Page 87 of Spencer

He snorted, looking at mementoes that had never been changed or boxed up. Someday he’d be fifty, and his mother still wouldn’t have changed a thing in here.

Yup. There were posters, photos, and trophies everywhere. Once upon a time Spencer had been fixated on spear-fishing and scalloping. Most of that had been done while diving or snorkeling. He’d even won a good number of local contests; he’d been that good. Wasn’t it funny that he’d lost sight of his passion somewhere along the way? He’d joined the Army, then gone into law enforcement while forgetting about this; his first love.

Now, here he was, back home, about to make some of his childhood dreams come true.

He hoped.

Spencer answered Tabitha’s question. “I always loved putting on my gear and heading down to explore a whole new world. The fishing part of it was just an excuse to do the thing I loved best.”

“And you’re going back to that,” she stated with certainty, exactly mimicking his thoughts.

“Yes, indeed. With your help. After we get Sheila home safely,” he assured her, taking a page from Tex’s positive-assurance book.

He placed Tabitha gently in the middle of his queen mattress.

Uh, huh.Queen. His mother, thank God, had never stinted on the size of her sons’ beds. With Dad being over six-feet tall, she’d decided, early-on, that there’d be no twin-size mattresses in the house, intuiting that her boys would eventually equal their father’s size. She’d argued that if they purchased the smaller beds, they’d only have to be replaced as each one of the boys hit their growth spurt, so no money would be saved by starting out small.

His father, of course, had agreed.

That worked to Spencer’s advantage now, as they’d comfortably fit on the mattress together. After he removed Tabitha’s sneakers and his own, he slipped down beside her, pulling her back against his curled-body to spoon, while simultaneously tugging a throw blanket from the bottom of the bed to tuck around them.

“Comfortable?” he asked.

“I…” Her tears were clearly flowing again. “I’m so worried. But I’m also so thankful. What if I were trying to deal with this on my own? What if I didn’t have you and your family supporting me right now?”

“Shhh,” Spencer cautioned tenderly, kissing the back of her head. “Don’t let those ‘what-ifs’ get into your head. It won’t help. Right now, we’ll concentrate on trying to catch a little rest so that we can deal with tomorrow more clearly.”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep,” she mumbled to him, but Spencer knew better. Her body was already giving up the fight.

He waited patiently, and when she finally began softly snoring, he reached around and slowly pried the phone fromher fingers. The last thing she needed was to be woken up with alerts, even those that had been vetted by Tex.

Spencer would take on that chore while Tabitha got some much-needed sleep. He wasn’t kidding that she’d have to gather all her fortitude to face tomorrow. None of them knew what they’d be up against.

He was just falling asleep when in the wee hours of the morning, his phone buzzed in his pocket.

He rolled noiselessly away from Tabitha, who’d stirred but hadn’t awoken, to see what had come in.

Please let it be something good regarding Sheila, he implored silently. Although if that was the case, the text would probably have gone directly to Tabitha’s phone.

He steeled himself.

Therewasa text from Tex, withan attached phone file.

I’ve fielded a bunch of posts and calls, mostly thoughts and prayers, butthisone needs serious follow up. I’m already trying to trace the origins of the caller, but he seems smart. His pathways have been encrypted. Listen to it, share it with your brothers, and Tabitha if you think she’s strong enough to handle it, then call me and let me know how you want to proceed.

That was damned ominous.

With trepidation, Spencer made his way out into the hallway and put the phone to his ear, pressing play.

“Well, well, well.” The caller, who had used some kind of a voice changer, clearly taunted. “How does it feel, Tabitha, to know that I have eyes on your lovely sister? Does it make you feel nervous? Desperate? Because I’m counting on that being the case,” the man-like tone jeered.

What the fuck?

The menacing voice continued.

“You think you’re so much better than everybody else. But you’re not. Your sister means nothing to me in the large scheme of things, but I need vengeance, and she’s cute, so I might toy with her for a while, cat and mouse style. What do you think? Ahh, don’t worry too much. Eventually she’ll be mine, and for a price, I’ll give her back to you.” An evil laugh erupted over the line. “The question is, will she be dead or alive when I do?”

Click.

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