Page 52 of Shrouded Past

“We know one thing for certain. He’s here on the island and going to be through the storm.” Will glanced around the room. “But he won’t be able to stay out in this weather. He’ll have to take refuge somewhere.”

“There are plenty of houses to choose from right now.” Bryce heaved out a heavy sigh. “With everyone leaving the island, he could hide out anywhere.”

Will couldn’t deny it. “That’s true, unfortunately. Still, I’ll have men stationed around the subdivision.”

“He’ll try again,” Piper whispered. “He has to.”

The truth was as clear as the worry on each of their faces.

Whoever this stalker was, whether Darby or someone else entirely, he had to find her because if he didn’t he’d end up dead.

Members of the forensic team returned downstairs.

“We’ll get this evidence to the lab and see if we can extract something useful,” the lead agent told Will.

“I appreciate you and your team coming out in this weather. Are your families safe?”

The agent told him they’d made sure to get their families off the island as soon as the news came of an impending strike. “Our lab is like Fort Knox. There hasn’t been a hurricane yet that could take it down.” He nodded to everyone and then followed his team out into the storm.

“How about I make us something to eat? It’s been hours, and I am starved.” Katrina tried to bring a moment of levity to the situation.

“That sounds good. How about I give you a hand?” Rachel followed Katrina into the kitchen.

“You should really try and rest.” JT looked at Piper. “Both of you should. It’s going to be a long wait for the storm to clear the island, and I can’t imagine he’d try anything while we’re in the middle of it.”

Piper wasn’t so sure. With his life on the line would he care about the storm? “I don’t think I can. I’m far too keyed up, and the storm isn’t helping.”

“Same here. Why don’t we go back over everything and see if we missed something?” Bryce said. Exhaustion clung to him. He’d been fighting so hard for her. They all had.

“Sounds like a good idea.” Eli patted Bryce’s back. “Even if this guy is a cop, he hasn’t committed the perfect crime. He’s botched several attempts. In other words, he’s fallible.”

Something about what happened to Liz’s neighbor still troubled Piper. “What if we’re wrong and Darby isn’t the Skeleton Man at all? It seems kind of strange that James Holden rented the house next to your sister when someone took a shot at us. Has Holden resurfaced?”

JT smacked his palm against his forehead. “With everything that’s happened, I almost forgot. Liz’s neighbor said Holden texted her saying with the hurricane coming he was returning home. He’d reschedule another time so no need to refund him. I spoke to her neighbor in depth, and he couldn’t believe Holden would be involved in anything unlawful. He said he was a model renter. Never damaged anything. Always left a fully stocked fridge and pantry. Still, he doesn’t seem to have a past.”

“Hear me out.” Piper gathered her thoughts. “What if the kidnapper is Holden and not Darby. Or maybe Darby is working with Holden.”

“Two kidnappers.” Bryce seemed doubtful. “Still, at this point, I guess we can’t dismiss anything.”

“He was wearing that skull mask. They could each have one,” Piper pointed out.

“True.” Declan retrieved his laptop from the kitchen. “I’m going to do a deep dive into Holden and see if I can find any link between him and our Russian mobster.”

Soon, the rest of the team had moved the location of the war room to the living room. People sprawled out in every available chair.

Bryce claimed the spot next to Piper and reached for her hand.

She turned her head his way. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

Outside, the wind blasted against the house, almost doubling in ferocity and sounding like screams.

“We should be protected here in the bay. It will hit the town of Hope Island first. I’m hoping Henre loses some of its strength.”

But she could tell he wasn’t completely convinced. “I don’t know what I’m the most scared of right now. The storm or the unknown kidnapper who is determined to get to me and who doesn’t care who he takes out in the process.”

Bryce took her hand in his. “That’s not going to happen. I won’t let him hurt you, Piper. I won’t.”

She smiled sadly at his determination and wondered if he were thinking about what happened to Jenna. Was saving her his way of making up for his not being able to save his wife?

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