Cate made noises of agreement as Selina emphatically nodded at every word Michelle said.

  The women finally stopped several dozen feet from a large dark-green tent. “Hello! Leigh! You in there?”

  Leigh. The same name Tammy said.

  Bulging black garbage bags leaned against one side of the tent, and Cate wondered if they contained belongings or actual garbage. She noted a beat-up bicycle under a tree and a large wagon with two broken wheels. The air was still and humid and smelled of damp wood and dirt. The tent had several patches, and Cate spotted two long slashes that still needed to be patched. The slashes looked deliberate, as if someone had been angry and stabbed at the tent.

  How does anyone live like this?

  A hugely pregnant woman ducked and stepped out of the tent, her hand supporting her belly.

  Ashlee.

  Her long hair was pulled back in a ponytail, but its pale-red color was discernible. Pregnancy had rounded her face, making her look much younger than in her photos. If Cate hadn’t known she was eighteen, she would have guessed she was closer to fifteen.

  “Hey, Leigh,” Michelle said. “This doctor’s got some antacids and vitamins for you. You can have those, right?”

  “What the hell?” said a man moving out from behind Leigh.

  Michelle and Selina audibly gasped and froze.

  It was Rich.

  He had aged considerably. He looked as if he should be Ashlee’s father—not her baby’s.

  Cate was thankful she’d put on a ball cap that morning and pulled her hair into a messy bun at her neck. She’d never met Rich in person, but there was a possibility he’d seen her on TV in press conferences or searched out her photo online years ago, looking for the face of the woman who was hunting him.

  “Hi!” Cate said brightly, as if the women she was with hadn’t frozen in surprise. “I’ve got something to help your wife with heartburn—”

  “We don’t need it,” Rich announced, stepping in front of Ashlee.

  “How about some vitamins that are for pregnant women?” Cate said rapidly. “It’s so important that she’s getting all the vitamins she needs. That baby is stealing them from her body.”

  “Vitamins are just a ploy to get your money,” said Rich. “They’re bullshit. Our bodies make what we need.”

  Cate wanted to get something into Ashlee’s hands. “That’s true. But babies are greedy. Every little bit helps.”

  Rich took a step toward Cate. “Get the fuck off my property.”

  Cate was tempted to argue the validity of that statement.

  “I understand,” she told Rich. “A lot of people feel that way. I’ll just leave some women’s hygiene products. She’ll need them for all the heavy bleeding after—”

  “Fine! Jeez.” He grabbed Ashlee’s arm, hauled her forward, and then gave her a shove in the back. “Go get your women’s shit.”

  Ashlee stumbled forward, her arms out for balance. She was gigantic, making Cate wonder if she was pregnant with twins. Rich stood back and watched, his arms crossed on his chest, disgust in his eyes. Cate had hoped he’d keep his distance when she gave Ashlee the hygiene products.

  Cate quickly set down her box and dug out the sanitary pads. She slipped a small piece of paper out of her pocket. Ashlee approached and Cate stood, holding the paper on the plastic-wrapped pads so that Ashlee could read it.

  It was a photocopy of what Ashlee—Cate assumed—had written on the newspaper article. Just the handwritten portion. Seeing her huge belly and Rich’s attitude, Cate had little doubt that it was Ashlee who had described her fear for her unborn child. The young woman froze as she saw the photocopy, and then her gaze leaped to Cate’s.

  “Here you go,” Cate said conversationally but loud enough for Rich to hear. “I hope these are helpful after your baby is born. Have you had any contractions?”

  “Yes,” whispered the girl, raising a hand to her forehead. “And my head and back hurt all the time.”

  Alarmed, Cate looked at Rich. “Did you know your wife has been having contractions?”

  “She’s been bitching about pain for months. It’s normal.”

  Ashlee winced and put both hands on her belly. Cate swore the abdomen seemed to rise and tighten under Ashlee’s snug shirt.

  Holy shit.

  “She’s having a contraction right this second.”

  “It’s those fake labor things,” snapped Rich. “Leigh, get over here. Now.”

  “Can I leave her some acetaminophen for her—”

  “No. Nothing else. Just the female crap.”

  Confident that Ashlee had recognized the note, Cate crumpled the paper back into her hand and passed her the pack of pads. “Hopefully help for the baby will come soon.” She held Ashlee’s gaze, praying the young woman understood that someone would get her out of this horrible situation soon.

  “I hope so too,” the young woman said. Her eyes were bloodshot, and exhaustion surrounded her. But there was a hint of trust that hadn’t been there a few moments before.

  “You can count on it.”

  I’ve got to get her out of here today.

  Cate nodded at her and returned to the other two women, who hadn’t said a word during the entire exchange. The three of them headed back toward the clearing.

  “He’s a real asshole,” whispered Selina. “We’ve felt so sorry for that girl. He doesn’t let her do anything.”

  “I took them some leftovers a few weeks ago, and he blew up at me,” said Michelle. “Told me his wife didn’t need help taking care of him.”

  “Sounds like a real winner,” said Cate. “I’m sure he’ll get what’s coming to him.”

  “She looks like she could pop any day,” said Michelle. “I don’t know what’s going to happen when she goes into labor. I’m no help. I can’t be around that type of pain.”

  “Me either,” agreed Selina. “And the men won’t be any help.”

  “Rich claims he knows what to do during a birth,” said Michelle. “But I wouldn’t trust him.”

  “Fuck no,” said Selina.

  “I think she might be in active labor right now,” Cate said.

  “Dammit,” muttered Michelle. The woman stopped and looked back the way they had come, frustration on her face. “I don’t know how to get Leigh away from him. He’s such an overbearing ass. If we could separate them, there’s a boat that could get her to the clinic on Widow’s—oh . . . that’s where you’re from, right?”

  “I’d take her right now in the seaplane,” said Cate. “And leave him behind.”

  The health of her baby is far more important than bringing Rich to justice.

  Cate touched Michelle’s arm. “How do the other men on the island feel about Rich and her pregnancy?”

  Michelle grimaced. “They say it’s Rich’s business. I’ve talked to my man about Leigh a few times. He tells me to keep to myself.”

  “Same,” said Selina.

  “And if that baby dies because Rich won’t let her have help?”

  The woman looked away.

  “Leigh could die too.”

  “What can we do?” Michelle threw up her hands, anger in her tone. “We’re powerless.”

  “No, you’re not,” said Cate, making the women look at her in surprise. “And you’re exactly who can help. Trust me.”

  I have an idea.

  11

  Cate gave Michelle and Selina an encouraging nod as they returned to the clearing, crossing her fingers that the two could talk a little sense into their husbands. They’d agreed to tell their husbands that Leigh was in labor and was showing signs of severe health complications. To convince the women, Cate had emphasized what could happen if Leigh’s headache and exhaustion weren’t addressed. All the husbands needed to do was to get Rich to go fishing, like he had already planned for that day.

  Once Rich was off the island, Cate was getting Ashlee on the plane.

  No one will stop me.

  She would use her weapon if needed.

  The husbands didn’t need to know that part of the plan. Michelle and Selina were to tell them that Rich needed to be out of the way so Leigh could receive a simple exam.

  Cate joined Henry as he examined the man with the swollen leg.

  “He needs IV antibiotics,” muttered Henry to Cate. “I’ve given him an oral loading dose, but he needs a more aggressive treatment.”

  Cate looked away from the red swollen calf. It looked like it’d burst if touched with something sharp.

  “I can go tomorrow,” the injured man said. “Jim said he’d loan me his boat.”

  “We can take you back with us today,” said Cate.

  “I’m not getting on that itty-bitty plane.” The infected man shuddered. “Hell no. Tomorrow is good enough.”

  Cate glanced over her shoulder and saw Selina and Michelle deep in conversation with two men. Selina’s husband was emphatically shaking his head, but Michelle’s appeared to be listening. Cate tugged Henry on the arm and led him a few steps away.

  “I found her,” she whispered. “But she’s hugely pregnant and having contractions.”

  Henry’s eyes narrowed. “Will she leave?”

  “Rich was there,” said Cate. “He swears she’s fine and that he can handle a birth. Henry, she’s complaining of a massive headache and her back hurting. Is that normal?”

  “The back pain could be from simply carrying a baby, but it could also be a sign of labor. I don’t like the headache. Did she say how long it’s been going on?”

  “No.”

  “Swollen hands or feet?”

  Cate pictured Ashlee’s hands as she had reached for the package. “I think so. Hard to say.”

  Henry touched the stethoscope shoved in his shirt pocket. “I need to take her blood pressure. Could be preeclampsia.”

  Cate’s heart skipped a beat. She knew the condition could be deadly to both mom and baby. “Rich isn’t going to let you anywhere near her. Selina and Michelle are trying to convince their husbands to take him fishing, telling them that Ashlee desperately needs an exam. If he leaves, we need to get her off the island today.”

  “Definitely.” Henry looked around at the group. The men were trading among themselves with the supplies Henry had given them. “I’ve done what I can here. Let’s head back toward the plane, make them think we’re finished.”

  Cate caught Michelle’s gaze. The woman and her husband were leaving, taking the path toward Rich’s tent. Michelle flashed her a subtle thumbs-up.

  “Looks like one of the men has agreed to get Rich out of the way,” she told Henry.

  Henry reaffirmed that the man with the swollen calf would come for medical care, and then he and Cate headed out the way they’d come. Their two previous escorts ignored them, still intent on bartering with the new supplies.

  “I hope the people who need it get the right stuff,” said Henry. “I didn’t mean to create a new form of currency.”

  “Bringing what we did was the right thing,” said Cate. “Even if we had an ulterior motive.”

  “They need better access to care,” he said firmly.

  Cate put her hand on his shoulder, amused at the furrow between his brows. Henry was a doctor through and through. “They have access. You. It’s just a bit of a long boat ride.”

  “Trent told me he thought I’d turn him away if he’d come to town with that leg infection.”

  “Well, now he knows you won’t. And he’ll convince the rest to ask for help when they need it.”

  “Hope so.”

  Several minutes later they emerged onto the rocky beach near the old dock and their plane. The strong smell of marijuana swamped them.

  “Dammit!” Cate spun around, looking for their pilot, and found him sitting under a tree thirty feet away, a joint in his hand. “Adam! What the hell?”

  The young man jumped to his feet and put out his joint. “I thought you were going to be a lot longer. I haven’t had much.”

  “He’s had enough to stink up the entire beach,” said Henry.

  “I’m not flying with a stoned pilot,” said Cate.

  “I’m fine,” said Adam as he approached. His eyes were bloodshot.

  Cate was furious. “What if we’d had to get off the island fast? You saw the guys with rifles. We didn’t know what we were walking into.”

  Adam shrugged. “You’re armed. You could have handled it.”

  “Idiot.” Henry looked livid. “Do you always smoke pot when you’re working?”

  “Of course not.”

  Cate pressed her lips together and walked away, pulling out the satellite phone Tessa had issued her. She called the deputy, who answered immediately.

  “We found Ashlee and Rich,” Cate told Tessa. “But our pilot is now stoned. We’re not going anywhere for a while.” She updated Tessa on their plan to get Rich away from Ashlee and get her off the island.

  “We finished on Elias Island a bit ago,” said Tessa. “We’ll head your way instead of to the other survivor island. Give us about a half hour. Don’t let him fly.”

  “I won’t.” Cate glanced back at Adam, who had returned to sitting in the shade of the tree and closed his eyes. Henry stood a few feet away, his arms crossed in annoyance.

  She ended the call and approached Henry. “Tessa and Logan are coming. If we can get Ashlee away from Rich, we can take her on the sheriff’s department boat.”

  The words were barely out of her mouth when she heard voices in the woods. But they weren’t coming in their direction. She met Henry’s gaze. He nodded, and together they silently moved into the woods. She followed the sounds of arguing, keeping herself hidden behind tree trunks and thick bushes. The voices continued to move away, and she and Henry moved faster through the woods. Finally two men came into sight.

  Rich.

  He had a large plastic case and a bulging garbage bag with him as he argued with the second man. The two of them were on a path that took many minutes to lead out of the woods and into a cove. Cate and Henry reached the edge of the trees and watched the two men approach one of the boats on the “marina” dock that Cate had seen from the air. The second man carried two fishing poles and another garbage bag in his hands.

  Michelle’s husband.

  “He’s leaving,” Cate whispered to Henry. She couldn’t hear what the men were quarreling about and didn’t care. She just wanted Rich as far away as possible when they went to get Ashlee.

  The two men loaded their things into the little boat as Cate and Henry hid behind trees. Rich jumped in and fussed around with the engine while the other man waited on the dock, watching.

  Cate wanted to tell them to hurry up and leave, but she and Henry had no way off the island with Ashlee until Tessa arrived. Rich’s lingering with the boat was probably in their favor.

  Rich got out of the boat and raised his arms as he continued arguing with Michelle’s husband. The second man kept pointing back at the boat and shaking his head.

  Just leave.

  Rich stomped by Michelle’s husband and headed back up the beach toward the woods.

  Shit.

  She and Henry scrambled to hide behind a huge dense rhododendron bush and held their breath as they heard Rich pass. Jogging footsteps sounded, and the second man ran after him.

  “Is there something wrong with the boat?” Cate whispered.

  “I don’t know,” said Henry. “But he left the fishing poles and tackle, so I assume he’s coming back.”

  “Good point.” She shifted into a more comfortable position to wait. “I want to strangle Adam.”

  “Get in line.”

  “Earlier I was so pleased that he seemed on his best behavior today.”

  “I think this is his best behavior.”

  “What if we’d needed to leave in a hurry?” she fumed. “I trusted him.”

  “He’s a good pilot . . . he’s pretty much the only pilot. Maybe next time search him for pot before riding with him.”

  “I’m sure he’d find some other way to disappoint me.”

  Henry took her hand and squeezed it. “Forget him. As soon as Tessa gets here, we’ll get Ashlee off the island. You did good today. Probably saved her life.”

  “The medical supplies were your idea. I don’t know what I was thinking—that I would just show up looking for a pregnant woman?”

  “You would have figured something out.”

  “I still want Rich,” Cate stated. “He’s so close. He’s right within my grasp. And he’s going to answer for what he did to Jade.”

  “He will. But Ashlee needs to come first.”

  “Yes.”

  Several minutes passed, and then Cate heard something. “Listen.”

  “They’re coming back,” said Henry.

  Cate listened harder. “That’s a woman. And she’s upset.”

  Moments later Rich crossed Cate’s line of vision, and she caught her breath.

  No.

  He had Ashlee’s hand in his and was yanking her along the trail. Ashlee stumbled after him, her other hand under her huge belly. She was crying, begging him to slow down. Michelle’s husband followed several feet behind, also telling Rich to slow down.

  Rich halted and spun around. He pointed at Michelle’s husband. “Do not tell me what to do with my wife.”

  The man stopped and held up his hands. “You’re hurting her, man.”

  “Mind your own business! She’s just seeing me off.” He gave Ashlee’s arm a shake and stepped close, putting his face close to hers. “Just like any good wife should do when her husband is leaving.” His cocky grin made Cate want to hit him.

  Ashlee looked ready to collapse. Cate caught her breath as a ripple across Ashlee’s belly showed through her shirt, and the woman winced in pain.

  “Jesus,” Henry muttered. “We’ve got to get her.”

  Cate weighed her decisions. She was armed. She could order Rich to stop and release Ashlee. What she didn’t know was how he’d react. This wasn’t a man who listened to law enforcement orders. He did as he pleased. There was a good chance he was also armed, and based on how he’d treated Kori and Jade in the past, Cate worried for Ashlee’s safety.

 

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