Fatal Disclosure (23 page)

Mark stared up at the sky and cringed at the lightning streaks. He had promised he would protect Betsy, and he hadn’t. When he couldn’t get Betsy on the phone earlier, he should have left to search for her. Brock and Scott could have handled the smugglers. His first priority should have been the woman he loved. He would never forgive himself for not saving her.

A loud clap of thunder startled him, and he jumped. He was helpless to do anything except look for Betsy right now. If she was still alive, though, he knew she wouldn’t have given up. Her faith would have kept her fighting until the very end. He closed his eyes and prayed God would protect her until he could find her.

“Here’s the first blind,” Scott yelled.

He cut the motor and drifted closer to the spot where the first curtain blind was located. He pulled a flashlight from underneath his seat and swept the beam over the rolling water. There was no sign of Betsy.

After a few minutes of looking, Scott guided the boat away from the sandbar and headed toward the next one. The search there proved just as futile as the first stop. As they sped toward the next blind, the storm began to die down.

“The storm is moving toward the mainland,” Scott shouted. “Maybe we can see better now.” He pointed straight ahead. “Here’s another blind.”

Mark gripped the edge of the boat and swept the flashlight’s beam across the water as they approached. “Betsy, it’s Mark. Can you hear me?” he yelled.

Only the roar of the ocean answered.

He moved the light across the water again and stopped to focus it on something bobbing on the water’s surface. “What’s that?”

Scott peered in the direction of the light. “It looks like the wing of the blind.”

“Can you get closer?”

Mark studied the wing as they approached. All at once his breath exploded from his mouth. “There she is!” he cried. “She’s on top of the wing.”

Before Scott could answer, Mark dived into the water and swam toward the wing. When he reached it, he didn’t think he could touch her. What if he was too late and she was dead? He couldn’t live knowing she was gone. With trembling hands, he grabbed Betsy’s arm and shook it. “Betsy, it’s Mark. Scott and I are here to get you.”

She didn’t move for a moment, and his heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. Then she raised her head and smiled. “I knew you would come. I hung on until you got here.”

He pulled her toward him until she was at the edge of the wing, then wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into the water. Scott eased the boat up beside them and reached over the side to help lift Betsy into the boat. He laid her down and reached back to give Mark a hand.

Mark dropped down beside Betsy and swept her into his arms. All the way back to shore, he held her and thanked God for sparing her life. Just as Scott steered the boat into the harbor, she opened her eyes and gazed up at Mark. “You said you’d protect me, and you did. Thank you.”

He wanted to speak, but he couldn’t make his voice cooperate. He smiled and nodded. She closed her eyes and didn’t speak again.

The EMTs, alerted by Scott of their arrival, waited onshore and whisked Betsy away to the health center as soon as they docked. When the ambulance carrying Betsy disappeared, Scott turned to Mark and stuck out his hand.

“Thank you for all you’ve done for my sister. I’ll never be able to repay you.”

Mark grasped his hand. “It was my pleasure. Betsy is the most wonderful woman I’ve ever met.”

Scott cocked his head to one side and studied him. “I need to go to the station and help Brock with our prisoners. I called Lisa, so all the Michaels women are headed to the health center right now. Are you ready to go see Brock?”

Mark debated where he should go before he responded. It was true he had a job to do, but tonight he had almost lost the most important person in his life. Nothing mattered more right now than seeing that Betsy was all right. He shook his head. “You and Brock can handle those guys. I’ll wait at the health center to see what Doc has to say about Betsy.”

Scott grinned. “Yeah, I think that’s where you need to be, too. I’ll drop you off on my way to the station.”

Mark looked out the window of Scott’s squad car as they drove to the health center. The storm had passed now, and large puddles of water filled the streets. They reminded him of the desperate minutes he and Scott had spent searching for Betsy. He closed his eyes and said a prayer of thanks to God for protecting her.

His time on Ocracoke had made him accept some important truths. He now understood what Betsy and Laura had meant when they spoke of their faith. There was still a lot about God and his newfound peace he needed to learn, but that would come with time.

Also, he’d faced the fact that he loved Betsy Michaels. He probably had since he’d first known her, but his misguided vendetta for his parents’ deaths had clouded his thinking. No matter how he felt, though, Betsy didn’t return his feelings. He’d heard her tell her sister and sister-in-law he was the last man she would ever get involved with.

He didn’t blame her for feeling that way. He had hurt her in the past, but he wouldn’t anymore. The minute he knew she was out of danger, he would leave Ocracoke. He doubted if he would continue in police work, but he was sure God would be with him wherever he went.

* * *

In contrast to last night’s storm, the morning sun streamed through the window at the health center. Betsy smiled and took a deep breath. It was great to be alive.

She glanced down at the outfit Kate had brought and helped her put on after Doc had agreed to let her go home. She patted her hair in place and waited for Mark to arrive. She remembered seeing him last night, but he hadn’t yet come this morning. She wanted to thank him again for saving her life. But most of all, she wanted to tell him what she had promised herself she would do if she survived her terrifying ordeal. She was going to tell him she loved him.

It made no difference that he didn’t love her. She could live with that, but he deserved to know that he was worthy of love. She wanted him to remember that when he left Ocracoke.

A tap at the door startled her. She sat up straight in her chair and smiled. “Come in.”

The door opened, and her heart plummeted. Scott hesitated before stepping into the room. “What’s the matter? Aren’t you glad to see me?”

She jumped up, ran to her brother and hugged him. “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be after how you risked your life to save me?”

He shook his head. “Mark deserves most of the credit. He’s the one who found your cell phone and forced one of Will’s men to tell him what had happened to you. If it hadn’t been for him, we might have been too late to rescue you.”

“Then I’ll have to thank him when he comes by. I thought he’d be here by now. I wonder what’s keeping him.” When Scott didn’t answer her, she glanced at him. “What’s the matter?”

Scott rubbed his neck and shook his head. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but…”

“But what?” she interrupted.

He took a deep breath and exhaled. “Mark came by the office this morning to help us get our prisoners aboard the helicopter that took them to the mainland jail. After they left, he told Brock and me he was leaving today for Raleigh.”

Betsy gasped and sank down on the bed. “Raleigh? Why would he leave without saying goodbye?”

“I don’t know. He was like a wild man last night when we were looking for you. Then he sat in that chair by your bed all night. He didn’t leave until Doc assured him you were going to be all right.”

Tears streamed down Betsy’s face. “But he can’t go. I need to tell him how much I love him.”

Scott grinned. “You do? Well, I have a hunch he loves you, too. Nobody goes as crazy as he did last night unless he’s in love.”

Betsy sprang up from the bed. “Do you really think he loves me?”

“I do.” Scott glanced at his watch. “It’s almost time for the ferry to leave. Why don’t we try to stop him before he gets onboard?”

Betsy was out of the door and running down the hall before Scott could finish his sentence. They sprinted across the health center parking lot and jumped in Scott’s squad car. “Turn on the siren, Scott. This is an emergency.”

“You got it, sis,” he said and pulled out into the street with his lights flashing and siren blaring.

Betsy grasped the edge of her seat as they sped to the ferry boarding area. As they approached, she saw cars lined up waiting to drive forward. She scanned the long line. “There he is, near the front.”

Scott skidded to a stop, and Betsy jumped out. She ran to Mark’s car and beat on the window. “Pull out of the line, Mark,” she yelled.

The window rolled down, and Mark stared at her as if he couldn’t believe his eyes. “Betsy, what are you doing here? You shouldn’t be out of the hospital.”

“Pull out of line, Mark. I need to talk to you.”

He glanced at the cars in front of him that had begun to drive forward to the boarding ramp and back to her. “All right,” he said and drove to the far side of the parking area.

She glanced back at Scott, who gave her a thumbs-up before she hurried over to Mark. When he got out of his car she stared up into his face. “Why are you leaving?”

The muscle in his jaw twitched, and he frowned. “I have a report to file and a case to finish up.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

He raked his hand through his hair. “I don’t know. Probably take some time off. I need to make some decisions about my life.”

“Do those decisions have anything to do with me?”

“Yes.” He swallowed. “Last night was the worst night of my life. I thought you were dead, and I didn’t know how I could face that.”

“Because you had promised to protect me?”

He nodded. “Partly, but most of all because of how I feel about you, Betsy.” He took a step closer. “I know you still harbor a lot of anger at me over what happened in Memphis, and I don’t blame you. But I love you. I can’t be near you anymore without wanting to hold you in my arms, and it’s killing me. I need to leave.”

Her heart skittered in her chest, and she smiled. She reached up and caressed his cheek. “When I was hanging on to that wooden platform last night, I promised myself if I lived I would tell you how much I love you. I couldn’t let you leave without telling you.”

A look of wonder covered his face. “Do you really love me, Betsy?”

“I do, with all my heart. Please don’t leave me.”

She didn’t know who made the first move, but suddenly they were locked in each other’s arms. His lips covered hers, and her heart soared. He pulled back and stared into her eyes. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

She chuckled. “Oh, I can assure you it is.” She pulled his head down, and they kissed again.

After a moment, he took a deep breath, held her at arm’s length, and glanced over his shoulder at the cars that had started to board the ferry. “Betsy, I have to go to Raleigh and talk with my superiors. A lot has happened since yesterday, and we have to tie up all the loose ends. Maybe I can be back here in two weeks. Then we’ll talk about when we’re going to get married and where we’re going to live.” He paused and stared at her. “You will marry me, won’t you?”

She laughed. “Of course I will, and I’ll be right here waiting for you. You’d better call me every day, though.”

His eyes grew wide. “I almost forgot.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out her cell phone. “I meant to give this to Scott to return to you. Get it charged up so I can call you tonight.”

“I will.”

He kissed her once more and then laughed. “Who else would have a phone decorated with bright flowers and butterflies? I love you, Betsy Michaels.”

“I love you, too, Mark Webber.”

He jumped back in his car, and she watched as he drove onto the ferry. His car pulled on deck, and then he appeared at the railing. She stood in the boarding area and waved until the ferry disappeared out of the harbor and began its journey across Pamlico Sound to the mainland.

She glanced down at her cell phone and laughed. Bright flowers and fluttering butterflies, two of God’s beautiful creations. And He had used that cell phone to bring Mark to her during the worst storm of the season. She breathed another prayer of thanks for bringing Mark into her life and walked back to where her brother waited. She could hardly wait to tell him they were about to have a new member in their family.

* * *

Three weeks later, Betsy and Mark sat on a blanket on the beach near Betsy’s home. Her eleven-year-old sister, Emma, raced with Rascal, her beloved cat, along the water’s edge. Betsy smiled in contentment. Mark had been back a week and they were already planning a Labor Day wedding.

She reached over and covered his hand with hers. “Happy?”

Smiling, he leaned over and kissed her. “I’ve never felt this good in my life. You’re safe and well from your ordeal, and Will and his smugglers, along with two hired assassins disguised as elderly schoolteachers, are in jail where it looks like they’ll be for a long time.”

“I still can’t believe Miranda and Lizzy were the ones who killed John.”

“I can’t, either, but the guns we found in their car matched the two bullets in John’s body. They have quite a criminal background. They’ve worked for the drug cartel for years. There’s no telling how many people they’ve killed. I get angry every time I think about how they helped orchestrate your abduction at the general store.”

Her heart lurched at the memory. “I do, too.”

“But thanks to John’s flash drive, they won’t be a threat any more. The DEA has closed down drug rings in four major cities.” He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Of course, the best thing that’s happened is I’m going to marry the most beautiful woman in the world.”

His words erased all the fears of the past weeks from her mind. She was safe now with the man she loved, and they had a lifetime ahead of them. The fact that he was devoted to her little sister only added to her happiness. “We have another blessing, too. Don’t forget Mona. She’s being released from the hospital tomorrow. That’s some of the best news I’ve heard lately.”

“Yeah, and my sister is going to come for our wedding before she moves to Memphis.” He sighed. “I could go on forever thanking God for how everything turned out. How could life get any better?”