Survival Instinct by Rachelle McCalla

It didn’t stand to reason that a guy who’d walked away half a decade before would suddenly come back for a small piece of jewelry. Scott wasn’t sure how valuable the ring might be; in the short time he’d held it, he’d noticed the gem was large and brilliant, but given the abundance of jewelry his mother wore, he wasn’t easily impressed by one ring.
    Abby raised her left hand and held it out for his inspection. At first Scott only noticed the blisters on her palms from rowing the canoe across the lake. But when she pointed to the base of her ring finger, he realized she sported a deep purple bruise. “I don’t know.” Her voice trembled slightly. “He bent back my finger and told me he’d make sure I never wore a ring again. Now whether that means he was going to cut off my finger, or—” her voice caught “—or something worse, I don’t know.”
    “Something worse?” Scott repeated. He could feel thechill of the threat seeping into his own bones. “So if you give him back the ring, do you think he’ll leave you alone after that?”
    “I—I don’t know.” Abby’s eyes widened again. “I guess I hadn’t thought beyond that.”
    Scott closed his eyes and tried to think. So much had happened in the past ten hours. They had every reason to believe they’d been left to die on Devil’s Island—and now this bizarre threat came from seemingly out of nowhere. Could the two possibly be connected? Perhaps his family’s land had nothing to do with it. Abby may have been the intended target all along. “When were you planning to return the ring?”
    “He said he wanted it back by tomorrow night. He didn’t say where or how. I guess I figured he’d find me, just like he did last night.”
    Scott let out a long slow breath. This guy could be planning to get rid of Abby once he had what he wanted. Scott wasn’t sure what shook him most—the idea of what her ex-fiancé might be planning, or the realization that he felt an overwhelming need to protect her. “Don’t let yourself be alone with him,” Scott cautioned her.
    Abby’s eyes widened. “Do you think he would still try to hurt me, even once I give him the ring back?”
    “I don’t know.” Scott reached for her hand and studied the ugly purple bruise. Then he covered her hand with his protectively. “I don’t know what’s going on, but somebody’s out to kill us, and you were just threatened last night. Once this guy has his ring, he won’t need you anymore. What’s to stop him—” Scott paused when he heard footsteps headed their way down the hall. They both looked to the entryway.
    Burt stepped through to the front room.
    Scott’s concern for Abby was immediately eclipsed by thoughts of his mother’s safety.
    “The Coast Guard just called.” Burt stood behind one of the wooden chairs and braced his hands on its sturdy back as though he needed the support. “They haven’t found any sign of your mother yet. I told them about your offer to help look, and seeing as how the storm’s letting up for now, they’ve agreed to send a whirlybird over to get you. They’re wanting to take your fingerprints, too, to match to those they found on the radio. And I think they’ll be asking you some questions. Elda’s getting your clothes from the dryer. The Coasties should be here in a matter of minutes.”
    Scott stood. “Thank you.” He stepped forward and shook Burt’s hand. “You’ve been an enormous help. I appreciate all you’ve done.”
    “I just hope you find your mom.” Burt turned as Elda entered the room.
    “Here’s your clothes, nice and dry, and still warm. Hurry now. You don’t want to keep the Coast Guard waiting.” Elda handed Scott a neatly folded stack. “Are you going over, too?” she asked Abby, who stood expectantly next to Scott.
    Scott turned to Abby, and saw her face color once again.
    “I—I thought I would,” she stammered. “I thought I could be of some help. Unless you think I’ll get in the