Cape Diablo shimmered on the horizon, a lush emerald-green gilded by the dying light. For a moment, as the sun hung suspended in a painted sky, the island seemed bathed in gold. A glowing sanctuary that beckoned to the weary traveler.
As they approached the island, the sky deepened and the water turned dark, as if a giant shadow had crept over the whole area. It was a strange phenomenon, a trick of the light that seemed too much like an omen.
Carrie couldnt seem to shake off a gnawing fear. The place seemed so wild and primitive. As the boat drifted silently toward the pier, she became aware of a dozen sounds. Water lapping at the hullthe startled flight of an egretan insect buzzing near her ear.
And, in the distance, a scream.
Secrets of His Own
Amanda Stevens
www.millsandboon.co.uk
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amanda Stevens is the bestselling author of over thirty novels of romantic suspense. In addition to being a Romance Writers of America RITA® Award finalist, she is also the recipient of awards in Career Achievement in Romantic/Mystery and Career Achievement in Romantic/Suspense from Romantic Times BOOKclub. She currently resides in Texas. To find out more about past, present and future projects, please visit her Web site at www.amandastevens.com.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Carrie BishopSearching for her friend on Cape Diablo resurrects an old demonand awakens a long-dormant passion.
Nick DracoHis secret threatens Carries search for her childhood friend.
Tia FalconA runaway bride who escaped to Cape Diablo after leaving her fiancé at the altar. Now shes disappeared.
Trey HollingerA jilted groom with an explosive temper.
Nathaniel GloverThe monster who abducted Carrie and Tia when they were adolescents. He was never apprehended.
Ethan StoneA mysterious stranger who lives in the upstairs apartmentand never shows his face.
Alma GarciaShe has lived in isolation on Cape Diablo for thirty years.
Robert CochburnAn ambitious attorney with a taste for the finer things in life.
Zeke TrawickHis supply boat is the only way on and off the island.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Prologue
The body would start to smell soon.
I should have dumped it in the swamp right after it happened, but I was too afraid of being seen. Even on Cape Diablo, eyes were everywhere. I could feel them on me now as I lay naked in the dark. Grabbing a blanket, I pulled it over my feverish skin and tried to ignore the trickles of sweat that slid down my temples and ran back into my hair.
I hadnt slept in days. Squeezing my eyes closed, I willed myself to succumb to the exhaustion, but it was no use. My mind raced with fragmented images. Id killed someone, but I hardly remembered the act at all. Rage had blinded me and by the time I emerged from that terrible haze, the body lay at my feet.
I could still smell the blood even though Id scrubbed the walls and floors until my hands grew raw. It had taken me a long time to get everything cleaned up, and then I wrapped the body in several layers of plastic and tried to forget what Id done. Told myself I wouldnt dwell on it.
And I hadnt until now. But tomorrow was Tuesday.
The supply boat ran on Tuesdays. Any visitors to the island would likely come then.
The driver would drop off provisions and passengers and wouldnt return until Friday. That would give me three whole days. Three days in which there would be no way off the island. No communication with the outside world. No one to stop me from doing what had to be done.
That was why Cape Diablo was so perfect for someone like me. A person could disappear out here and never be heard from again.
Chapter One
Carrie Bishop clung to her cap as the supply boat headed due west, into the sunset. Just minutes from Everglades City, civilization ended and the topography became a vast no-mans-land of sparkling channels that wound for miles through dense mangrove forests and swampy grass flats.
Once the refuge of pirates, the area had now become a sanctuary for modern-day smugglers bringing drugs, guns and humans across the border. Lawless and primal, it was the perfect place for a runaway bride to disappear.
Which was undoubtedly why Tia had fled to the islands after leaving her soon-to-be groom at the altar, Carrie decided as a wave bounced her up off the seat. Tia hadnt wanted anyone to find her, especially her ex-fiancé, a handsome executive with an explosive temper.
Carrie wouldnt have thought to look for her here, either, if not for the postmark on her letter. Known as the Ten Thousand Islands, the area could be extremely inhospitable to anyone without a good map, a GPS device and a can of heavy-duty bug spray.
Thank goodness shed been able to hitch a ride on the supply boat, Carrie thought. She would never have been able to find the island on her own.
Although being miles from nowhere at the mercy of a complete stranger wasnt exactly her idea of a fun day. And the driver had certainly done nothing to put her at ease. When shed met him earlier at the marina, hed snatched the money from her hand with barely a grunt, his manner so abrasive that Carrie might have had second thoughts about climbing aboard if the attorney whod leased Tia the apartment hadnt been at her side.
Dont worry. Trawicks bark is far worse than his bite, Robert Cochburn had assured her. Hed driven down from Naples to meet Carrie in Everglades City, and to her relief, hed decided at the last minute to make the trip out to the island with her. Besides, hes the best driver around. He can navigate these waters blindfolded. Just relax and enjoy the ride.
If only she could, Carrie thought as she watched Pete Trawick with a wary eye. But she found the man just plain creepy. His cold, assessing gaze made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end, and the way he looked at her conjured up memories that both she and Tia had been running from for years.
Suppressing another shudder, Carrie turned to Cochburn. How much farther? she shouted over the roar of the outboard motor.
Were almost there. He flashed a smile. Beautiful country, isnt it? Floridas best-kept secret. Hed taken off his jacket and tie before they left the marina, and now with his cuffs rolled back and wind blowing through his thinning hair, he hardly resembled the conservative, fortysomething attorney shed first met at the marina.
When shed talked to him on the phone the day before, hed tried to discourage her visit to Cape Diablo, but Carrie had remained adamant. Without his cooperation, she would simply find her own way to the island because she wasnt going back to Miami until shed seen for herself that Tia was okay. It had been nearly two weeks since shed received her letter, and Carrie had grown more and more worried with each passing day.
And then thered been that strange phone call two nights ago. It had come just after midnight, and the connection had been so weak, the voice on the other end so garbled that Carrie couldnt be sure the caller was Tia. But something in the womans voicea note of frenzyhad instilled a deep sense of foreboding in Carrie.
Of course, she could be overreacting. A recent break-in at her apartment had left her on edge so it was entirely possible that she was letting her imagination get the better of her.
But no matter how many times she tried to convince herself there was nothing to worry about, Carrie couldnt shake the notion that her friend was in trouble. If anything happened to Tia and she hadnt done everything in her power to help her, she would never forgive herself. It was hard enough dealing with the old guilt.
Have you ever been to the islands before? Cochburn shouted over the engine noise.
Carrie nodded. Once, when I was a kid. My father brought me here on a fishing trip.
Then you know enough not to wander too far off the beaten trail. Navigation is a nightmare down here. A novice could get lost and never be heard from again. Not to mention a certain unsavory element in the area.
Ive read about the drug smuggling thats so prevalent. Just weeks ago the news had been dominated by a story about an elderly couple whod disappeared while sailing in the area. When their bodies had washed ashore, authorities concluded theyd been murdered and their yacht hijacked by drug smugglers.
These waters can be extremely dangerous, Cochburn said grimly. Im not trying to frighten you, but I do feel the need to caution strangers to the area. If you exercise good judgment and a little common sense, you should be fine.
Carrie felt a prickle of unease at his words. Had he given Tia the same warning? You dont need to worry about me. Im a city girl at heart. Once Ive seen that my friend is okay, Ill be on my way back to civilization.
Cochburns gaze fell on the duffel bag at her feet. She knew what he was thinking. If shed only come for a quick visit, why had she bothered to pack a bag?
The answer was complicated. The length of her visit depended on Tias state of mind. She was prepared to stay for as long as she was needed, but if Tia was fine and enjoying her privacy, Carrie had every intention of turning around and heading straight back to the mainland. But judging from the tone of that letter, she very much feared the worst.
What if Tia had reverted back to her old self-destructive ways? What if Carrie was too late to save her?
What if, what if, what if? Shed told herself a long time ago that she was through playing that game, but old habits died hard.
She glanced back at Cochburn. As I told you on the phone, I dont want to intrude on Tias privacy. If she came out here to get away from it all, I intend to honor her wishes. At the same time, though She trailed off, her gaze moving restlessly back to the water.
Youre concerned about her, he said.
Its been nearly two weeks since I last heard from her. And you said you havent talked to her, either.
But thats hardly cause for alarm, Cochburn said. I only met her briefly when she signed the lease agreement in my office. Theres no reason she would get in touch with me unless she had a problem with her accommodations.
But I cant imagine why no one in Everglades City remembered seeing her, Carrie said with a frown. She has a very distinctive face.
He shrugged. I wouldnt read too much into that, either. Pete makes a supply run out to Diablo twice a week. The tenants never have to leave the island if they dont want to. That would explain why no one we talked to at the marina remembered your friend.
Yes, that made sense. Tia had always been a loner and normally Carrie wouldnt have given her absence a second thought. She would have assumed that Tia needed time to heal after calling off her marriage to Trey.
But the tone of her letter coming on the heels of the breakup
And then that weird phone call
Carrie shivered in the late-afternoon heat. Tell me about Cape Diablo, she said to Cochburn as they approached another channel and Trawick powered down the engine, making conversation a little easier. How did it get the name?
Probably the handiwork of some resourceful pirate looking to frighten away looters from his treasure, he said with a grin. Theres always been a bit of mystery associated with the island. Strange lights, phantom shipsthat sort of thing. No doubt thats why Andres Santiago chose the place to build his home.
Santiago was something of a pirate himself, wasnt he? Tired of fighting the wind, Carrie took off her cap and rested it on her bare knee as she finger-combed her tangled hair.
I see youve done some research.
She smiled. A little. Tia mentioned Santiagos name in her letters. She seemed so fascinated by the family that I suppose she aroused my curiosity.
Im not surprised, Cochburn said. Most everyone around here is a little weary of the story, but I can see why a newcomer might find it intriguing. Back in the late sixties and early seventies, Andres Santiago ran a fleet of boats to Central America, smuggling guns into the area and drugs, among other things, out. He built the house on Cape Diablo so that the authorities wouldnt be able to keep track of his comings and goings. He paused. You have to wonder, though, what kept his poor wife sane, trapped on that tiny island with only small children for company.
What was she like? Carrie asked curiously.
The first Mrs. Santiago died in child-birththats about all I know of her. But the second wife had a rather colorful past. She was the daughter of a Central American dictator who was overthrown by a military coup back more than thirty years ago. The father was later executed, along with most of his family and staff. The only two survivors were his eldest daughter, Medina, and Carlos Lazario, her bodyguard. Somehow Andres managed to get both of them safely out of the country and he brought them back here where he later married Medina. Carlos still lives on the island. He and Alma Garcia, who was once nanny to Andress children, are the only permanent residents of Cape Diablo.
And the Santiagos?
Cochburn turned to stare at the spindrift behind the boat. The whole family went missing one night. No one ever knew what happened to them. But thenyou said your friend wrote to you about the island so Im sure she must have mentioned the disappearances.