I watched as a figure poked up out of the water and hauled himself into the boat. The man slipped off a wetsuit and opened a waterproof sack to don clothes. He threw the rest of his gear overboard and then slipped into the large storage bin at the back of the boat.

Vomit crept up the back of my throat. Someone had been in the Whaler, just waiting for Shay. And now, he had her.

“Do you recognize him?” Parker asked.

I shook my head. “It’s dark, and the view is from too far away.” It could’ve been any number of people.

“Sheriff,” a deputy called. “We found the boat. And there’s blood.”

47

Shay

I groaned as I rolled over. My mouth was dry as a desert, my tongue like bitter sandpaper. I blinked a few times, trying to clear the blurriness from my vision. The tiny movement made my head pound. I felt like a scene out of one of those movies when someone has their first hangover, but I didn’t remember drinking. I’d never had one of those nights of overindulgence. I was always too careful and cautious.

I tried blinking again. This time, it wasn’t quite as painful. As things came into focus around me, my heart rate sped up. I wasn’t in Brody’s room or the guest house. My surroundings were completely unfamiliar.

I tried to push up from the bed to get a better view, but zip ties on my wrists and ankles caught me. Plastic cording cut into my wrists and held my jeans-clad legs together. My stomach cramped. With worry or lack of food and water, I wasn’t sure.

I used an elbow to lever myself into a sitting position, but the movement was awkward. My head swam and throbbed, and I feared I might lose what little I had in my belly. I closed my eyes and took several slow deep breaths. In through my nose, and out through my mouth.

When my stomach stilled, I opened my eyes. Rough wood walls that’d seen better days greeted me. Cobwebs filled the corners, and dust covered the surfaces. Curtains hung at a haphazard angle as if someone had tried to pull them down and failed.

I wracked my brain for anything even remotely familiar about the space, but there was nothing. I tested the bindings around my ankles, trying to break them apart, but had no luck. I knew I could get out of the ones around my wrists, but it would hurt like a bitch.

Just as I was about to make an attempt, I froze. I needed to remember first. What was the last thing in my mind? It stung my brain to try and sift through my memories. Gathering the eggs. Going back to the main house. My chat with Evergreen.