Played? Bryce was trying to follow what Jeremy was saying but it made no sense. Where had he gotten the assumption that there was more between them than friendship? Hell, they’d never held hands or even kissed.

“You aren’t the first woman who tried taking advantage of my kindness and they got the same fate that you’re going to get. That will teach you a lesson.”

Bryce moaned against the gag in her mouth. The man was an attorney, for Pete’s sake... At least that was what he’d told her. Had he lied about that, too?

“It won’t do you any good to try to get away, Bryce. There’s nowhere for you to go off the ship unless you want to be eaten by gators. We’re in the swamp.”

Her head jerked up. The swamp? Surely he wasn’t going to throw her overboard. The thought of such a thing made her tremble all over.

As if he read her mind, he said, “I haven’t decided what I’m going to do with you yet. You used me,” he sneered. “At first I retaliated by going after your guy. You should not have called and canceled our meetings. I found out where you lived and checked out your place. Imagine how I felt when I saw that guy spending time with you. That made me mad enough to slash his tire one night. Then I wanted to rough you up a bit and tried breaking into your place one night when I knew you were there. I accidentally bumped into your garbage can, and then I figured it was best to get the hell out of there when I saw your neighbor, some old man, wandering about looking for some damn cat.”

Bryce heard what Jeremy was saying and remembered hearing a sound outside on her patio that night. That was the same night Vashti had sent Sawyer over to investigate.

“And, of course, there was the fire.”

His words reclaimed her attention and she stared at him. He smiled. “Yes, I’m the one who set the fire on your boyfriend’s boat when I found out the two of you were out of town together. You couldn’t spend time with me, yet you were spending time with him.”

She stared at him, unable to say anything because of the gag still in her mouth. As if he was tired of talking to her, Jeremy turned and left, locking the door behind him.

* * *

“CALM DOWN, KAEGAN.”

Kaegan stopped pacing and glared over at Sawyer. “The woman I love is missing and you want me to calm down? How would you feel if it was Vashti?”

“He’s right, son,” Chester said, coming to place a hand on Kaegan’s shoulder. “You need to calm down. Why don’t you come and sit with me, Debbie and the family.”

Kaegan shook his head. He didn’t want to sit down. He wanted to lash out, beat the hell out of someone. He glanced around the café, which was now closed. Everyone close to Bryce was there. Her parents, her brothers and their wives, Ray and Ashley, Vashti and Sawyer. And him.