Prologue
Eddie Jernigan drove his white Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron down Yarley Road in South Carolina, trying his best to stay under the speed limit. Problem was he was in a hurry to get to his boat. There, he had collected evidence that the FBI needed to crack a case. His brown eyes peered up at the rearview mirror, then switched to the driver’s-side mirror and back. He was sure he was being followed.
Which vehicle was it? Perhaps the dark gray Ford Ranger truck that seemed like it had trailed him for miles?
Or could it have been the white Hyundai Santa Fe SUV that he could swear had matched him when switching lanes, while deliberately keeping a vehicle or two between them, as though playing with him?
Whichever way he sliced it, Eddie was sure that they were onto him and would do whatever it took to stop him at all costs.
At least it could be very costly to him. They wanted him dead.
He drew in a deep breath and refocused on the road ahead as he neared the marina. In that moment, he found himself taking stock of his life. Things had not worked out entirely as he would have wanted in an ideal world.He’d made some mistakes. And tried to fix them. But was it too late?
Eddie chewed on his lower lip while thinking about his sister, Raquelle. He was a year younger at thirty-three and knew that he’d disappointed her. She had set an example of the right things to do in her life, with their parents no longer around to give them direction and make sure they lived up to their potential.
Raquelle was still dealing with a divorce and couldn’t seem to decide who was to blame between her and the ex. Eddie could hardly blame either of them. Not when he’d had trouble maintaining any worthwhile relationship, having recently broken up with his girlfriend, Penelope. Relationships could be hard to maintain. Even with the best of intentions—sometimes the heart was in the right place at the wrong time.
But family was even more important. Maybe it wasn’t too late after all to make things right in his life. Especially with Raquelle. He wanted that more than anything. At the very least, he owed her that much.
Not to mention what he owed himself: a chance to put the past behind him once and for all and see what else life could bring that was positive.
Yeah, that’s what I’ll shoot for, Eddie thought, feeling emboldened as he turned onto Knotter Marina Drive. But first, there was some unfinished business that needed his attention. He glanced at the rearview mirror again, expecting to see one of the vehicles that had trailed him. He saw neither.
Had it only been his imagination? Paranoia had kicked in like a splitting headache.
Breathing a sigh of relief, he ran a hand through hisblack hair, styled in a curly mullet, then pulled into the parking lot of the Knotter Marina.
After sighing again, Eddie exited the car, his frame tall and lanky, as he raced across the dock toward the Crest Savannah 250 SLSC pontoon boat he owned that was his pride and joy, in spite of everything else. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw no one who seemed to be paying any particular attention to him.
That’s good, he thought with a crooked grin, wanting to believe this wasn’t simply the calm before the storm. Maybe he had bought just enough time to get what he needed to protect himself and start to turn things around.
At this point, that was pretty much all he could hope for.
Eddie stepped onto the boat and immediately headed for a midship drawer. He pulled out a cotton duffle bag, unzipped it, and studied the contents inside for a long moment before zipping it back up.
He took out his cell phone and called his sister. No answer.Pick up, he pleaded to himself.
Instead, it went to her voicemail.
He left her a stressed message that ended with, “Love you, sis.”
After disconnecting, Eddie made another short call, again forced to leave a message, before tucking the phone into the back pocket of his jeans. He grabbed the duffle bag and was just about to head out when he saw a tall, dark-haired man who was walking down the dock. In the direction of his boat.
Tensing, Eddie feared things were about to get ugly—for him. What should he do? Was there a way out of this? Or had he finally bitten off more than he could chew?
He sucked in a deep breath and glanced again at the man who looked familiar and was clearly coming his way, as though on a mission to silence him. Forever.
His heart pounding with dread, Eddie hid from view while wondering if that would possibly be enough to keep him out of harm’s way.
Only when the man walked by the boat innocently, never even looking in his direction, did Eddie believe that he had overreacted to the threat.
Or had he?
Could his world still turn upside down?
Would the next close call be the one that finished him off?
He thought about sending Raquelle another text, telling her to disregard the earlier one. But this would likely confuse her even more. He would call her later and try to explain, not sure how she would react while hoping for the best.
