Riptide
Two surprises await high-stakes repo man Jake Jacobson on his latest job. First, old-flame Kelsey Chambers. Second, gunfire! Seizing the luxury yacht should have been easy, but he hadn't planned on Kelsey’s appearance. Or that smugglers would hijack the vessel to find an antique map, hidden on board.The map is Jake and Kelsey’s only leverage…but it carries a price. Without it, they’re as good as dead. With it, they’re the target of a relentless hunt. Their failed relationship has Kelsey afraid to rely on Jake again. Can she count on him with their lives on the line?
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TREASURE HUNT
Two surprises await high-stakes repo man Jake Jacobson on his latest job. First, old flame Kelsey Chambers. Second, gunfire! Seizing the luxury yacht should have been easy, but he hadnât planned on Kelseyâs appearance. Or that smugglers would hijack the vessel to find an antique map hidden on board. The map is Jake and Kelseyâs only leverageâ¦but it carries a price. Without it, theyâre as good as dead. With it, theyâre the target of a relentless hunt. Their failed relationship has Kelsey afraid to rely on Jake again. Can she count on him with their lives on the line?
âThose men with the guns,â she said. âDo you think theyâll follow us?â
Jake drew in a breath. If heâd dreamed there was ever a chance he could get her back, he was about to throw that all away with his next words.
âI wish I knew more about what to expect from them,â he said. âBut I do know thisâthere is no âus.ââ
That familiar wounded look swept across her, stabbing him in the heart. Again. He couldnât go through the pain with this woman one more time. âThis is something I have to do alone. Iâm taking you back as soon as itâs safe.â
Instead of a reply, Kelsey stared at the shattered window. Jake could feel the blood drain from his face as he considered that either one of them could have been hurt or killed just now.
âI donât know what youâve gotten yourself into,â she said, pressing her finger into a bullet hole in the canopy. âBut it looks as if weâre both in trouble here.â
ELIZABETH GODDARD
is a seventh-generation Texan who grew up in a small oil town in East Texas, surrounded by Christian family and friends. Becoming a writer of Christian fiction was a natural outcome of her love of reading, fueled by a strong faith.
Elizabeth attended the University of North Texas, where she received her degree in computer science. She spent the next seven years working in high-level sales for a software company located in Dallas, traveling throughout the United States and Canada as part of the job. At twenty-five, she finally met the man of her dreams and married him a few short weeks later. When she had her first child, she moved back to East Texas with her husband and daughter and worked for a pharmaceutical company. But then, more children came along and it was time to focus on family. Elizabeth loves that she gets to do her favorite things every dayâread, write novels, stay at home with her four precious children and work with her adoring husband in ministry.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
âIsaiah 43:2
To my Lord and Savior. You are my Shepherd.
Acknowledgments:
Every writer relies on expert resources to
fill in the blanks where their knowledge is weak. Special thanks to Dr. Jan Hood for your encouragement and support in reading through the scenes requiring medical expertise and input. Thanks for bringing in Dr. Randy Richter for his suggestions regarding my war veteran medic, and thanks to Dr. Richard Mabry, medical thriller author extraordinaire.
I needed their expertise to make sure things
could happen the way they did. In some cases, I took artistic license for the sake of the story, but where mistakes occur, they are my own.
Contents
ONE
What would it feel like to send high-voltage electrical currents through an intruder?
I hope I donât have to find out.
Kelsey Chambers wrapped her fingers around the electroshock device Captain Neely had left with her. Someone had boarded her bossâs boat and started the engine. Sheâd spent enough time on The Buccaneer while working on her travel writing assignment to feel the subtle shift, recognize the rhythmic hum of the motor. It wouldnât be Captain Neely and his wife since they were on the island to celebrate their anniversary.
Sitting in the galley of the small but luxurious yacht, Kelsey left her laptop and the images sheâd taken of the San Juan Islands and bounded up the steps.
Gripping the weapon, she stepped above deck into a dreary Pacific Northwest day. Angry voices shouted from the end of the secluded pier. Men ran toward The Buccaneer.
A bullet ricocheted too close for comfort.
âGet down!â a man yelled from behind.
Before she had a chance to face him, he shoved Kelsey to the ground at the same moment she fired the weapon, sending the charged projectiles into the air to connect with nothing. She cried out as her torso slammed against the deck, her knees taking the brunt of it. Where had he come from?
