a Boston homicide detective. Her accent attested to that fact. She sounded like she’d been born and raised in Bean Town, too.
She made a credible witness. Yet, she’d been brushed off by the chief like a bothersome mosquito. Curious.
The deck boat the detective had described sounded similar to one reported to be in use by Picard. For the past six months, Jason had relentlessly pursued every lead to find the elusive arms dealer, who, after fleeing New Mexico, was rumored to have landed here on Loribel Island.
Jason was champing at the bit to find the man and take him down, but Picard was being protected now by the very government that had sought to arrest him. The elusive Picard had become a source of intel into terrorist activity in the States and abroad. Rage simmered low in Jason’s belly. He couldn’t move until he could identify Picard and find something concrete to nail him with, something the government couldn’t ignore. Then Garrett’s death would be avenged.
Jason hoped this situation with the pretty cop witnessing something so very odd could turn out to be the catalyst that brought Picard out into the open. Weapons were Picard’s specialty. But taking Picard down for murder would do just as well.
Now he just needed Angie to show him where she’d seen the bag dropped.
Slowly, as if to obey the no wake rule, Jason headed the Bayliner Bowrider, a boat designed for day cruising, in the direction the vacationing cop had indicted to Chief Decker. A breeze kicked up, churning the ocean and creating small swells. Indications of the storm to come.
“Angie—can I call you Angie?”
For a moment she pursed her lips before nodding.
Jason found himself fascinated with her full mouth and the little freckle at its corner. He tore his gaze away to focus on the water ahead. “You wouldn’t happen to know the coordinates of where you saw the guys in the boat drop the bag, would you?”
“I’m not a sailor.”
Amusement had him smiling. Of course she wasn’t. She was a pretty, hard-edged cop. “Thought I’d ask.”
“Veer more to the left,” she said as she came to stand beside him at the helm. “Slow down.”
“Where were you when you saw the boat?”
“Sitting on the deck of my aunt’s cottage.” She pointed toward a row of lights dotting the shoreline.
The shadowy night sky made discerning the outline of any individual house impossible. “It’s too dark now to see which one is Aunt Teresa’s, but I think we’re just about where I saw the boat stop.”
He cut the engine, letting the boat bobble with the current while he dug out his dive apparatus. He could only hope he’d find some evidence to link to Picard at the bottom of the ocean.
She moved to the side railing and looked overboard. “I see why the chief wanted to wait until morning,” she muttered.
“No worries. I’ve an underwater light,” he said.
The sound of another boat approaching grabbed Jason’s attention. A deck boat, illuminated by high-powered lights attached to the sides, sliced through the choppy water.
Jason abandoned the dive equipment to stand beside Angie. “Is that the same boat?”
“I don’t think so. The one I saw was bigger with a higher top deck,” she said. “Who do you think they are?”
Trepidation slithered over him as the boat closed in. “Not sure. Help me put this stuff back into the cargo hold,” he said, not wanting to advertise their purpose in being out on the water.
Together they made short work of restoring the scuba equipment. “Let me do the talking,” Jason said as the boat slowed.
“They’re armed,” Angie said in a tight voice.
“Yeah,” he acknowledged as a hard knot formed in his chest.
Men carrying submachine guns stood at the fore and aft positions. Another man, flanked on either side by two more armed guards, called out instructions to the driver.
Apprehension tethered Jason’s feet to the deck. He swallowed back a prayer for help. No need to waste hope that God would come through for him. Jason would just have to make sure he and Angie got through this alive on his own.
The boat drew abreast of the Regina Lee.
TWO
Forcing himself to relax, Jason worked his cover persona, deepening his Southern drawl. “Island Charters at your service.”
Two armed men wearing jeans and black T-shirts jumped aboard as the wake of the other boat rocked the Regina Lee.
“What in the world?” Angie said, reaching for her gun.
Jason caught her hand and held on tight even as she jerked to free herself from his hold. He pulled her slightly behind him to keep her out of the men’s line of vision. In a low voice meant for her ears only, he growled, “Stand down.”
She stilled. He didn’t have to see her glare; he felt it, but he stayed focused on the men with the guns.
“Hey, not cool to board a man’s boat without permission,” Jason said.
Ignoring him, the men scrutinized the interior of the boat, going so far as to open the cabin door and peer inside. What were they looking for?
The man who seemed to be in charge stepped closer to the railing. Jason didn’t recognize the tall, muscular Hispanic man. Could he be Picard?
No. Felix wouldn’t be so careless as to show himself. Still, Jason memorized the face. Angular jawline, dark eyes slightly rounded at the edges, wide bridge across the nose, scar over the right eye. Jason would have an ID on the guy in no time once he returned to his rented condo near the marina.
Were these Picard’s men? Or was there another illegal entity working out of Loribel?
“What are you doing out here?” the man asked in a thick Spanish accent.
“I’m taking the lady on a night cruise around the island.”
“Why’d you stop here?”
“She thought she saw a dolphin.” Jason shrugged. “You know tourists. Easily fascinated.”
“There’re no dolphins. Move along.”
“Sure, whatever you say.” Ignoring Angie’s low growl of disapproval, Jason turned to the two men who’d boarded his boat. “You coming with us?”
The two looked to their boss for direction. With a flick of his hand, the boss indicated for the men to return to the other boat.
Relieved not to have the unwanted guests, Jason practically dragged Angie to the helm with him, careful to keep her back to the men.
Thankfully, she remained silent, but the faint moonlight revealed the fiery expression that said
