Page 23

D istaste swirled in Nate’s mouth. He dropped onto the luxurious king-sized bed in the opulent master suite that he’d never be able to afford on his salary. He lifted the remote and snapped through the channels, but nothing pushed Maddie from his mind.

He’d just sent her across the hall to wait for a fucking murderous criminal.

Not to mention one that was on a hell-bent rage to avenge his friend’s death.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and sat up.

He couldn’t lie down. He’d called Dylan twice since Carlos had entered, waiting for him to pick something up on the audio bug that could send Nate across the hall to tear Carlos to shreds.

Dylan had only caught the tail end of their conversation, and Carlos had said Hector had arrived.

Which didn’t make him feel any better.

His phone vibrated on the nightstand and he lunged for it. His fist bumped the lamp and it toppled to land against the wall. He swiped his thumb across the screen.

Maddie.

I’m fine. But Carlos hinted Hector has something against me. I think Tony must have told him something. They’re talking in the living room right now waiting to hear from security. They got a little heated, and I think it was about me. But they’ve settled now. I’ll tell you more tomorrow.

He massaged his temple. Christ. That wasn’t good. Tony having suspicions was one thing, but with Tony disappearing and Hector’s senses on alert… they were sitting ducks. They’d have to be extra careful.

Which was going to be next to impossible. If tension had been high between him and Maddie before sex, there was no way it’d be calmer now.

Not when images of her naked, panting, and coming on the dining room table flashed through his mind every ten seconds.

He hadn’t even asked if she’d slept with Carlos. He squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed over the lump that had formed in his throat. Maddie wouldn’t do that, but if it came down to her blowing her cover…

He moved his thumb over the screen in response.

Thanks for letting me know. Get in touch in the morning when it’s safe.

He hit send and fought to drag a breath through his tight lungs.

All the years he and Ethan had been friends and he’d had to stifle his attraction for her.

It had been six years since the first time he’d met her.

And although they hadn’t spent much time together in the beginning, in recent years there had been family functions he’d attended, or the occasional drink or dinner out.

Until that had become too uncomfortable for him.

And then he’d seen her at her sister’s wedding and had nearly nailed her in the hotel room.

Had he done it then, he would have saved himself nine months of hell and would have been able to be with her. Dylan was wrong. He wouldn’t have been able to fuck her once and get her out of his system.

His phone buzzed in his hand and he glanced down at the screen.

Ethan.

Sonofabitch. Of course he would call, wasn’t that how life went? His thumb hovered over the decline button. He gritted his teeth and swiped to answer. Best not to avoid him.

“Hey, dude. How’s it going?” He forced a brightness to his tone from some depth within him.

“Good. Did you get my text?”

He rubbed his hand over his hair and stood. “Nah, sorry bro. I just got in. What’s up?”

“I wanted to tell you that I talked to Maddie.” Strain laced his voice, but not the high-strung tone that had become the norm since Maddie had been avoiding him.

“Good, I’m glad she finally got in touch. Do you feel better?”

Ethan’s deep exhale reverberated in his ear. “Not really. She’s on a cruise with some guy.”

All of the air left Nate’s lungs. He opened his mouth but couldn’t form any words. He rubbed his hand over his chin. Maddie had told him?

“Are you there?”

Nate cleared his throat. “Ugh, yeah. Sorry. Just a little shocked.”

“Fuck, tell me about it. Funny thing is I don’t see any new friends added to her Facebook page.”

“Could be texting,” Nate offered.

“I get that. But don’t you think they’d be connected?” Ethan was an investigative guy by nature, and after meeting Riley he’d started a PI business. So it came as no surprise that he would have thoroughly checked into Maddie’s personal pages.

Nate leaned against the patio door, his gaze drifted over the dark ominous waves he’d swam in only hours before.

Waves he could have died in. Life was too short.

Had he died hours ago, he never would have been with Maddie.

And had he not nearly died, he’d probably still be pushing her away.

He valued his friendship with Ethan—more than anything.

But he couldn’t deny his feelings for Maddie anymore, and he wouldn’t.

Ethan would have to accept it, and if he didn’t… it was a risk he was willing to take.

“You’re assuming it’s someone new. It could be someone she’s been friends with for a while.” His tongue burned with the urge to tell Ethan everything. But he couldn’t… not with the case hanging over them. He chewed the side of his cheek as Ethan scoffed on the other end.

“You’re right,” he said, his voice gravelly. “I don’t know why I bothered. It’s impossible to find something out about Maddie until she wants you to.”

“Maybe you should fly down and see her when she gets back. I think it would do you both good to clear the air.” And for him to tell Ethan that he was banging his little sister. Nate stifled a groan and pressed his fingers into his eye socket.

Ethan sighed. “Yeah, I’ll check out some flights. Thanks for answering. You know, you can gimme a call too sometime.”

Guilt swarmed in his stomach like bees from a kicked beehive.

He’d been distant, but only because he’d had no damn choice.

Nate had always been the most outspoken among him, Ethan, and Cal.

The outrageous one no one took seriously.

He wore that hat well, but there was more to him than lewd jokes and getting laid every other night.

He cared dammit. He cared about his friends, he cared about his job, and for fuck’s sake, he cared about Maddie.

He didn’t want to lie any more than he already had.

“Sorry, dude. Just been super busy. We’ll go for a drink when I’m back.”

“Sounds good. You okay, bro? You’ve been off lately.” Concern softened the timber to his voice and an ache spread through Nate. If he lost Ethan’s friendship over this, it would really fucking suck.

“I’m fine. This job is draining me though.” And that was as close to the truth as he could get.

Ethan guffawed. “You’re tired? I can’t count on one hand how many times I’ve heard that from you. Sounds like you need to get laid.”

Nate let out a curse. When it came to Maddie, his desire would never be sated. It wasn’t like the one-night stands that gave him a quick fill and left every other aspect of his psyche empty. Maddie was so much more.

She was it. And for as long as he lived, sex with another woman wouldn’t compare. A chill tickled his spine. By sleeping with Maddie, he’d sealed his fate.

“Maybe you’re right.” His voice drifted off and his gaze swept across the room and to the bedroom door. It had been over an hour since he’d hovered at the door and listened for Maddie. “Listen, I’m going to crash. I’ll call you when I’m back in town and we’ll go for that drink.”

“Sounds good.” Ethan disconnected and Nate slipped his phone in his back pocket and strode out of the room. As he neared the front door, he pressed his weight into the balls of his feet and inched closer. He lowered his eye to the peephole, his breath coming out in slow, even puffs.

The coast was clear. He couldn’t take not knowing what was going on inside their suite.

He trusted Dylan would call him if anything happened, but he needed to hear for himself that everything was fine.

Even if all he heard was Maddie watching TV.

He grabbed his key card from the entryway table and slipped it into his pocket, then dug his feet into his shoes.

He’d take a quick trip down to Dylan’s room and listen in for a few minutes.

That would settle him enough so maybe he could get some damn sleep.

He cracked the door and slid out, and it swung firmly shut behind him.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and pulled up Dylan’s number.

On my way down.

He hit send, but his gaze drifted to the solid door across from him. He strained his ears and tilted his head toward their suite. Nothing. He blew air through his lips and took a few steps down the hall.

A door creaked open and his hackles rose.

Hector stepped out of their suite, an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips and his phone alive in his hand.

Hours ago, he’d unintentionally killed Hector’s cousin, and with the lit and steely gaze from his eyes, the shit would hit the fan if he sensed anything.

Nate nodded and focused his gaze ahead of him. Hector’s big, heavy feet scuffed the carpet behind him and Nate worked his jaw.

Hector’s footsteps grew quicker, closing the distance between his and Nate’s slow gait. Nate stopped at the elevator and jabbed the button. Hector’s bulky form sided up to his and Nate nodded again. The elevator hummed, but dropped down to the bottom floor. Christ.

“S’cuse me,” Hector’s gravelly voice boomed behind him.

Nate turned and met his stare. “Yeah?”

“Don’t I know you from somewhere?” The elevator purred to life with a soft beep as it passed each floor. Nate kept his gaze steady, but arched his brows together.

A beat passed. Nate lifted the side of his mouth and the doors swung open. “You mean other than around the ship? No, I don’t think so.” He kept his tone light, stepped into the elevator and Hector followed.

Hector hit the floor’s button below them. He was going back to his room.

Nate hesitated as the doors closed, and then selected a few floors lower. He wouldn’t be able to go to Dylan’s stateroom now, not when Hector would be getting out on the same floor. It would be too much of a damn coincidence.

The doors shut and the cart whisked smoothly down. Hector tapped his cigarette against his closed fist. “Nah, there’s something else. Weren’t you at dinner a few hours ago?”

Nate groaned inwardly and bit back the smart-assed comments that hovered in his throat. Three hundred other people had been at dinner, it was an obvious as fuck possibility.

“Yeah, I was. Sorry I don’t recall seeing you,” Nate offered with a polite shrug. The elevator dinged and the doors shot open to Hector’s floor, but he didn’t budge from his spot less than two feet away.

“You left, didn’t you? Right in the middle of dinner?”

A cold sweat prickled the center of his back. He flexed his hands in his pockets, ready for Hector to piece the rest together. Hector was an observant motherfucker.

His teeth sank into the back of his tongue and he focused carefully on his words. “Yes, I had an important call I needed to take in my room.” He pulled his hand from his pocket and dragged it over his head and to the back of his neck. “If this is some kind of pickup line…”

Hector’s face pinched into a scowl. His dark eyes flared. Shit, he’d pissed him off.

“A friend of mine went missing on deck during dinner. Did you see anything weird when you left?”

Nate extended his hand in the air. “Sorry, man. I didn’t see anything, I hope he’s all right.”

Hector gave one curt nod, and then stepped over the threshold. “See you around.” He shoved the end of the unlit cigarette back in his mouth and lifted his hand.

Nate waved and the doors closed on Hector’s brooding glare.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.