Undercover Threat

“Climb down with what?” She glanced around, spotting only a toolbox. It was too much to hope that there would be rope or bedsheets or anything to use to scale down the side of the lighthouse.

Joe was likely on the other side of the lighthouse watching the fire. Eventually, it would burn through the wooden door and travel up the stairs. The stairs were metal and wouldn’t burn. Most people didn’t die from fire itself; smoke was the bigger concern, and it traveled faster than fire. They had to get out of here as quickly as possible.

Dakota peered through the window. “We don’t need to break it.” He twisted a latch and pushed the window outward. “Look, I can see a natural harbor out there. Maybe some boats anchored to get out of the storm.”

She came and stood beside him. Trees partially covered the view of the cove where boats could come in. Maybe a boat was hidden behind there, but that really didn’t help them right now. They were still trapped in the lighthouse. She turned her attention to the ground below. “How are we going to get out of here? We can’t jump. At the very least our legs would be broken.”

“There’s a lookout landing halfway down. We aim for that.” He gestured for her to come toward him. “Crawl through. I’ll hold your wrists and lower you down.”

She looked again. The landing was small and made of black metal. She hadn’t noticed it at first. The lighthouse had at one time been a home to the lighthouse keeper. The little lookout probably connected to a door that had led to living quarters. It was a small balcony, maybe two feet by three feet. She lifted her leg and crawled through. She grasped the windowsill while Dakota held her wrists.

Her legs swung, scraping the wall. Panic rose up, causing a sour taste in her mouth. “I can’t see down below me.”

“I’ve got you, Gracie Girl. I’ll lower you straight down. Tell me when you touch the landing with your toes.”

Her heart squeezed tight. Only Dakota called her Gracie. She tilted her foot hoping her toes would find the hard surface. “There. I feel it.”

He let go of her. She turned to face toward the ocean. The rain had stopped but the wind continued to whip around her. Waves crashed against the rocks.

She could smell the smoke from the fire. The front door that was on fire was on the other side of the lighthouse, not the side that faced the water where the lookout landing was. She didn’t see anyone. That didn’t mean Joe wasn’t watching. Once they were on the ground, it would be two against one. He had to have lost the gun when his boat capsized. Still, a confrontation didn’t seem like a good idea. He’d found a way to start a fire—maybe he’d found a weapon as well, a hammer or an ax.

She moved to the edge of the landing.

Dakota said, “Tell me if I’m going to miss it.”

He lowered himself down. She guided his feet. “Straight down.”

He let go of the windowsill and landed hard. The entire balcony creaked. It was old and designed for only one person to be on it.

“I’m going to go down first just in case he’s out there,” said Dakota. “I don’t want him jumping you.”

She wanted to remind him that she was a trained agent. But honestly, she liked his idea. She didn’t have the energy to get into a fight. Dakota lifted his foot over the metal railing and swung down, dropping to the ground. She waited.

He shout-whispered up to her. “It looks clear.”

She held on to the metal bars of the railing.

“Let go, I got you,” he said from below.

The drop was maybe ten feet. She released the grip she had on the bars. Dakota caught her as she fell, holding her waist and guiding her to the ground. She turned to face him, resting her palm against his chest. They stood frozen for a few seconds. The gesture was one she’d done a thousand times when they were married. He was standing close enough that when he exhaled, she could feel his breath on her forehead. A rush of memories both good and bad flooded through her mind.

She cleared her throat and took a step back. “We better get to that harbor before he figures out we escaped.”

“We could try to take him out. There are two of us. You have the authority to take him into custody.”

“I don’t want to risk him getting away and knowing that I’m DEA,” she whispered. “Hopefully, my cover hasn’t been compromised. I want to see this investigation to the end.”

“Then let’s make a run for it.” He grabbed her hand and jogged in the direction of the trees that would lead to the cove. They circled in a wide arc around the back side of the lighthouse, staying low and seeking the cover of some bushes. They came to what looked like a storage shed. The doors were flung wide open. There was a lawn mower and other groundskeeping equipment inside. That explained where Joe had gotten the gasoline to start the fire.

She glanced off to the side where the lighthouse was. Were the shadows she saw a man moving around or just her imagination?

Dakota tugged on her sleeve. “Keep going. Stay low and move slow.”

The distance between the shed and the trees was substantial. If Joe was watching from the shadows, they would be spotted. Maybe his attention was still on the fire and maybe he had seen them scaling down the lighthouse. She had to assume that Joe was still after them.

Both of them dropped to the ground. Dakota was watching the area around the lighthouse as well. They sprinted the final distance to the trees, which grew at a downward slant leading to the cove. She reached out for branches and plants to keep from falling and rolling down the incline. Dakota as well slowed his pace.

The roar of the ocean waves reached her ears and she smelled salt air long before the sandy beach of the cove came into view. The water in the cove was far from calm. She took in a deep breath when she saw a small craft anchored there being bounced by the waves. The boat was maybe a twenty-footer. Big enough to have a below-deck area for sleeping, eating and storage. The kind people took out for short runs.

They stepped out from the forest. No lights were on in the boat. Both of them slowed down.

“Maybe they’re trying to conserve their electrical,” she said.

“And maybe the boat’s been here for a long time…abandoned for whatever reason.”

The boat was far enough from shore that they would have to swim out to it in the turbulent waters to even board it.

A sound in the forest behind her, the crackling of a branch, caused her to whirl around. Her heart beat faster and she stepped a little closer to Dakota. He touched her back and drew her close protectively.

“Let’s find a hiding place,” he whispered as he pointed to the other side of the cove.

The soft sand of the beach turned to small pebbles as they ran past the boat toward the trees. They were still barefoot. Both of them slipped into the shelter of the trees.

“Something is off with that boat,” said Dakota. “I don’t see a dinghy on it, which makes me wonder if whoever was on it rowed ashore and is waiting the storm out in the forest. Why does this feel suspicious to me?”

“It doesn’t have to be nefarious. It’s possible that someone was just out boating when the storm came up and this was the nearest place they could get to.” She watched the boat, seeing no sign of life. “Right?”

“Doesn’t your gut tell you something else is going on? I suppose they could have thought staying on the boat was unsafe.”

“My gut tells me to approach with caution.” She turned her attention to the trees where they had just been. Dakota leaned close to her, also watching.

Light flashed in the middle of the trees. The surge of illumination was so quick she almost thought she’d imagined it.

“I saw it too,” said Dakota.

The forest grew in a half circle around the cove. They both stood very still. The light appeared again, this time at the edge of the forest. It swept over the shore toward the boat in an arc and then disappeared.

She let out a heavy breath. “That could be the man who started the fire. Maybe he found a flashlight in that shed.”

“Could be,” said Dakota. “And it could be the people connected to that boat coming out to check on it.”

“I suppose we need to find out who we’re dealing with,” she said.

They made their way toward the center of the forest where they’d seen the light. Stepping slowly and silently, they moved deeper into the trees, farther away from shore. The crash of the waves faded. Still they did not see the source of the light or any sign of other human beings.

Grace’s feet padded softly on the moss of the forest floor. She sought cover behind the trunk of a tree. She signaled Dakota to stop. Faint and barely discernible above the wind and creaking branches, human voices seemed to murmur.

The sound was once again drowned out by the wind. With Dakota close behind her, she moved in the general direction the voices had come from.

They walked for several minutes before she heard people talking once again. This time the voices were more distinct. She could distinguish two, maybe three different voices, all male. The men would talk and then fall into silence. As they drew closer, the voices grew louder and more intense. The men were arguing.

She moved from tree to tree, close to the voices, until she had a partial view of the men. Dakota moved forward slowly as well, hiding behind trees and peering out. The men’s foul language and rage did not suggest friendliness. All the men had on rain gear and they had built a small fire.

One of the men had a long blond ponytail. He shoved the other. “How much longer are we going to hold up here? The storm is dying down.”

The man he shoved, muscular and wearing a baseball hat, pushed on Ponytail’s shoulder and then leaned close to his face. “I’m not piloting that boat out in those waters. Moving that cargo is not worth my life and losing that cargo is not an option.”

“In another couple of hours this place will be crawling with Coast Guard and other search and rescue. They will have people in the air. I don’t want to get caught with that cargo,” said Ponytail.

Grace wondered if the cargo referred to drugs.

A third man sat on a log, warming himself by the fire, not talking. The dinghy boat was behind him.

Grace’s breath caught when Joe stepped into the clearing. Two men drew a gun on him. Joe raised his hands. “Hey, whoa, I’m on your side.”

“Search for a gun,” said Ponytail.

The muscular man stepped forward and patted down Joe. “How’d you end up on the island?”

“My boat capsized. Give me a ride and I can help you get your cargo where you need to transport it. I have connections. Officials that will look the other way. I need your help with something.”

A chill trickled down her spine. The something Joe was referring to was probably about killing her and Dakota.

“I don’t think you understand the nature of our cargo,” said the muscular man.

Dakota lifted his chin to get Grace’s attention. He pointed back through the trees. Dakota slipped deeper into the forest and she followed. Her bare foot scraped a sharp object. She lifted her foot and stumbled but caught herself. Her other foot landed on a branch, breaking it.

Behind her, she heard voices.

“What was that noise?” one of the men said.

“There are two other people on this island,” said Joe. “And they are not your friends.”

“Better check it out.”

She wasn’t sure who had spoken. All she knew was that she needed to get away and fast. Heart racing, she sprinted over the uneven terrain. She caught glimpses of Dakota up ahead through the trees. He ran faster than she did.

Behind her, the men shouted as they crashed through the forest after her. She lost sight of Dakota. Her feet were scratched and cut. She ran even faster as the noise of the men pursuing her grew louder. A gunshot filled the air. Loud enough to be heard above the wind. Close enough to cause reverberation on her eardrums.

Panic filled her. She kept running, searching the forest for Dakota.

Hands grabbed her, yanking her off the path and deeper into the trees. She struggled for a breath as a hand went over her mouth.

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