” he asked, more polite than I would have expected.
I knew I shouldn’t, but I was jittery and I could use something to take the edge off. I peered around Simon and pointed to what I knew was the most expensive vodka.
His grin was sinister. “Stoli Elit. Good choice. Rocks?”
“Yes.”
“With a twist?”
“No, thank you.”
There were windows everywhere, natural light streaming through them. The view of the colony of sailboat masts spectacular.
Simon crossed the teak floor to the freezer and took out a bucket of ice. Back at the bar he scooped ice cubes into the rocks glasses and poured. “I don’t think your daddy ever drank something as fine as this.”
His dig was meant to shake me, but I wasn’t going to shake that easy. “No, he preferred the cheap stuff.”
Keeping his expression neutral, he brought the drinks over with napkins and motioned for me to sit on the white wraparound sofa. I eased down onto the cool, white vinyl and took the offered drink. I drank it in one gulp.
“Thirsty?” he said, setting his drink down on a coaster and grabbing the bottle for a refill.
I drank that one, too.
I liked the warm buzz, and I was starting to wonder if I was addicted to this stuff.
He watched me and poured one more.
I took it.
Unbuttoning his jacket, he took a seat in the chair and crossed an ankle over his knee. “So,” he said, “What the fuck happened to you?”
A chill settled into my bones. It was so deep that my entire body felt like one of the cubes in my glass. I stared at him in disbelief. This asshole had no idea I knew anything more about him. I’d play along. “I couldn’t do it.”
“That was pretty fucking obvious,” he hissed.
“I took Sarah’s identity and came down here. What about you? Did you sell my stuff and get the money for Riley?”
He started to laugh but stopped himself. “I sold your shit, but I didn’t give the money to Riley.” He patted the arm of his chair. “I have a lifestyle to keep up with.”
It took every ounce of strength I had not to lunge for him. “What’s your game, Simon? What do you want from me?”
He took a slow sip of his drink and over the rim, he said, “Everything.”
I stared numbly at him. I was so far out of my league. “I don’t understand.”
“No, you don’t,” he said, pity strong in his tone. “And for the life of me, I don’t understand why. I sent you that box of your old man’s.”
“You sent that?”
He tsked. “All you had to do was open it. Read his diary. The one he wrote while in prison. And then you would have understood it all.”
“Where’s the other box?”
He shrugged. “Don’t know. Don’t care. That one had the only thing I cared about in it, and getting it was a bitch.”
Every muscle in my body tensed. “What do you mean?”
He shook his head and took another casual sip of his drink. “Can’t say, but you really should read your father’s words. Fascinating stuff he wrote when he was sober. Might give you a run for your money.”
“Where is it?”
He set his glass down and leaned forward. “At Harvey’s. Waiting for your return. I have to say, I didn’t expect you to run. That was a surprise. You were always so good, I didn’t expect you to be that bad.”
“That’s just it. I couldn’t do what you wanted me to do.”
“That’s obvious. You know, I knew you were good, but I never thought you were naïve.”
Anger like I’d never felt made me clench my fists. I wanted to hit him. Slap that smug smirk right off his face. “Stop with the games, Simon. What the hell is going on?”
He sat back with a cocky grin on his face I wanted to wipe off. “Do you really think my old man and Harvey stuck by your father out of friendship?”
Confusion furrowed my brows.
“They had a secret, and your old man was the weak link. Everything went to shit because of him, and let’s not forget goodie-two-shoes.” He pointed to me.
Recognition I couldn’t hide showed in my eyes.
“Didn’t think I knew it was you that blew up our town, did you? That it was you who ruined my life.”
“I did what I had to do to save those people. My father shouldn’t have been flying in his condition.”
“He shouldn’t have been flying period. The paranoid bastard that he was right up until the end was a detriment to society.”
I felt my stomach twist. What did he mean, right up until the end?
He shifted in his chair. “Oh, and when you decide your little vacay is over and return to the reality you fled from, I left a little something extra at Harvey’s, for old time’s sake.”
“What?” I barked.
He waved a finger at me. “Calm down.”
“What did you leave?” I demanded.
“My phone.” He said it with a smile.
Confusion furrowed my brows. “Why would I want that?”
“On it is a little video of the night you were driving in the rain. You remember that night, don’t you?”
I jumped to my feet. “You sick bastard!”
He rose to his full height and glared down at me. “I think it’s time for you to leave, Sadie.”
He was right.
I looked around at how alone we were. I knew I had to leave because if I didn’t, I wasn’t entirely sure I’d escape in one piece. He wasn’t the same boy I knew. Or maybe he was and I just never really knew him.
What I did know was Simon was indeed a psychopath.
I took a step back, and then another. My legs felt like jelly. My body uneasy and my gait unstable. At the door, and only after I’d opened it, I asked, “What happened to Riley?”
His face twisted into a snarl. “You didn’t deliver, so he didn’t have the operation.”
“How is he?” I asked, bile rising up my throat.
“In a wheelchair. He’ll never walk again.”
My entire body started to tremble, and I stumbled backward down the steps. As soon as I stood on the wooden dock, I exhaled, squeezing my eyes shut. I kept them that way for a long while, and then I opened them slowly, blinking away the ushering tears.
Footsteps from above alerted me he was coming down. “Sadie, one more thing. I want the beach house. I’ll be in touch.”
I stepped back and back again. Before I knew what was happening, I fell into the water. Soaked, I managed to pull myself up. There was no sign of Simon, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
When I heard the powerful engines of Simon’s boat roar to life, I got to my feet. Even though I knew he was leaving, I started to run. My spine vibrated every time my sandals hit the wooden dock, but I didn’t stop.
I was wet and cold and scared, and I still didn’t stop running even when I reached the main road and horns honked. People were shouting for me to watch out, I didn’t care.
I ran and ran and ran.
It was all I could do.
Step 11: Seek through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understand Him, praying for knowledge of His will for us and power to carry that out.
I found the beach, and still I kept running.
It was all I knew.
And it was what I had to do.
Alone.