Page 10 of Shrouded Past

Outside the wind howled around the corner of the house like a wounded animal, a fearful sound.

“It’s just a tropical storm. Nothing too bad,” Bryce said in a way that calmed the tension in her. “It must have struck around the same time you and . . .” He didn’t know what to call the man who had taken her. “When you hit the tree.”

“I remember. It was hard to see. Skeleton Man turned off the main road and started driving down a gravel lane.”

“Skeleton Man?” Bryce asked in surprise. “Why do you call him that?”

“Because he wore a skeleton mask that covered his face.”

He didn’t want to be identified. Was this person someone she might know?

“Anyway, Skeleton Man slowed down enough that I thought I could escape, only . . .” The knife made an appearance. They’d struggled. This time she’d been certain he’d kill her despite what he’d said. He swiped at her throat. Piper dodged the strike only to have it land across her face. She’d grabbed for the blade. It slashed across her hand. Her body. Skeleton Man swerved. He’d lost control and the car slammed into the tree.

He’d seen Bryce’s headlights behind them and panicked. He’d forced her into the trunk and then left. But where had he gone? She had a feeling he was close and had seen Bryce save her. Would he come looking for them here? She held back a shudder.

He’d told her she was important to those who wanted her back. He couldn’t leave her behind. And if he couldn’t leave her behind, he’d keep looking for her. This wasn’t over. And she wasn’t safe.

Chapter Two

Daylight crept through the remaining clouds hanging low over the shore. Bryce stretched on the sofa, disturbing Bella. “Sorry, girl.”

The kitten meowed before climbing up on his stomach and making muffins.

“Ouch.” Those little kitten claws were almost as bad as Bella’s needle-like teeth. “Sorry, little girl, but no more pin cushion for you.” He set the kitten on the floor and padded barefoot to the kitchen as the coffeemaker finished brewing much-needed caffeine.

Sleep hadn’t come until almost daybreak. His thoughts struggled to make sense of what Piper told him. She’d been held somewhere for years before the latest kidnapping took place. She had no idea where she’d been held. Nothing about it added up. How was it possible one person would be taken prisoner by two separate perps? What was so important about Piper that two people wanted her? He had a feeling the story was going to rival any fiction tale he’d read.

His cop instincts told him she was telling the truth. Why make up a story like that anyway? Unless she was hiding something.

She hadn’t wanted to go to the hospital or the police. But he didn’t sense it was because of anything except pure fear.

Bryce poured coffee into his favorite “I see crime everywhere” mug. Another gift from Jenna. Through the kitchen window he noticed the rain had stopped, the storm abated. Pinks and oranges spread across the horizon. The waters were calm, unlike the thrashing waves from the previous evening. Today, the weather was predicted to be clear skies and cooler than normal temperatures.

He thought about the disabled car near the road. Where was the driver? Questions swirled around like the steam from his coffee. With the coming daylight, Bryce wanted to take a closer look at the vehicle. The cop in him wouldn’t let the matter go.

Piper was in trouble. That much had been brought clearly home when he’d examined the extent of her injuries. This man wanted Piper. Bryce had no doubt he’d tracked her down to the place where she’d been held by a man she referred to as Protector. Piper’s escaping had been fortuitous for the kidnapper. She’d walked right into his trap. Bryce wanted to know why two seemingly unrelated men were vying for Piper’s life.

He fed Bella and returned to the living room.You aren’t in law enforcement anymore. Do what you can to help her and then be done.

But he couldn’t. Something was terribly wrong with what happened, and he wouldn’t walk away from Piper until he knew she was safe.

He could almost hear Jenna teasing him. Always the good guy despite the hat color.

Bryce’s lips twitched. She and Sheriff Henson were the only ones to see the good in him. His old man sure hadn’t.

His mouth flatlined at the memory of his father. Brett Malone had contributed nothing good to his son’s upbringing but harsh words and more beatings than Bryce could remember.

Even though it was late August, the dampened landscape held a chill. Bryce dressed quickly then grabbed his jacket. He jotted a quick note in case Piper woke before he returned.

He stepped out into the new day. The scent of crisp ocean air snatched the breath from his lungs. He stopped for a moment to take in the beautiful rocky Maine coastline. When he first saw the place, all his doubts about moving to Maine vanished. He could live here.

For most of his life, Bryce had been a son of the mountains. He’d hunted, fished, and camped just about every inch of Big Horn County. Since he’d moved here, the small, tight-knit community of Hope Island was slowly growing on him.

He’d met his neighbor down the way, JT Wyatt. A former police officer himself, JT had quickly recognized a fellow officer. He and Bryce had gotten to know each other, and Bryce liked JT and his wife, Rachel. They both worked for Hope Island Securities, the firm that JT and several of his military buddies had founded.

Taking the truck would make the trip easier, but he wanted to check around the place to make sure no one had been snooping during the night. He started down the drive while scanning the road ahead and the wooded area beyond for anything out of the norm.

There were no footprints on his gravel driveway. Yet, the lack of them only increased his concern. Bryce believed Piper’s kidnapper had been watching him rescue her from the trunk. Maybe he’d seen Bryce’s weapon and decided not to attack. Would he have followed? If so, he’d know where Bryce lived. The thought left an unsettling feeling that all but confirmed they hadn’t seen the last of the kidnapper.

---