Deception Read Online Free

maybe he’d aged that much, too. Maybe more.
    She could have died out there.
    She pressed her face into her palms, her shoulders shaking. He’d never seen her undone like this, but it was understandable. Colin lost it then, too. He pressed his hand against her head, felt the softness of her hair. His heart thudded against his ribs.
    â€œPlease, Jewel. Talk to me.”
    She drew her face up, and her haggardness caught him afresh, sending a new pang through his chest.
    â€œMeral, Buck and I had gone kayaking. They just got married and arrived two days ago. Were excited to be here and wanted to see southeast Alaska. She’s my sister, and I haven’t seen her in twenty years.”
    Jewel seemed to regret her last words, which came out rushed. An outburst to cover some deeper emotion hidden away? He’d let her tell him that story another time. Yet maybe there was something here that played a role in what had happened today.
    â€œGo on,” Colin said, nodding.
    â€œWe secured the kayaks in the bay and decided to hike up to the falls. We planned to be out for a few hours. A day at the most. I forgot my water and went back to get it. Buck and Meral went on ahead. I said I’d catch up to them. Meet them at the falls where the trail stopped. From there you could choose between two other trails, and I didn’t want them to go farther without me. It shouldn’t have been so complicated.”
    â€œAnd were they at the falls when you got there?”
    â€œNo. I stopped to watch the waterfall. Silas liked to explore waterfalls. Maybe you remember that we used to travel around to see the falls in the region, even as far south as Ketchikan. He liked to study them. Kayak over them, if possible.”
    â€œAnd what about you? Did you enjoy that, too?”
    She shook her head. “I’m not into thrills.”
    No. He hadn’t thought so. She was adventurous, yes, but was more the kind to enjoy the beauty rather than the challenge of nature.
    â€œSo did you call for Meral and... What is his full name again?” She’d only given her brother-in-law’s first name when she’d mentioned him earlier. Colin didn’t want to be too invasive. Let her tell the story. He hadn’t met Buck yet. Apparently he’d just missed the man and Jewel’s sister when he’d got to the clinic.
    â€œBuck Cambridge. Yes, I called out for them when I made the falls, and they were not there. I heard a twig snap behind me. Before I turned, something slammed into my back.”
    Colin hated thinking about the bruises that covered the rest of her, if her face was any indication. “I’m just glad you survived. It seems...”
    â€œImpossible. I know.”
    For a moment, Colin let himself visualize her battle, experience it with her. If he let himself think about it too long, he’d be visibly shaking, trembling like she was.
    â€œTell me the rest.”
    â€œAfter my initial panic, I swam beneath the backwash and let the current pull me away from the churning falls. I swam toward the surface to get air and happened to glance to the top of the falls.”
    â€œAnd what did you see?”
    â€œSomeone. Just a figure. My vision was blurred by water, but I saw someone for a split second before the water pulled me away.”
    â€œYou sure it wasn’t Meral you saw, arriving after you’d fallen in? She was the one to call this in. Her quick thinking got the search for you going.”
    Jewel closed her eyes. After a moment, she shook her head. “I don’t think so. No, I’m sure it wasn’t Meral. The jacket she’s wearing is too bright—even though I couldn’t make out the face of the person I saw, that color would have caught my eye. It was the person who pushed me in. They were standing exactly where I’d been before being pushed.”
    Colin hated that her story could be picked apart, especially since she appeared so