Nothing As It Seems

Chapter 1

Chapter One

“Have you ever seen a more stunning place in all your life?” said the woman leaning beside Billy Jo against the ferry railing. She had a short blond mane, shapely curves, and long, long slender legs, wearing a red skirt and tank top that left little to the imagination.

Billy Jo knew the woman wasn’t talking to her.

“Sure,” came the reply from her other side, “if you love bad coffee, misbehaving tourists, weekend partiers, overpriced food, general mischief, and trash tossed everywhere on the beach every night and every morning.”

What was it about his voice, deep and brooding? She took in the guy. He had on a worn jean jacket, blue jeans, and sunglasses, giving off that bad-boy vibe she knew girls loved.

“Well, that’s a negative outlook of such a beautiful place,” said the blonde. “Are you visiting or are you a local? Oh, let me guess! You live here.”

Billy Jo wondered whether she should step back so she wouldn’t be in the middle of this pickup, knowing well that the blonde was working this tall, ruggedly attractive guy. Even she had shamelessly allowed herself to ogle him discreetly from behind her own shades. There was just something about the man who was leaning against the railing—pensive, quiet, brooding. He would likely be first in line to get off the ferry when it finally docked, and she’d be second off this rattling bucket of steel.

This time, the man actually glanced her way. She wondered whether he thought she was going to add something, but she refused to look up from her cell phone after seeing the latest text: Check in with the chief of police as soon as you get there. He wants to meet you. Oh, and we got a call about a possible situation.

She took in the grime on the steel deck of the ferry. Beside her were two hardtop suitcases, one large and one smaller, both thankfully on wheels. She could see from her peripheral that the man was watching her shamelessly from where he leaned.

Just then, the horn blasted to announce their approach, which had her jumping and the woman beside her shrieking. She swore under her breath, because what did that good-looking asshole do but laugh at both of them? She wondered if it was at her expense or the blonde’s.

She glanced at some litter in the corner, which no one had bothered to clean up, and pulled up the handle of one suitcase. As the ferry jerked, she had to take a step to keep her balance.

“That was so loud,” the woman said, actually leaning over to her as if they were the best of friends. “Don’t they warn you?”

The hot guy was still laughing under his breath as if this were his daily source of entertainment. His hair was red, striking, short and messy. She knew the girl was flirting, whereas he seemed to be playing that not-interested game. He was tall, attractive, likely with the kind of alpha personality she was quite familiar with.

She wasn’t impressed.

She needed to disembark, both from the swaying motion and the fact that apparently, there was a situation she had to check into. She didn’t like situations, because they always came with the kinds of questions no one wanted to answer.

“It’s a ferry,” Billy Jo said. “They’re loud and noisy.”

And crowded, she thought, as the only way off and on the island. Now she was wondering at the wisdom of taking a job here.

She realized he was looking right at her from where he leaned, and she found herself under his scrutiny, dragging his gaze between her and the blonde. Maybe he was comparing them.

“Let me guess,” he said. “You girls are here to do all the tourist stuff and look for a good time, or trouble, or something.”

She realized he was including her in his evidently pretty low opinion, and she had to fight the urge to glance over to the blonde. She couldn’t do that, though, as she was now pretending to look at her phone, which she held in one hand. Her bulky purse, which held everything else, was tucked over her shoulder. She pulled in a breath to set him straight.

“Oh, we’re not together,” said the blonde. Of course, she had jumped in. “Nora Cassberger is my name, and I’m on my own—totally, not that it wouldn’t be fun hanging with you and everything…” She touched Billy Jo’s shoulder, and her gaze went right there to her hand. Seriously?

Just dock the damn ferry, already! This was totally humiliating, and she had things to do, like find out what the hell this mysterious situation was.

The guy pulled down his sunglasses just a bit so she could see the most amazing, brilliant blue eyes. The guy seemed to ooze trouble. She wasn’t sure what to make of his unsmiling expression or the way he didn’t seem at all embarrassed to stare at her and then the blonde. Right, Nora.

Maybe this hadn’t been such a great idea, standing at the front of the ferry, in front of the cars, so she could be one of the first off. But she was counting the seconds, and then she’d never have to see this guy again.

She forced herself to give everything to her cell phone and ignore him, because nothing good ever came with a guy who looked like that.

“I don’t remember seeing you here before,” he said. “You just another visitor, or do you have a reason to be here?”

Was he talking to her? The question seemed more like a demand.

Just then, her phone dinged with a sixth message from her dad, Chase McCabe, about her car, her cat, and the rest of her things, which he would be bringing over himself. She had insisted on moving away, starting a new life in a new place, looking for answers to questions she wasn’t about to share with anyone.

She pulled in a breath to answer the jerk, this time powering off her phone and tucking it in her purse. “You know, not that it’s any of your business, but…” she started.

He was now looking over at the blonde as if he hadn’t been talking to her.

Asshole!

For a moment, she considered stepping back, but the dock was right there, and she would soon be able to get off this damn ferry and out of this awkward situation.

He was leaning on one arm now, looking right at her, not the blonde. This had to be a joke. Her mud-brown hair was nothing special, and she had freckles over her nose. Her plain face was without makeup, and her capris and dark blue shirt were not only baggy but also comfortable. She wondered if she made a face.

She finally glanced over to Nora just as a gust of wind blew her skirt up, revealing black lace and killer thighs. Nora shrieked, and Billy Jo just shook her head, so glad she hadn’t done anything stupid like wear a skirt.

Nora laughed then, and the way he stared—no, ogled, she knew he was just another guy who enjoyed the show. “I guess someone should have warned me about the wind,” Nora said.

Billy Jo could feel her jaw slacken as she rolled her eyes. Seriously?

“I’m just here for a little getaway, is all,” Nora continued. “Maybe you could recommend something fun, you know, touristy stuff, like great restaurants, nightclubs, anything like that. I mean, where is your favorite place to hang out?”

“Hey, Mark, smoke!” one of the ferry workers shouted to the bad boy beside her, gesturing to a cloud of black smoke wafting up just as the ferry docked.

She found herself looking to where he was pointing, a smaller house on the hill, past the line of cars waiting to get on. She heard him swear under his breath. Just then, there was a pop-pop-pop, followed by screams and shrieks.

“Get the ramp down!” Mark yelled.

Pure instinct had her ducking and crouching behind her suitcase. She knew well the sound of a gunshot. Mark moved under the rope. Evidently, he was someone important, and she found herself really looking at him from where she was crouched. The metal gate was still closed, but the ramp was coming down. Mark hopped the metal fence in his cowboy boots and was on the ramp as soon as it was down far enough.

“Keep everyone here until it’s clear!” he shouted, jogging up the ramp.

There was a loud boom, followed by another dark cloud of smoke and another pop-pop-pop. What the hell? This was supposed to be a safe, quiet island, not some crazy city.

She listened to the shrieks, people ducking and taking cover, though the ferry worker wasn’t. Something about his demeanor told her this wasn’t anything unusual.

“What do you think happened? Are we under attack?” Nora said, crouched right beside her, almost touching her. She realized the few passengers that had been standing behind her, waiting to walk off, were gone. Apparently, they’d taken cover, whereas she was right out in the open.

“I have no idea,” she said.

Another ferry worker appeared, younger, tall, lanky, his pants two sizes too big, with not a care in the world. She could no longer see Mark running. Just who the hell was he? The ramp was now down, and people were in their cars. One of the ferry workers was talking on his radio as he stood in front of the metal gate, holding the latch, the only thing keeping it closed, waiting for…what? Why the hell weren’t they concerned?

“Excuse me, what’s going on?” Billy Jo called out from where she was still crouched, really questioning what the hell she was walking into on this island. “Is that gunfire, someone shooting?”

“Ah, just CJ Krantz,” replied the ferry worker, “one of the old-time locals. Always something going on up there. Has a mess of guns he shoots off when the visitors here get too crazy for him, too noisy, bothering him. He says there are just too many of them here, so he shoots off a few pops in hopes of scaring people away. He’s harmless, though.”

Harmless… Was he kidding?

She heard a crackle over the worker’s vest radio, and she slowly stood up. The smoke was fading, and there had been no more pops. She spotted who she thought was Mark putting out a fire with a hose, then heard a siren as a firetruck pulled up at the house.

The ferry worker lifted his hand and circled it. “All clear! You can unload,” he called out to the other worker.

Billy Jo just stared in horror, because she knew well that guns and crazies weren’t a good mix. “Whoa, just wait a second. You said this was a local shooting off guns? And is that a fire?” She gestured to the small old house, still seeing smoke from under the water. A few other people were up there now. Nora was holding her arm, and Billy Jo glanced back at her, taking in the spooked look.

The ferry worker just shrugged. “Mark took care of it. Likely a propane tank exploded on the barbecue at the back of the house. It’s all under control.”

“Wait, but that was gunfire—and who is Mark?” she asked.

The ferry worker pulled open the gate and gestured to her, and she knew to move. “Mark is a detective here on the island. He knows CJ and his shenanigans. He likely had the barbecue too close to the house. He’s up there now, so the gun situation is handled. Don’t worry, and welcome to Roche Harbor.”

Something about the way he said it made her suspect he took some enjoyment in what had happened.

Great. So much for a sleepy, quiet place. She wondered what other surprises she’d be in for. She took a step, pulling on her suitcases, and the blonde fell in beside her.

“That was exciting! And that was a local cop? Wow, do you think he’s single?” Nora said, still talking to her as if they were friends or something.

Billy Jo just stared at her. “I have no idea,” she said.

But she did know that guys like that were exactly the kind of trouble she’d made a point of keeping off her radar.