Night Waves (17 page)

She had to tell Nick about Chad before it was too late. Cali’s eyes strayed to her opened purse.

“I took your cell phone.”

She jumped, surprised he had noticed her intent. She dug inside her purse. The phone was gone. “When?”

“When you went into the bathroom to change.” He pulled the thin, silver phone out of his back pocket and tapped it on the steering wheel. “You’ll learn soon that I’m not stupid, Cali.”

She lunged for the phone. He lifted his arm and used his elbow to shove her back. “This kind of behavior will not be tolerated,” he said as if he had full authority over her.

“It doesn’t matter. Nick will find me.” Cali believed her words, but prayed it wouldn’t be too late when he did. “He’ll make you pay for what you’ve done.”

“Enough.” Chad lifted his hand as if to strike her.

She recoiled, holding up her shaky hands.

“That’s better. What do you say we give your boyfriend Nick a call? Want to say goodbye?”

Cali’s pulse increased. If given the chance to speak with him, all she would have to do is say Chad’s name, and Nick would be able to find her. Her hopes rose.

“On second thought, I think I’ll do the talking,” he said as if he had read her mind. He glanced at her, studying her reaction.

“You never planned on letting me say a word did you?”

Chad smirked as he pulled into a driveway in front of a small yellow, wind-battered cottage. He cut the engine, flipped open her phone, and turned it on. When it was ready, he dialed a number.

Chad clamped his free hand over Cali’s mouth and yanked her head back against his shoulder. His damp, gritty palm felt like wet sandpaper against her skin, and the acrid scent of salty sweat reeked from his body.

He leaned his head close. So close, she heard Nick’s voice as he answered, “Cali? Where are you?”

Night Waves

“Sorry. Cali can’t talk right now.” A man’s voice interrupted Nick’s initial relief. “Then again, I’m not so sorry.”

Nick recognized the stalker’s voice from when he had called before. Fear clawed through his chest. His heartbeat skipped, and then jumped into overdrive. “Where is she? If you hurt her…”

“I thought you might like to say bye to your woman. Here she is.”

Muffled screams tore through the phone. The gut wrenching sound confirmed Nick’s worst fears. The High Tide Stalker had taken Cali.

“Release her,” Nick demanded. Cold sweat beaded across his brow. He paced across the upper level of his cottage as it creaked and shuddered with the crash of the surf below.

“You ask for too much. I’ve released Serena and Marlene. I think that’s a fair trade. Don’t you?”

“Let me talk to her.”

“Don’t you think you’d better find the other women before the tide does?”

“I said, let me talk to her,” his sharp words evoked a response from Cali. Another muffled cry came through. “Cali! Stay strong baby. I’ll find you,” he raised his voice, hoping she would hear him.

A short, jeering laugh taunted Nick. “You’d better find the other women. How would it look if the famed sheriff of Coral Isle let two women drown in order to save another?”

“Where are they?”

A shout, followed by cursing pierced Nick’s ears. Cali screamed, and the line went dead.

“No. Dear God. No,” Nick barely recognized his own, hollow voice as he prayed.

He shrugged into his rain jacket, simultaneously dialing the station. “Helen, the stalker released two victims. Send Deputies Owen and Castle to the nature preserve. Tell them to be prepared for flooded roads, and tell them not to come back without the women.”

“What’s your location, Sheriff?”

He hesitated. “The High Tide Stalker took Cali.”

Silence filled the airwaves.

“I’m going to find her.”

****

“You’ll learn to submit.” Chad’s confident statement surrounded Cali as he forced her out of the Jeep. She fought him, knowing if he got her inside the cottage, her chances of escape would severely diminish. He tossed her cell phone into the back of the Jeep and used both arms to throw her over his shoulder.

Cali beat his back with her fists. She kicked her legs and hit something solid. He groaned and dropped her to the ground. She landed hard. Pain coursed through her as she fought for breath. Chad loomed over her and raised his hand. She twisted and struggled to her feet. He grabbed her shoulder, spinning her around with his harsh grip. She turned her head and sunk her teeth into his hand.

Cali tasted blood.

Repulsed, she pulled her teeth from his flesh. He kicked her feet out from under her, causing her to fall. The wind blew debris into her eyes, and she closed them against the pain. He again tossed her over his shoulder in one swift movement. She flailed her arms and legs, trying to knock him off balance. She screamed as loud as she could, but the winds muffled her desperate cries for help.

“Stop fighting me. You’re no match for my strength,” he said as he carried her the remaining distance to the cottage. He unlocked and opened the door. She latched onto the doorframe, digging her fingers into the wood.

Her attempts slowed his progress, but didn’t stop him. He tore her hands lose with a violent jerk, and dragged her inside, tossing his keys into a nearby container. When he shut the door, darkness consumed the damp, musty room and instantly awakened her claustrophobia. The smell of rotting food assaulted her senses, and she gagged in reflex. Panic tore through her, renewing her strength to fight. She jerked back and fell off his shoulder and onto the floor, but he had her by the arm in an instant. She yanked and pulled at his grip as she struggled to catch the breath she had lost on impact with the hard floor. A warm trickle of his blood rolled down her skin.

At least when she had bitten him, she had done some damage.

He grunted, and then a metallic chink awakened her imagination. What is he doing? At a severe disadvantage in the dark, she had no idea where to turn for help. She groped for a weapon with one arm, while he continued to yank on her other arm. Then a hard, cold band clamped around her wrist. When it clicked closed, she ceased to fight. Chad had managed to handcuff her to something unmovable.

He stepped away, stumbled and cursed again. A moment later, the flame from a match lit the room. He lit a candle. Then another. By the time he had finished, a dozen candles flickered in a living room and kitchen.

Large stacks of newspapers littered the brown-carpeted floor. Dust covered the coffee and end tables. Several leftover pizza boxes lay scattered in the kitchen, and food rotted on dirtied dishes on the counter, obviously the source of the putrid smell.

Cali tugged at her manacled wrist, discovering she was cuffed to the bar that separated the living room from the kitchen.

Chad looked at his bloody hand. His gaze crept up. “You’ll be sorry you bit me.”

Alarm surged through her. Searching for a way to avoid his revenge, she asked, “Why? Why did you take them?”

He rubbed a hand across his jaw, making the stubble rasp beneath his touch. “Let’s see.” He sat on the edge of a futon sofa, which was the only place to sit in the small space. “I took Nancy because she back-talked me. I will not tolerate that.” A satisfied smirk tilted his lips. “She learned her lesson.”

“The others?”

“The kid sassed me, too.”

“I know Serena didn’t. She’s not like that.”

“No. She’s not. I took her because I could.”

Cali lifted her eyebrows. “Because you could? That’s the only reason?” She adjusted her arm to ease the burning pain. He had pulled so hard to get her inside, she was afraid a muscle might have torn in her shoulder, or worse.

He shrugged. “Serena was convenient. An easy target. She wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings, so I chose her. But, I had no need for her after I met you. I saw you talking with Trey, and I knew you were next.”

Cali swallowed the bile rising in her throat. “Next? Do you ever plan on stopping?”

“Especially after you called me a coward at the press conference,” he continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “That was a mistake, for you. For me, it was an awakening.”

“Because you know it’s true?” she dared ask.

He sat forward. “No. Because I was growing bored with the others, and I didn’t understand why until I saw you. I knew you’d provide a challenge the others didn’t. I’m going to enjoy breaking your spirit. You’ll learn to control your mouth. You’ll learn to obey me. You’ll see.” A glimmer of perversion entered his eyes.

Cali remembered what Nick had said about the perpetrator needing to take more risks in order to satisfy his growing need for power and control. Discovering how accurate he had been was turning out to be a nightmare.

“Did you take Serena from the beach?” Somehow, Cali couldn’t imagine Chad carrying her, kicking and screaming from the populated area. “Or did you drug her like you did the other women?”

He tapped his index finger on his cheek. “You are a curious one aren’t you? I suspected you would be, since you’re a reporter.” He hesitated, and a gloating smile appeared. “I saw Serena on the beach. I followed her back to her cottage. Just like the others. Of course, the sheriff delayed my plans for you. Always hanging around…” he waved a hand in the air with disgust. “Then he took you from the motel. It cost me precious time to locate you. But, the newspaper helped me a great deal with that.” He sighed, long and deep, his shoulders heaving with the effort. “No matter. You’re mine now.”

A chill of revulsion plagued her, but Cali refused to be sidetracked. “Did you break into their cottages like you did my motel room?”

“Twice. Once to lace their drinks with GHB, the second to retrieve them after they’d passed out.” He looked pleased with himself.

“So, you target unsuspecting women who are alone and take them after they’ve been drugged? You are the worst kind of coward.”

He rose and stalked toward her. “You’ll learn not to use that word, Cali.” He traced a finger along her chin, his breath hot on her cheek. “Soon enough.”

She jerked away, moving as far away as her restraints allowed. “Why did you bother to take Marlene if you wanted me next?” she asked, trying to distract him.

“To lure the sheriff away from you. I would’ve had you last night, if Sheriff Justice hadn’t returned at the wrong time.”

“You were outside my cottage last night?”

“Don’t you mean Nick’s cottage?” he sneered.

“I don’t understand why. You have a good career. You save people for a living. Why jeopardize it to hurt women?”

“I’m a complex man, Cali. There’s much more to me than what people see on the outside. I have friends, family. I can get a date whenever I want. But none of them satisfy my deepest needs.”

A shiver swept through her. “There are people out there who can help you.”

“I know.” His eyes strayed to her. “You’re one of them. Hungry?”

His unexpected question threw her off guard. Cali studied him in the glow of the candlelight. The yellow, dancing flames cast shadows across his unpredictable features. He stepped back and walked around the counter to the kitchen as if nothing were out of the ordinary.

“Let me help you prepare something.” She would try anything to get out of the handcuffs.

Chad stopped, turned and walked back. “I told you I’m not stupid.”

Cali’s mind threaded through possible replies. How can I convince him? If she were to get free, he could easily overcome her physically. The words she had spoken to Serena at the press conference came back. Fight back and fight hard. Cali had been speaking in physical terms at the time. But now, she would have to fight with another means.

God, gran
t
me serenity…

She would have to calm her nerves and focus if she was going to talk her way out of the cuffs. Cali took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Why don’t you let me go? You said I’m no match for your strength. And you’re right. You’re a strong man, Chad. I could never overcome you.”

“I know,” he agreed.

“I’ll do what you say.”

Chad made no attempt to release her. “You’re not ready to submit to me yet. Don’t play games, Cali. You’ll get burned.”

She switched tactics. “What’s the matter? Don’t think you can handle me?” she taunted, turning her false submission into aggression.

He laughed a humorless crackle of a sound. “You’re nothing for me to worry about.”

“If you really believe that, uncuff me.”

Chad clenched his jaw, appearing to consider her words.

She took a chance and added, “Or do you want me to see what kind of coward you really are?” She braced for his reaction.

“Don’t call me that!” Angry lines formed across his brow, his face reddened, and his pulse throbbed at his temple. He removed the key from his pocket.

He jerked her wrist toward him and jammed the key into the slot. Within seconds, he had her wrist free. He took her arm, twisting the already painful muscles as he drew her near. “I told you not to call me a coward. You will regret your decision to disobey me.”

Desperate, Cali tugged against him, looking for an opportunity to escape. Chad forced her toward the futon, the handcuffs clanking along the way. He shoved her onto the thin cushion, holding her wrist. If he confined her again, she would have no chance to escape, no chance to find Serena, and no chance to see if she and Nick could have a future together. A surge of adrenaline and anger swept through her system. No one had the right to jeopardize her future or her happiness.

Chad could bind her again within seconds. Cali searched the room for a weapon and spotted a wide brimmed candle within reach. She took her free hand, grabbed the candle and shoved it at his face. The melted wax sprayed across his exposed skin and splattered across his eyes. Adhering. Burning.

He screeched, releasing her wrist to cover his face with his palms.

Cali leapt away, grabbing another candle. But instead of throwing it at him, she tossed the candle into the pile of newspapers on the floor.

The paper ignited and the carpet caught fire, spreading as if fueled by gasoline. Flames engulfed the room within seconds. Smoke choked her lungs. She dropped to her knees, gasping for breath. She crawled to the door and opened it. She looked back. Chad stood, reaching out, groping the air in blind fury.

Cali ran into the raging storm, leaving the door open wide, desperate to escape the man who had become known as the High Tide Stalker. Adrenaline gave her momentum, but fear made her clumsy. She tripped as fear clawed at her, making her flight reckless with abandon. She climbed to her feet, determined to fight her way to freedom.

The wind tossed her around as if she weighed no more than a child. She fell again, struggled to her feet and ran. She squinted against the debris-filled wind and held up her arms to shield her face.

She ran toward the dark outline of a neighboring cottage, darting into the side yard and around the corner of a shadowy screened-in porch. Wind chimes clanked nearby, and tree branches scraped against windows. She backed against the cottage, plastering herself against the wooden shingles as the rain pelted her in a relentless cascade.

Gasping for air, she fell to her knees, shivering as her soaked clothes clung to her skin. With teeth chattering, Cali dared to peek around the corner. Flames had already eaten a hole through the roof on Chad’s cottage, and the front door remained open wide, swinging back and forth in the wind. The orange-yellow glow of the fire illuminated the doorway. But she didn’t see Chad. Was he still inside? Bile rose in her throat. Even forced to defend herself, the reality of someone in pain because of her actions made her nauseous.

She needed a phone. She needed Nick.

Only God can fulfill all of our needs, she remembered Nick’s words. She prayed, “Help me Lord. Protect me.”

She searched for signs of life in the neighborhood. But, with no electricity, she had no way of telling if anyone remained behind in the storm. Afraid to run into the open and knock on doors, she remained hunched beside the cottage, praying someone would see the flames and call for help. Then she remembered Chad telling one of the callers at the station that no emergency help was available due to the mandatory evacuation. Her heart lurched, and her hopes of finding help faded.