Page 3

CHAPTER 2

Audra paused as she strolled across the parking lot, glancing over her shoulder. Fletcher and his friend—the good-looking cop with warm, inviting eyes—had perched themselves on the picnic bench. It was strange to see Fletcher again. Weirder that he’d been so kind.

But she shouldn’t allow her mind to concentrate on the other man, the sexy cop. It was a distraction she didn’t need. Nor want. She’d come here to do a job. She sighed, turning her head and marching forward.

With her heart firmly planted in her throat, pulsating wildly, Audra pushed open the door of Mitchell’s Marina. This used to be the place she’d come to when she’d wanted a shoulder to cry on. Or a good laugh. Or to simply sit by the water, swing her legs, and chat with her bestie.

The air-conditioning smacked her face like a frozen popsicle. She couldn’t remember ever seeing this place so packed full of people.

Full of strangers and familiar faces.

Both gave her scrutinizing glares or leisurely once-overs. The innocent bystanders were about to learn about one of the town’s greatest and worst legends.

She yanked her sunglasses from her face and tucked them safely in her bag while she clutched her paperwork. Sixteen years ago, she’d sworn she’d never set foot in this town again. It had taken everything from her.

Her father. Her friends. Her dignity.

It had almost taken her freedom.

Calusa Cove had been her happy place. A little slice of Florida heaven that she’d wanted to cherish for as long as she could.

Now, it represented hell.

She had no idea why she’d agreed to do this piece. She could have turned it down or begged to go to a different location. There were many to choose from. She could have let some other photographer and writer take the assignment. It didn’t have to be her, even though her boss thought she was best suited for the job, and he wanted the personal angle. He wanted it told from someone who used to live there. Someone who understood the community better than most.

If only she hadn’t displayed that damn picture of herself with that stupid alligator on her desk and bragged about how many pythons she’d caught the last time she’d entered the challenge, and if she’d only kept her mouth shut about Calusa Cove.

She didn’t have anything to prove to anyone—yet proving herself capable of everything was all she ever did. Her father had never once believed he needed to prove himself to this town. He hadn’t cared what anyone thought. But his daughter? His only child? Yeah, Audra had cared. No matter how she’d tried not to, she’d hated how people had looked at her dad.

And her.

A few people glanced in her direction. They pointed and whispered, but it was Silas and his group that decided to say her name for everyone to hear.

“Audra McCain.”

The sound of Silas’ voice bounced off the walls and crash-landed in her ears. It vibrated down her spine and tormented her system.

Half the room went silent.

Heads turned.

Someone dropped a knife.

The metal clanked against the floor with a thud.

“What is she doing here?” someone asked. “Isn’t she the witch?”

“I can’t believe she came back,” another person whispered. “Lock your doors. Hide your guns. No one’s safe.”

She swallowed. Did everyone think she was going to go on some killing rampage?

“Well, well, well.” Silas stood in front of her with a shit-eating grin. “Who let the riffraff back in?”

“Silas,” she managed to croak out with a smile. She held her head high, something her father always told her to do when people looked down at her. She should be used to that in this town.

Victor McCain had always been an “odd duck.” He’d been considered—by most—to be the kind of person one should shy away from. Not because he’d been dangerous but because he’d been different.

When she’d been very young, she’d had no idea what that meant.

By the time she’d turned ten—after her mom passed—she’d understood quite well that her dad was indeed a little left of normal. But he was her dad. He made her pancakes every Saturday and Sunday morning. He took her fishing. He taught her how to shoot a gun. How to skin a snake. How to remove a gator from the yard. More importantly, he’d taught her how to care for herself in all the areas that mattered.

Most of his life lessons might have been considered unconventional, but to her, they’d just been a father and daughter spending time together.

“What are you doing in Calusa Cove?” Silas inched closer. His light-blue eyes bore into her like a cattle prod. He’d aged over the last sixteen years. His hair and beard had turned white. He’d put on a few pounds and looked a little rougher around the edges.

Now, he was a man someone should shy away from. As a small child, she’d cowered around Silas. For some reason, he’d reminded her of a pirate. A scary one. And he’d constantly picked on her father, getting in his face about his run-down old shack and saying it was no place to raise a child. The fact that her old home was now a vegetable and fruit stand both broke her heart and made her insanely happy.

Now, she wasn’t sure she could see that falling-down structure if she had to. There would have been too many memories. Both good and bad.

“I’m here for the same reason everyone else standing in this line is.” She puffed out her chest and held his steely gaze.

As hard as it was to believe, this had once been a man she’d held her faith in. She’d trusted him, even though her father had hated him—and her dad hated no one. But Silas had been the only one in this town who’d believed her story outside of Trip. He’d believed in what she might have seen. He’d asked her questions about it without judging, even offering to go out into the swamps to look at what her father had thought he’d found.

Silas had been kind. Caring. Gentle. Very different from the scary pirate of her childhood.

She’d seen a side of him that had taken her by surprise.

However, the more she’d talked about what she’d seen and what happened, the faster Silas had changed his tune. It hadn’t mattered that he’d been kind about it.

Are you sure you saw something? Or is that what your father told you he saw before he took you out there in the dark of night? You know how your father liked his stories…how his memory played tricks on him. Maybe what you recall is what he filled your brain with. You did have a concussion. It could’ve been an accident. You have to consider that.

Maybe Silas hadn’t believed she’d had anything to do with her father’s disappearance, but it turned out he’d never actually believed her, which had destroyed her faith in Silas.

“You came back to join the hunt for pythons?” Silas looked her up and down as he sucked on a toothpick. He leaned a little closer. “One baby gator doesn’t make you a hunter, little girl.”

“You don’t know a thing about what I’ve been up to for the last sixteen years.”

He arched a brow. “You’re not cut out for this kind of thing. Go back to wherever you came from.” He leaned closer. “You shouldn’t have come back. It’s been a long time, little girl, and the way you left this town only perpetuated the… rumors.”

“People repeating BS lies is what perpetuates them.” She swallowed her pulse. She’d never forget the night Ken had shown up at her doorstep in Virginia. She’d known the town had kept gossiping about what they believed had happened out in the swamp, but she hadn’t expected Silas to be leading the charge.

Nor had she expected Ken to beg her to stop running. To stop hiding. To face everything head-on. To go home and deal with the fallout. But she couldn’t. Ken should have understood that Calusa Cove was too small a town for that. Regardless of the lack of evidence, the people had made up their minds.

She had killed her father.

Ken had told her she was making a mistake. That she’d be running from this for the rest of her life. Then, he’d said the unthinkable. He’d told her those who loved her wondered if she knew something—was keeping secrets. After that statement, she’d told Ken to get out and that she never wanted to see him again. That she’d never loved him.

She’d never heard from Ken again.

Or anyone from Calusa Cove. Not even Baily.

The seed of doubt had been planted, and there was nothing she could do about it.

“Or maybe you make the good people of Calusa Cove nervous. You know what they say about your mama’s people…that they practiced witchcraft.” Silas arched a brow.

“My mama was no witch. Being spiritual and connected to the earth doesn’t make someone a creature of the Everglades.”

“Maybe not. But that doesn’t stop people from talking, now does it.” Silas lowered his chin. “Looks like you’re up next. Good luck,” Silas said. “You’re going to need it, little girl.” He and his crew zigzagged through the crowd and stepped outside.

Audra made her way to the counter. She sucked in a deep breath and did her best to smile at Baily, who didn’t bat an eyelash. Audra didn’t know what was worse. The pointing, whispering, and staring reactions—or this non-reaction from the girl who had been her best friend since birth. “Hey, Baily. How are you?”

“Doing just great,” Baily said.

“Not shocked to see me?” Damn it. The last thing Audra wanted was to sound desperate.

“I accepted the online reservation for the boat slip, so I knew you were coming,” Baily said. “You’re lucky I had one that late in the game.”

Audra pushed her papers across the counter. “I appreciate you not turning me away.”

“It’s just business, and it would be wrong of me to do that,” Baily said with little emotion. “We do have scout snakes in the area. The GPS tracker information on those will be in the app. You should’ve been given that information in an email.”

“I have it.” Audra nodded.

“Will you be using a drone?”

“I am, and my drone information is with my paperwork.” Audra stared at the person she had once told all her secrets to. Baily had been there when Audra’s mother had died. She’d stood at the sad gravesite that almost no one had attended and held Audra’s hand while her father cried like a baby. Baily had been one of the few people in Calusa Cove who hadn’t cared that her father was the town loon.

This woman wasn’t that girl. Audra didn’t know who this was, and that broke her heart.

“I’m staying up the street at Harvey’s Cabins. Maybe we can have a drink while I’m here,” Audra said.

Baily thumbed through the papers before stamping them and filing them with the rest of the hunters’. “You know who else is back in town?”

“Fletch.”

“He hates being called that,” Baily said. “It’s Fletcher these days.” She laughed, but it wasn’t a funny laugh. It was more like a sad one, and Audra knew why.

Audra reached across the counter. “I’m so sorry about Ken.”

Baily jerked her hand away as if she’d been burned. “I like to continue to blame Fletcher and his friends for that.”

“As in, the new cop named Dawson?” Audra’s mind drifted back to the handsome man with the dreamy eyes.

“Yeah,” Baily said softly. “Fletcher came back with three guys from Ken’s team—Dawson, Keaton, and Hayes. They run Everglades Overwatch, an airboat touring company out of my marina. Drives me crazy that I have to see them and be reminded of what happened.” She handed Audra a parking pass and a couple of stickers, along with her copy of the paperwork. “You’ll find your boat at that dock, and as you can see, many hunters are using dogs. Do you have one? Because if you do, I need to know about it.”

“No dog.”

Baily tapped one of the stickers. “Keaton, our local Fish and Wildlife guy, wants me to ask about pairing off with another team. He mentioned he reached out in an email.”

“He did, but nope, I’m staying solo.”

“All right. I’ll let him know I asked,” Baily said. “I’ll have to think about that drink.”

“I know you’re mad at?—”

“That’s not the right word.” Baily sighed. “I’m angry at Fletcher and his friends. You? Well, you hurt me, and you broke my brother’s heart. I’m not sure I want to go down memory lane with you.”

“I don’t know what Ken told you, but you know we had problems before he left for boot camp. When he found me about a year later, he…” What the hell could she say about that? Nothing. “We were kids. We can talk about all of it or not. It’s up to you.” She glanced over her shoulder. “But this isn’t the time or place.”

“Check back in when you return.” Baily nodded. “Good luck.”

“Thanks.” Audra collected her things and made a beeline for the entrance, ignoring the stares. She pushed open the door, but before she could make it outside, she bumped right into Trinity Stevenson, of all freaking people. She blinked.

Trinity stumbled backward, not because Audra knocked her that hard, but because she was wearing two-inch heels.

“Hey, watch it,” Trinity said, brushing down the front of her pretty formfitting shirt, showing off her large, perky breasts. She glanced up. “Oh my God. I can’t believe my eyes.” She brushed her blond locks from her face. She wore a pair of white shorts that barely covered her ass.

Well, who was Audra to talk? At least her shorts weren’t tight, and she would change before entering the Everglades. She wasn’t stupid.

“Trinity.” Audra nodded. “It’s been a long time.”

“Never thought I’d see you again.” Trinity folded her arms across her middle. “But snake wrangling is right up your alley.”

“Is that why you’re here? I can’t imagine you’d want to break a nail.”

Trinity laughed. “Oh, I could manage a snake if I had to, but see that pretty boat over there?” She pointed to one of the few nicer vessels in the marina. “That’s my baby. I’m headed out for the day to do some deep scuba diving.”

“Deep? As in past a hundred feet?” Now, that came as a shock to Audra.

Trinity was, by far, the richest girl in town. That should have made her popular in most towns but not Calusa Cove. She was the kind of girl who never lifted a finger. She had maids and even had a driver. She told people what to do and never did a thing for herself. At least not when it came to the simple things.

“You bet.” Trinity smiled. “Every chance I get. It’s my happy place. But I’m on a mission. I’m looking for a boat that went down last year. My friend’s little brother was the only one on it. He was lost to the sea. No one knows what happened, and my friend Mallary wants answers. I’m hoping I can give them to her.”

That didn’t sound like the Trinity Audra remembered. “I’m sorry for your friend’s loss.”

“Thank you.” Trinity nodded with a mournful look.

“Must cost a pretty penny to hire a captain every time you want to go out.” Audra’s mouth often got her in trouble back in the day, and that comment was certainly rude, considering the confession, but Audra just couldn’t help herself.

Trinity laughed. “Not when I’m the captain.”

“No way. You drive that cruiser—out in the ocean—by yourself?”

“A lot has changed since you ran off in the middle of the night.” Trinity leaned closer.

Here it comes—another dig about how she must have killed her father.

“I’m sorry about Ken. I know you and he were a long time ago, but I’m sure that still had to have hurt. He was a good man.” Trinity squeezed her shoulder. “I understand not having friends in this town, but you can consider me one. I don’t believe anything anyone has ever said about you or your dad. Get my number from Baily if you ever want to talk.”

Audra opened her mouth, but nothing came out. It was rare that anyone could render her speechless, and for it to be Trinity? Well, that just made it feel like she’d stepped right into another universe.

“Hey, Trinity,” Baily called. “ Princess Afloat is gassed up and ready to go.”

“Thanks, Baily.” Trinity waved, then smiled. “I meant what I said, Audra. Call me. I know we weren’t really friends back in high school, but we weren’t enemies either. I hope you get some pythons out there. They certainly are a menace.” She stepped around Audra, letting the door slam and leaving Audra outside in the hot, humid Florida air.

Well, that had been strange, to say the least.

Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her sunglasses and made her way down to the docks, doing her best not to scan the area for the sexy police officer. However, that turned out to be impossible, and her eyes found him—all of him—and he was certainly hot. She fanned herself and sighed. The last thing she needed was a man.

“Audra, wait up,” a familiar voice tickled her ears. Flipping Paul Massey. Another so-called friend of her dad’s who’d turned on her the second things had gotten dicey.

She paused and did a one-eighty. Over the years, she’d learned that being nice sometimes trumped being nasty. “Hi, Paul.” She grinned from ear to ear. If anyone could show sarcasm through a smile, it was her. “It’s so nice to see you.” She dug her fingernails into her thighs, waiting for the accusations.

“I can’t believe it.” He took off his baseball cap and ran his fingers through his thinning hair. Paul owned the local pub—the one her father had often frequented—and Paul had been one of the few friends her dad had had in this town. They would drink dirt-cheap whiskey—the kind that made most men’s guts rot—play cards and tell stories about the good old days. “You look good.” He was also a lawyer. He did mostly small-town stuff. Wills, traffic tickets, and he helped the townspeople find better lawyers if they found themselves in bigger trouble. He wasn’t the worst slimy lawyer in the world, but he was still an attorney.

“So do you,” she said. “How are Gina and the kids?”

“Doing great. Hailey’s married with two little ones of her own now. She lives in Alabama. And Benson lives in Miami. Gina and I miss them both, but they come to visit often. As a matter of fact, Benson is here doing the Python Challenge with me.” Paul glanced over his shoulder. “He’s around here somewhere. He came in with a few of his buddies from Miami. His friends aren’t doing the challenge. They’re doing some snorkeling in the area. They’re keeping a boat in the big yacht marina, but I’m sure Benson would love to see you and catch up.”

Yeah, right. Benson was a few years older. They hadn’t traveled in the same circles, and considering he believed the worst about her, too, she doubted he wanted anything to do with her. “Wow, you’re a grandpa. That’s awesome.” Audra shifted her weight from left to right and back again. Before her father had disappeared, Ken had talked about their future. The one where after a few years in the Navy—once he had enough money—he’d send for her. They’d get married and start a family.

Part of her had been on board with it—at least the concept of it. The only thing they hadn’t agreed on was when the family part would start. He’d thought twenty-five was a good age. She’d thought thirty.

She was only thirty-four now, and she wasn’t sure she ever wanted to have that life now. Men were dead weight. They required too much watering, and she didn’t have the time or inclination. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Dawson and Remy giving two men a hard time. Or maybe it was the other way around.

Wow. Remy had aged, but he was still as handsome as ever, and she wondered if he was still as kind.

“We love it.” Paul nodded, glancing over his shoulder, waving to Dewey, the resident mangrove trimmer. “So, python hunting? Your dad would’ve loved to see you do that. One of his shining moments was the day you wrestled that gator without his help.”

“I know. It’s one of the reasons I’m doing it.”

He nodded and shifted his gaze nervously while the two men Dawson and Remy dealt with raised their voices. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to say what everyone is thinking.” Paul scratched the back of his head before readjusting his cap. “Your dad went missing out there, and you were with him.”

“That’s a kind way of putting that you and everyone else think I killed my dad.”

He frowned. “Don’t go putting words in my mouth.”

“I don’t have to. Is there anything else you need to remind me of?” she asked. She should have known that Paul would go down this twisty road eventually.

“Your father was my friend. Not a day goes by that I don’t wonder what happened to him,” Paul said.

“You mean, you wonder if I had something to do with it.” Damn, she loved beating a dead horse.

“Little girl, you’re testing my patience.”

She squared her shoulders. God, she hated being called that, and everyone in this town older than fifty had called her that since she could remember. “I’m not a little girl anymore, and let’s be honest, Paul. I know exactly what you and everyone else in this town thinks. You all have since the day Trip Williams brought me in for questioning.”

“Don’t go disparaging a good cop who isn’t around to defend himself.” Paul lowered his chin. “Trip was a decent man. He served this community well for over thirty years. He did what he could to find out what happened to your dad—as did his son.”

“You can’t be serious. Trevor’s in jail.”

The two men were not equal, and she had never accused Trip of anything other than doing his job, even if she hadn’t liked how he’d handled things.

Paul let out a long breath. He glanced over his shoulder, lifting his hat off his head and raking his fingers through his thinning gray hair. “You don’t know the whole story regarding what happened to Trevor or what he was really doing. No one does.”

“I can’t believe you’re making excuses for Trevor. He was stripped of his badge and sent to prison a little over a year ago. I heard they brought in an outsider to make sure there was no chance of corruption happening in this small town again.” Having an outsider as chief of police gave her some confidence that the town's politics might have changed. However, it wouldn’t change how anyone perceived her, and that was something she had accepted the second she’d agreed to take the assignment for National Wildlife Magazine .

She was just doing her job. At least, that’s what she told herself. Perhaps if her boss knew her history, he might have seen things differently.

“I didn’t come over here to argue with you,” Paul said. “I wanted to say hello. It’s been a long time. Stop by the restaurant. Gina would love to see you. Drinks are on me.”

No point in continuing to be combative. She figured over the next ten days, there would be enough of that to go around. “I’ll be sure to do that. Good luck out there.”

“You, too.”

She turned and made a beeline for the dock Baily had marked where her boat would be, and that’s exactly where the rust bucket had been docked. She paused at the edge. Some guy in the distance told Dawson he was making a critical error. Interesting choice of words when a cop was slapping on the handcuffs. She’d be sure to find out what had happened there. It would give her an excuse to talk to Dawson again.

She rolled her eyes. Right. Because a sexy cop was exactly what she needed. Not.

She climbed aboard and pulled out her cell, tapping on the challenge app. It had a map of the area, indicating all the ripe spots and marking places they shouldn’t go, primarily because of the time it would take the boats to make it back before dark. It was easy to get lost in the swamplands of the Everglades.

The app also showed the locations of the few scout snakes in the area. She found it ironic that they used male pythons as “scouts.”

But she supposed it made sense. They were looking for a female to mate with. Those snakes were off-limits. They were used to help hunters locate other snakes and also aid scientists in understanding the problem.

However, for her, today wasn’t about finding a snake anyway. She’d do that tomorrow.

Quickly, she pulled out a towel, slacks, and a long-sleeved shirt. Wrapping herself in her towel, she wiggled out of her shorts and hiked up her pants. Next came the shirt. That was a little harder to do, but she managed.

She pulled out her camera. Clicking in place the smaller lens, she lifted the apparatus to her eye, focusing on the beautiful surroundings and not the people. She snapped a few shots, zooming in on the lush trees, a couple of ospreys, and the mouth of the river leading to the Everglades.

God, how she hated to admit she missed this place.

A small town nestled between the winding channels of the Everglades, the ocean, and the hustle and bustle of seaside towns filled with tourists. In some ways, it was like a forgotten city. A ghost town, only the ghosts were real live people.

She scanned toward all the people climbing aboard their airboats, reminding herself she had a story to write, and that meant she couldn’t avoid snapping a few shots of the humans involved.

Benson filled her lens. He stood there at the end of the dock with his father. She stared at him through her camera. He’d aged some but otherwise looked exactly the same. He’d been a bit of an odd duck back in the day. Quiet. Kept to himself, except for his best friend, Trevor Williams. Now, that had been a strange pairing.

She set her camera aside and went about checking her gear. She had everything she needed to safely capture and humanely kill pythons. Her GPS was ready, though she knew these parts like the back of her hand. At least, she used to. She had water and snacks for the day.

Everyone who was participating had made their way to their boats. A man with a bullhorn stood on the end of the far dock.

“Good morning, everyone,” he said. “My name is Keaton Cole, and I’m with Fish and Wildlife. In a roundabout way, I’ll be your guide for the next ten days.”

So, he was the guy Dawson had mentioned she should have a sit-down with. That meant he’d served in the military with him and Fletcher.

Which also meant he knew Ken.

She sighed.

Damn shame what had happened to Ken. He’d died almost three years ago. She’d read about it in the Calusa Cove Gazette . They’d done a full-page spread on him and his team, featuring Fletcher and how he’d gotten a medal. She was sure Fletcher hated both the article and the medal.

“You all should’ve gotten my contact information from Baily. We don’t have any novices registered in this area, so we’ll let you all go off. However, my team and I will be out there, checking in with everyone. You all know the rules. We expect you to follow them. If you don’t, you’ll be pulled from the challenge. Please remember why we’re doing this. The sole purpose is to remove the pythons from this ecosystem, but we want to do it humanely and safely. We’ve already dealt with two people who thought they could skirt the rules. They weren’t locals. Most of the rest of you are, so please make my team’s job easy. Don’t make me call the chief of police. You all know how he gets,” he said with a grin. “Now, go out there and enjoy the hunt.”

The sound of airboat engines firing up filled the air.

Silas and his crew were the first three boats out into the channel, followed by Paul and his son Benson, along with a few boats she didn’t know and two more familiar locals.

Audra decided to hang back and let all of them race down the channel and into the Everglades in a mad rush. There was time and plenty of snakes to catch. She wasn’t in this for the prize, though she did want to do her part. But again, today wasn’t about that. Today was about the past.

Her heart hammered in the center of her chest.

Today, she would go to the spot where she last remembered seeing her father alive. The exact spot where he’d shown her the abandoned shack containing crates marked with unusual symbols. It had been so dark that night that even she had started questioning whether she’d really seen it. Hours later, she’d woken up on that boat—drifting in the swamp—cold, alone, and covered in blood.

She swallowed the bile that bubbled up in her throat as the last boats zoomed by.

“Excuse me.” Keaton strolled down the dock. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes,” she said. “Just thought I’d avoid the craziness of the rush.”

“You must be Audra,” Keaton said.

She cocked her head. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised the news of my name travels fast.”

He chuckled. “I won’t lie. Dawson texted me first, asking me to keep an eye out for you. Then Fletcher. But you were already on my radar.”

“And why is that?” Her body tingled just hearing Dawson’s name. She shoved that sensation down deep.

“Because you’re the only boat flying solo, and I don’t like that.” He cocked his head. “Everyone else is in at least a team of two. I asked around to see if someone would buddy up and learned you refused. Now, may I ask why that is?”

“Sure.” She reached over and untied the bow line while he released the stern. “It’s simple. I don’t play nice in the swamp.”

“Fletcher warned me you were full of sarcasm.” He waggled his finger. “I understand you’re originally from this area, and Fletcher assures me you know these parts as well as he does?—”

“Better.”

“That’s all fine and dandy, but wrangling these pythons alone is tricky business.”

“I’m aware. I’ve done it before.” She set the bow line aside and climbed on the captain’s chair. “I’ll be safe out there. Promise.”

“Just use that radio of yours if you need help.”

“Will do.” She nodded. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“Why did your buddy and Remy arrest two men a little while ago? What did they do?” She lifted her press badge. “And let me say I’m asking for an article I’m writing.”

“You’ll have to take that up with Dawson.”

“Fair enough.” She snagged her ear protection and wrapped them around her neck. “Any chance you’ll let me interview you for my article? Dawson and Fletcher recommended I speak with you.”

“I’d be happy to.” He gave her boat a little shove with his foot.

“I’ll be in touch.” She fired up her engine. Time to visit the past.