The Unrelenting Tide (Islands of Intrigue: San Juans - Christian Romantic Suspense) Read Online Free PDF Page A

away and willed her legs to hold her upright.
    He turned to the officer and gestured to the bathroom trash can. “I’ll send Shannon up when she’s done in the kitchen. Looks like he used gloves to write the message. Maybe we’ll get lucky and get a print from inside one of those. More corroboration.”
    Devynne glanced over. Inside the garbage can lay two blue gloves. Both appeared to be mostly inside out. Splotches of polish darkened the pads of the first two fingers on one of the gloves. The pink nail polish bottle lay clearly visible to one side.
    Carcen touched her shoulder and turned her out of the bathroom, then stood by while she scanned her room for anything out of place. The nightstand drawer was still locked, so she stepped back into the bathroom for the key. It was hanging in its usual spot and when she unlocked the drawer, the Airweight still lay inside where she’d put it this morning. Nothing else seemed to have been touched.
    Carcen led her back down to the living room and asked her to wait while he spoke with the other officers outside.
    Devynne sank down onto the couch feeling numb and terrified all at the same time. Yet they had caught the man. And that brought the first hint of relief she’d felt in many years.
    Could her long days of constantly looking over her shoulder really be through?

Chapter 5
    Carcen tapped his fist against Sanchez’s lowered window. “Thanks guys for all your work here today. I really appreciate it. I’ll come in to interrogate this guy, but I think I’m going to take a few of my vacation days so I can be available for Devynne awhile.”
    Donnie folded his arms with a curt nod.
    Shannon leaned over and peered up at him. “So it’s like that, is it? You’re going to break a lot of hearts if you keep this up, Sheriff.”
    Carcen allowed a small smile. Shannon had been dropping hints off and on for months now. But he’d always carefully kept his distance. “‘Night.” He jogged back down the stairs and when he stepped inside, Devynne was pacing from one side of the living room to the other.
    She spun toward him. “Can we go get Marissa now?”
    “Let’s give them a call, but I’m sure she’s fine. I think she should spend the night with Mom and Dad.” Outwardly, he held his face to a calculated calm but inwardly he cringed, waiting for her protest to begin.
    She shook her head, “The last thing your parents need is to be saddled with the care of a four-year-old. And I’ve told her a million times she can’t invite herself over to other people’s houses.” Her hand trembled as she brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and on impulse he reached out and clasped it, wanting to soothe her as much as he could.
    “It wasn’t her idea. It was mine.” Or maybe divine intervention . He let his thumb rub across the smooth skin of her hand. “And you know as well as I do that Mom and Dad won’t consider it being saddled with anything.”
    She opened her mouth, but no sound emerged. She snapped it shut and then opened it again. “She doesn’t have anything to sleep in.”
    He could almost hear the begging in her tone. She was terrified for Marissa’s safety and trying not to appear so. There was more to this story than he knew… yet.
    Reluctantly dropping her hand, he pulled his phone from its holster and clicked on Mom’s name. He listened to the phone ring as he said, “I took her pajamas off her bed upstairs when I was here this morning.”
    “You planned this?”
    “For her to stay the night with them? Yes. I wanted to—”
    “Hello?”
    He held up a finger toward Devynne. “Hey Mom, it’s Carcen. How’s Marissa?”
    “She’s just fine, honey. She and your dad are lounging in the family room eating scandalous amounts of sweets and watching a Scooby-Doo marathon.”
    He smiled. “Good. Listen, Devynne would like to talk to her. Can you get her?”
    “Sure.”
    He handed the phone to Devynne and listened to her side of the conversation as she