16. Trusting My Instincts

By the timeI spotted Eve across the thick crowd, the most horrified look covered her face as she stared at the stage. I recognized the speaker instantly as Heath Arnault when I followed her gaze.

My brows furrowed and something told me Eve's distance from me was because of this man. I played back everything that'd happened between us so far, trying to connect the dots, when Joe stepped up to my side.

"I met Heath earlier today at the golf club. Interesting guy, I guess. I know you're supposed to be on vacation and all, but I told him you and I would meet up for drinks tomorrow," he said.

"You did what? Didn't you hear a word of Eve's warnings about him?" My voice raised to my brother, and he took a step back.

I didn't mean to sound so harsh, but Eve's distress got to me. She ran from me, and I thought because of the things I said. But there's something about Heath's presence that set her off, and I couldn't put a finger on why they were connected. I needed to get to the bottom of it.

"Look, just cancel the meeting, Joe. We'll talk later."

I strode to where I last saw Eve, darting my eyes around because she wasn't there. If she was in trouble in any certain way, I needed to find out to do what I could for her. As I turned in a circle looking for a swath of red gown or a head of dark hair or her gold mask, it was like she vanished in thin air.

The event over, the crowd dispersed and as they thinned out, my pulse raced, still not finding her. Joe and Molly joined me, concerned.

"What's happening, Wy?" he asked.

"I think something about Heath being here freaked Eve out, and now I can't find her. Help me look, please?" I shouted, but my voice broke on the last word.

"I'll go check the entrance." Joe moved away fast.

"And I'll check the women's lounge. We'll find her, Joe. We have to." Molly gave me a quick hug and ran off, and I was never more grateful for a family who loved me and would spring into action in a heartbeat if needed it.

Then something gold caught my eye on the ground several feet away. Eve's mask. I slid to it on my knees and picked it up, but under it was something else—The necklace I gave her, the clasp broken off. My stomach lodged in my throat.

What did it all mean, and where the fuck was she?

Joe yelled my name, waving me over to the entrance, and I ran to him. "This Valet saw a woman in red fitting her description getting into a black SUV. Tell him."

The lanky teen, a local who often worked valet for Angelica's events, nodded. "I thought it was a little strange because she seemed to struggle against him. When he pushed her inside the back seat and shut the door, she pounded against the window, crying. Then the guy tossed me a few hundreds from his pocket and told me to keep quiet. I'm sorry. I should have said something to someone right away."

"It's all right. You told us now that's all that matters. You can go back to work," Joe assured him. To me, hands on his hips, he said, "What the hell's going on?"

"I wish the fuck I knew." The words were hardly out of my mouth when a man approached us.

"Joe, is this your brother? I'm looking forward to meeting up." I came face to face with Heath, once a man I thought to admire. Now I wasn't so sure. His smile came across smug, as if he knew secrets no one else in the world was privy to. His dark hair, still thick for a man his age, looked dyed, as if too ashamed to appear gray, and I couldn't trust a man with perfect, straight, white teeth.

"Yes, it is. Heath, this is Wyoming, the man behind the science at Sizzle Golf Brands." Joe put on quite the act, but I knew him well, and the way he was giving me a look. It said we'd play this cautiously.

Heath stuck his hand out between us to shake, as I would in most business situations. But I hesitated, given the situation.

When I finally took his, I made sure it was a powerful squeeze, and to look him in the eyes and take a good measure of him as a man. What I saw there was disturbing. Something about his eyes and his face reminded me of Eve.

Because of my inability to speak, with too much going through my head, Joe covered for me. "I should have checked with Wyoming, Heath. He's out here on vacation and already has plans. We'll get in touch with you later this summer when he's back in the office."

"Sure. Call anytime. Oh, excuse me for a second." He took out his phone and scrolled through. A valet ran by and I caught him and stuffed my ticket into his hands. If Eve wasn't here, then where? I'd drive the main roads out of here at top speeds to look for an SUV.

"Well, turns out something has come up for me as well," he said, pocketing his phone. "I'll have to leave Steele Valley by morning, unfortunately. Damn shame, too. The lake was always refreshing this time of year." He set his steely eyes toward the lake and I had a sharp visceral reaction of wanting to gouge his eyes out so he'd never stare at it again.

"I met my dear Agatha one summer here many years ago when I was in a golf tournament at the old Steele Valley golf club, but that was before you rebuilt it, Joe. You couldn't have made the course less demanding?"

He and Joe shared a laugh. "You think this one is a challenge? Get a hold of my personal assistant and I'll set you up a round at the course I designed in Dubai." Joe schmoozed the jerk, and Molly joined us then.

I could see the valet approaching finally with my car, but so was a black SUV, as Heath continued talking about his past.

"Agatha had inherited a campground on the lake, and was so poor trying to keep it afloat. I took her away from her life here and gave her a better one in the city. Over the years, I never paid much attention to the property and it fell into disrepair." He paused, and I kept track of every detail.

"I had planned to raise it and build a vacation home someday when I retired, but to my dismay, I recently discovered that a squatter had been on the property," he explained. "They'd been running it and pocketing the money for the cabin rentals. We came to town to check into it, and it looks like we got it all sorted out."

A chill ran down my spine as I realized the gravity of the situation. Was Eve the squatter or was there something more sinister going on? My stomach twisted into knots with each passing moment.

"Ah, but this isn't yours to worry about, and my ride's here. I'll take you up on that golf trip, Joe. We'll be in touch." He threw a careless wave over his shoulder. As he slid into the passenger seat of a black SUV, then it sped away. The windows were tinted so heavily that I couldn't see inside. My heart pounded with unease. Was Eve in there? And if she was, why wouldn't she yell for me to save her?

What ifs played through in succession. Was she knocked out? Hurt? Tied up… Or worse?

A sense of impending danger washed over me. I needed to act fast before it was too late.

"That was freaking strange." Joe let out a breath.

"You're pale Wy." Molly's hand landed on my arm, her eyes full of concern.

"I think Eve is in trouble. I have to go." My car pulled up from the valet, and I took off after the SUV, but kept my distance just enough to track them. When it came time to turn, either to go straight onto the highway out of town or in the opposite direction toward the campground, they turned.

Even in science we learn to trust our instincts. Something told me to keep following.