The Rachel Scott Adventures, Volume 1 (18 page)

“H
ow can we ever thank you?” Governor Knowles shook Rachel’s hand and then gave her a hearty embrace.

“Just seeing Amber back with her family is thanks enough.” Rachel looked over at Shawn, who was propped up in his hospital bed. “He’s the real hero.”

Shawn shrugged. “I felt responsible for getting Amber into that mess.”

Mike and Rachel were with the governor, Sarah, and Amber in Shawn’s hospital room to give them an update and say their goodbyes. Drake and his crew had already briefed the governor and were on their way back to Quantico.

A few minutes earlier, Shawn had explained to everyone what had happened the last few days:

“I had a feeling that something was off before we set sail for Tampa,” he’d said. “My suspicions were confirmed when Andy came by our room the night before we left. He’d overheard a conversation between the head of security, Edward Schultz, and another security guy. Schultz said they planned to get rid of me. At first Andy thought they meant fire me, until Schultz said that someone was being sent to ‘shut me up permanently.’ So I prepared as much as I could. I told Andy that I was undercover and asked him if he trusted me enough to help. We’d both served in the armed forces—although at different times and places—and he couldn’t resist helping a former brother out.

“What I didn’t count on was meeting Amber and getting her involved. When I walked her back to the suite that night, I was as surprised by the attacker as Amber was. Looking back, I should’ve been more alert. Pezzini must have followed me back from the commissary. When I unlocked Amber’s door, he pushed me inside. He immediately saw Amber on the balcony and forced me out there with her. Pleading with him didn’t get anywhere and I ran out of options. Pezzini had a gun pointed at Amber and she was ready to jump overboard.

“Just remembering her straddling the rail, leaning over the edge precariously, is terrifying. Pezzini was distracted for a moment when Amber leaned over the edge. I rushed him and knocked the gun out of his hands. It went off, but no one got hit. We struggled, and Pezzini fell overboard. He almost took Amber with him, but I grabbed her in time. She fell off the railing and hit her head. I didn’t know how badly she was injured or how many other Morrotti’s men were after me.

“I was afraid that with Pezzini falling from Amber’s balcony, Morrotti might think she had something to do with his death, or had something to do with our drug sting. I thought neither of us was safe. At this point, the only person I trusted on the ship was Andy. So I decided we had to make a run for it. I would contact Mike once we were safe on land. At least that was the plan.

“Convincing Amber to leave with me was tricky. I wasn’t ready to reveal to Amber who I really was. In case we were caught, I figured the less she knew the better. I stuck close to the truth and told her that I was a government agent working for her father and was on the boat to protect her. Little did I know that Amber had had an argument with her parents refusing security on the cruise. I guess that worked in my favor.

“Getting off the boat was a little difficult, but with Andy’s help, we did it. Like I said, on my rare days off, I explored the ship. One day I found a storage room where rubber dinghies that needed repair were stashed. I knew where I could launch a boat in an emergency. So I got a dinghy ready.

“Amber and I hid on the ship until it was close to shore. Andy helped us launch the dinghy without being seen, and we made it to Freeport. Then we looked for a safe place to go. Captain Martin or Edward Schultz must have put out a call to their crew when we were reported missing, because a black sport utility vehicle found us really soon and almost ran us over. Before we could react, two large men overpowered us and threw us in the back of the truck.

“They taped our mouths and bound our feet and hands. After a short drive, they loaded us onto a boat and took us below. I’ll never forget the frightened look in Amber’s eyes. Within an hour, we arrived at our destination.

“We were led off the boat onto a sandy beach. It was then that I realized we were at Cabana Cay. After being loaded onto a golf cart, we traveled down a narrow path until we came to a large plantation house. ‘This is weird,’ I remember thinking. The house looked out of place on a seemingly deserted island. It reminded me of a large sugarcane plantation home. Then Amber and I were separated. I was ushered into a small, dark room and bound to a chair. I braced myself for an interrogation and a possible beating, which is exactly what happened.

“What I didn’t understand is why they didn’t throw us overboard or kill us while they had a chance. Why keep us alive? Morrotti must have suspected that I was an undercover agent and knew I would put some major heat on SeaScape Cruise Lines. Or put them out of business for good. Maybe having Amber with me confused them just enough that they weren’t sure what my deal was. I mean, why would an undercover agent be traveling with a high school student, right?

“For two days, I was beaten and interrogated. I was given small amounts of water and bread. But I never revealed my true identity. Then a miracle happened. When Andy realized I was missing, he had found out from a friend of his on the security team that I was being hidden on Asylum Harbor. When the ship docked at Cabana Cay, Andy hid in one of the empty cabanas after the ship left that night. He knew it would be a few hours before someone noticed he was missing. Andy put his special forces training to good use and spent the next thirty-six hours finding his way around the island looking for me. He was able to sneak into the security office and swipe a gun. He followed another guard and found where I was being held. He overpowered the guard, knocked him unconscious, and hid his body in the bushes. Boy, was I happy to see Andy.

“Getting Amber was a different story. I wasn’t really sure if she was even still on the island. I figured if she was then she was probably being held in one of the cottages. But Andy hadn’t found her when he was searching for me.

“Just as we were about to check out the cottages, we saw Judy getting off an ATV and head into the main house with a large bag. We heard her say something on the radio about Amber before she went inside. Andy left to go secure a boat while I went inside the house. I surprised Judy in the kitchen and subdued her. It took me a while to find Amber’s room. When I did, I was the one in for a surprise. She had been planning to escape that night and was waiting for Judy to come in. Amber attacked me before I could tell her who I was. Once she realized it was me—and it took some convincing for her to trust me again—we left the house. We used Judy’s keys and took the ATV down toward the beach. We met back up with Andy, who had acquired one of the rental boats. What we didn’t know was that Rachel and her team were on the island at the same time looking for us.”

Amber got up and gave Shawn a hug. “Thank you for rescuing me, and for trying your best to save my aunt. I’ll never forget that.”

Rachel had been told earlier that morning that Stephanie Sloan had succumbed to her injuries on the way to the hospital. She was pronounced dead upon arrival along with Andy White.

Governor Knowles shook Shawn’s hand. “Thank you for looking after my daughter. I’m sorry about your friend Andy. He was very brave to do what he did and I’ll never forget it.”

Mike Mancini then gave Governor Knowles an update on the DEA’s investigation into SeaScape Cruise Lines.

“The DEA found over twenty million dollars of cocaine in a hidden compartment on the
SeaStar
. They had been secretly using Cabana Cay as a meeting place to transport cocaine and marijuana into the United States. We’re looking into some ties between Morrotti and one of the largest Cuban drug lords.

“Morrotti suspected Shawn was undercover and sent one of his henchmen, Charles Jacobsen, who had a suite next to Amber’s, to take care of Shawn. Danny Pezzini worked for Jacobsen and was sent to do the dirty work. Like Shawn said, Amber just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“One of the employees, a security guard who worked with Schultz, admitted to drugging female passengers and sexually assaulting them. Melodie Sayers was one of those passengers, and she was taken off the ship and kept at Asylum Harbor, where she was passed around by the security guards. Unfortunately, we believe she was killed and her body was dumped.

“The good news is that Morrotti, Captain Martin, Schultz, and some of their crew are being held without bond on multiple charges.”

The governor and his wife thanked Rachel and Mike again. After promising to keep in touch, Rachel left the hospital and headed to the hotel to pack.

Waiting by the hotel lobby elevator, Rachel heard her name being called. She turned around to see Mike waving at her.

“Hey there. Glad I caught up with you,” Mike said, almost out of breath.

“Hi. I thought you had already left.”

The elevator opened and Mike stepped in with her.

“I’m heading back to Jacksonville this evening. Tying up some loose ends here first.”

“Are you still upset with me?” Rachel asked. After the rescue on Big Dog Cay, Mike let her know that he wasn’t happy with her decision to go to Asylum Harbor without telling him or Drake.

He shook his head. “No, but if I didn’t care about you, I wouldn’t have been so upset. You could’ve been hurt.”

“But I’m not.” Rachel smiled at him.

“No, you’re not. But let’s not rehash this. I wanted to discuss a couple things with you. You left the hospital in such a hurry, I didn’t get a chance to tell you something important.”

Rachel’s heart did a little flip-flop. “Okay.”

“When we raided Morrotti’s office in Miami, our computer geeks found some photos of Mallory on his computer that were copied from your organization’s website. There was also a background report on you from a private investigator that Morrotti was known to hire. We think he sent that photo of Mallory to your hotel room as a diversion.”

Rachel felt relief and frustration at the same time.

“Why would he do that?”

Mike shrugged his shoulders. “To divert your attention away from the
SeaStar
case.”

“Are you sure it was him?”

Mike nodded. “Sorry. I don’t think it really had anything to do with Mallory’s disappearance. It was just a sick prank on his part.”

Rachel nodded.

“Also, I just wanted to let you know I made a big decision this morning.”

“What’s that?”

“I’ve been thinking about this for a while. It’s time for me to move on. I’m retiring from the DEA as soon as this case is done.”

The elevator door opened and they stepped out.

“Wow, that is a major decision.”

“Yeah, I guess so. But for the better. I need to spend more time with my daughter and less with the bad guys.”

Rachel stopped at her hotel room door. “So what will you do?”

“Private consulting work. That’s after I take some much-needed time off.”

She fished her room key card out of her pocket. “Well, I guess this is good-bye, then.”

Mike leaned over and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. “Not good-bye. See ya later.”

Rachel watched as Mike turned around and got back on the elevator. She smiled and gave him a small wave.