Page 14 of Wild Tides
It was too simplistic to say they’d gone to the enemy’s side. My brothers weren’t my rivals. Not really. But I missed feeling like my friends were whollymine. Like I could reach out to them at a moment’s notice and share without worrying that they’d spill my secrets to my brothers. Not maliciously. I could recognize that. It’s natural to bond with your partner. But it left me feeling morealone, day by day. I forced a smile. My life in the slow lane wasn’t their problem.
“Has there been any news about Chaz or the gallery?” I shook off my melancholy.
Lucy shook her head. “Nothing since his arrest.”
Rae wrinkled her nose. “I still can’t quite believe he was laundering money through the gallery.”
Anya shrugged. “Running a small business is hard. Especially on a somewhat seasonal island like this one. Part of me is sympathetic. Except for the probably funding drugs and guns part.”
“I’m surprised there haven’t been more WNFH posts about the whole thing,” I said.
“My bet is that it’s out of respect for Dr. Underwood. It can’t be easy having her husband in jail,” Rae said.
“And no one wants to piss off one of the island’s only doctors,” Anya added.
“Do you think she was involved?” Lucy paused, hands at the small of her back.
We’d picked our way along the wooded trail, finally hitting the first plateau. The Salish Sea glittered in the distance. Partial cloud cover kept the full brilliance from sparkling, but patches of sun shone through, dappling the water far below.
“I don’t know,” Rae said doubtfully. “Megan Underwood grew up here. It’s her husband who’s the outsider.”
“Who better to hook her husband up with potential clients?” Lucy pointed out. “She had access to plenty of patients who needed cheap drugs.”
I frowned. “It’s hard to imagine the woman who gave me my first birth control prescription leading a secret life of crime.”
Lucy shrugged. “My gut says there’s more to her story.”
With the island of Victoria in the distance and Vancouver just a few hours to the north, it was easy to believe the rumors ofcounterfeit pharmaceuticals being smuggled into the area were true. But it was difficult to imagine that Dr. Underwood led an international crime ring.
Sure, her husband was on the slimy side, but she’d been part of the community forever. Slipping fake drugs to her patients was a far sight different from art fraud and money laundering. But it was rumors of counterfeit pharmaceutical smuggling that brought the DEA’s attention to our tiny island to begin with. A few suspicious deaths in the region had been traced back to phony meds.
We kept climbing, conversation becoming sparse as we made our final ascent to the summit, each of us too busy focusing on our footing and keeping our breathing even.
“Gorgeous,” Anya said.
The view of the ocean at the top took my breath away. The water rippled in between the sleeping giants of the islands scattered to the west. A mix of clouds and blue sky rolled by, at times obscuring the sun. The madrona trees and pines provided scant cover at this elevation, leaving me shivering in the wind.
“This view never gets old,” Rae murmured.
Peace settled over me as I stared out over the water. The fresh air may be bracing, but the view always reminded me that my problems were but a flicker on the world’s stage. Our beautiful shores had been inhabited for generations. Since long before the British or American soldiers squabbled over the small chain of islands between Canada and the US. The Lummi people lived seasonally on the islands, following the natural cycles of wildlife. The ebb and flow somehow put things into perspective. My problems were small.
Whether Lee felt more for me than he’d admit. If he’d meant what he said last night. The isolation of not being able to tell my friends details without interference from my family.
Under the bright sky, the shining water, I could only rejoice that I was here. With friends. That Lee would heal. One way or another, we’d figure things out.
It wasn’t like he could escape me.
My lips twitched as I thought back to Gran’s advice. How would Lee react, if I really let my dragon out? Did he see Drew, Cole, and Zach’s baby sister, or did he truly see me?
Maybe it was time to remind him that I breathed fire.
Chapter 8 – Violet
Logging in to play online with Harry after work on Sunday kept me from slowly going out of my mind. PlayingLegends of Elarionwith her and Parker gave me a way to avoid the muttering, frowning man downstairs. Watching Lee struggle with his plot hole would be funny if I weren’t worried he might snatch himself bald.
On screen, Harry’s squat avatar held up a severed head, dripping with gore. “That’s how we do it,” she crowed, the gleeful violence in her voice so at odds with the sweet, cheerful woman who served scones and pizza at the bakery.
“When are you gonna pull your weight, Fenwick?” Parker asked.
