Secrets of His Own

Carrie Bishop clung to her cap as the supply boat headed due west, into the sunset. Just minutes from Everglades City, civilization ended and the topography became a vast no-man's-land of sparkling channels that wound for miles through dense mangrove forests and swampy grass flats.Once the refuge of pirates, the area had now become a sanctuary for modern-day smugglers bringing drugs, guns and humans across the border. Lawless and primal, it was the perfect place for a runaway bride to disappear.Which was undoubtedly why Tia had fled to the islands after leaving her soon-to-be groom at the altar, Carrie decided as a wave bounced her up off the seat. Tia hadn't wanted anyone to find her, especially her ex-fiance, a handsome executive with an explosive temper.Carrie wouldn't have thought to look for her here, either, if not for the postmark on her letter. Known as the Ten Thousand Islands, the area could be extremely inhospitable to anyone without a good map, a GPS device and a can of heavy-duty bug spray.Thank goodness she'd been able to hitch a ride on the supply boat, Carrie thought. She would never have been able to find the island on her own.Although being miles from nowhere at the mercy of a complete stranger wasn't exactly her idea of a fun day. And the driver had certainly done nothing to put her at ease. When she'd met him earlier at the marina, he'd snatched the money from her hand with barely a grunt, his manner so abrasive that Carrie might have had second thoughts about climbing aboard if the attorney who'd leased Tia the apartment hadn't been at her side."Don't worry. Trawick's bark is far worse than his bite," Robert Cochburn had assured her. He'd driven down from Naples to meet Carrie in Everglades City, and to her relief, he'd decided at the last minute to make the trip out to the island with her. "Besides, he's the best driver around. He can navigate these waters blindfolded. Just relax and enjoy the ride."If only she could, Carrie thought as she watched Pete Trawick with a wary eye. But she found the man just plain creepy. His cold, assessing gaze made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end, and the way he looked at her conjured up memories that both she and Tia had been running from for years.Suppressing another shudder, Carrie turned to Cochburn. "How much farther?" she shouted over the roar of the outboard motor. "We're almost there." He flashed a smile."Beautiful country, isn't it? Florida's best-kept secret." He'd taken off his jacket and tie before they left the marina, and now with his cuffs rolled back and wind blowing through his thinning hair, he hardly resembled the conservative, fortysomething attorney she'd first met at the marina.When she'd talked to him on the phone the day before, he'd tried to discourage her visit to Cape Diablo, but Carrie had remained adamant. Without his cooperation, she would simply find her own way to the island because she wasn't going back to Miami until she'd seen for herself that Tia was okay. It had been nearly two weeks since she'd received her letter, and Carrie had grown more and more worried with each passing day.And then there'd been that strange phone call two nights ago. It had come just after midnight, and the connection had been so weak, the voice on the other end so garbled that Carrie couldn't be sure the caller was Tia. But something in the woman's voice -- a note of frenzy -- had instilled a deep sense of foreboding in Carrie.Of course, she could be overreacting. A recent break-in at her apartment had left her on edge so it was entirely possible that she was letting her imagination get the better of her.But no matter how many times she tried to convince herself there was nothing to worry about, Carrie couldn't shake the notion that her friend was in trouble. If anything happened to Tia and she hadn't done everything in her power to help her, she would never forgive herself. It was hard enough dealingStevens, Amanda is the author of 'Secrets of His Own', published 2006 under ISBN 9780373887040 and ISBN 0373887043.