Page 29

W arning swelled in his stomach. His gut screamed at him that the shit was going to hit the fan. Normally, he’d pull out. But how the fuck could he do that? They were in over their heads. He wanted nothing more than to drag Maddie off this ship and away from Carlos and Hector, but he couldn’t.

He cracked his knuckles and paced the bedroom floor. If Hector had cornered Maddie, it was because he suspected her. When they’d left earlier, Nate had carefully put back the audio bug and ensured he placed everything back the way it was. Nothing should have tipped them off.

Dread crept over him like black sticky tar. If they were suspicious, they could have planted their own audio bugs to listen in on Maddie.

He tunneled his hand through his hair. Jesus Christ, why hadn’t he thought of that? It wasn’t like him to miss details and not think several steps ahead—but he’d dropped the fucking ball because he’d been too busy making love to Maddie.

Making love. Shit. That was deep.

He tore his mind away from Maddie. He had to go back to their room and do a sweep. He went to the nightstand next to the bed and pulled out his earpiece. It was late, but Dylan would still have his earpiece in while Ashley was keeping watch over Maddie.

“Dude, you there?” he asked into the mic at his collar. He pressed the earbud into his ear and moved toward the door.

“Yo, what’s up?”

“I have to sneak across the hall into Carlos’s suite. Let Ashley know and I need you to cover me.”

A beat passed. “Man, are you crazy? Ashley’s got eyes on Maddie. No one knows where Carlos or Hector are.”

Irritation vibrated over his nerve endings and he bit his tongue. “Why the fuck aren’t you watching them?”

“Because you had me on standby tonight. Ashley was watching Carlos and Maddie before her friend came along. I wouldn’t even know where to look for him.”

Goddammit. It was slip-ups like this that could turn the entire thing into a shit fest.

He had no choice. If Carlos had listened in on Maddie, he needed to know about it. Her life would be in jeopardy even more than it already was.

“Can it wait until tomorrow? Everyone will be gone again for—”

“No. It can’t wait.” He shoved his feet in his shoes and parted the door. “Stay tuned. I might need you.”

“Fuck, bro. This is too risky,” Dylan rasped.

He eased out the door, took three steps across the hall, and shoved the key into Carlos’s door.

He was almost positive the suite was empty, but he closed the door softly and inched his way into the room.

His breath expanded in his lungs, demanding to be released, but he didn’t dare.

He moved on the balls of his feet across the turquoise hallway runner.

He pulled his Glock out and kept it low.

“Don’t expect me to come bail your ass out. I’m busy,” Dylan continued.

“Yeah, yeah. God forbid I interrupt you with actual work.”

Dark shadows shrouded the room and silence hung in the air. He pulled his earpiece out and strained his hearing. Still nothing. No running water or TV reached him either. He shoved the device back into his ear and Dylan’s ranting continued.

“If you get shot, you’re on your own. And for your information, I am working.”

Nate shook his head with irritation. Damn, he had the most annoying friends sometimes.

His gaze landed on the gold chain hanging next to the door. If he latched it, it would buy him more time in the event someone came in. On the flip side, they’d know someone was in the suite because it could only be chained from the inside.

Best to wing it. Worst-case scenario, he’d sleep on the balcony.

He shuddered at the thought. No way in hell he wanted to be suspended over the ocean.

“I’ll remember that, bro.” Nate sang softly into the mic at his collar. “Now will you shut the fuck up so I can hear if someone comes in?”

He skimmed his hand beneath the wooden table and made his way toward the bedroom. Chances were that would be the first place they would plant something.

Maddie and Carlos’s room was the mirror image of his.

While a lot of the décor pieces throughout the unit matched the ones in his suite, the master bedroom was different.

Pewter and mauve accented the space, giving it a soft, welcoming feel.

The bedding was the shade of plums, with enough grey-toned pillows to smother a giant.

If there were a bug in here he’d find it.

His feet scuffed across the freshly vacuumed area rug. He reached the head of the bed and ran his fingers along the groove behind the headboard, and then went to the nightstand and lamp. Nothing. He moved to the other side and did the same, but his finger didn’t even pick up a speck of dust.

Dylan breathed softly in his ear and Nate gritted his teeth against the sound. “Can you not do that?”

A beat passed. “What?”

“Breathe in my fucking ear. No offense, but not a sound I want in my head.”

Dylan chuckled. “Yeah, you’d rather have Maddie’s breath in your ear.”

“No fucking shit,” Nate snarled but his mouth hitched up in a smile and his dick twitched in his pants. Damn, he couldn’t wait to be alone with her without this case hanging over their heads.

He brushed his hands along the bedframe and then went to the closet. Dylan crunched in his ear. “Now you’re eating? Please, dude. Shut the hell up. I need to hear if someone comes in and you’re a major distraction.”

“Hey, I didn’t know we were on a mission. I’m tired and starving.”

“Shh,” he hissed. It took all of his willpower not to race down to the suite below his feet and strangle the moron.

Dylan grunted, but the chewing stopped.

Nate slid the mirrored closet door open and his gaze raked over the nicely hung clothes.

Maddie’s clothes were closest to him, folded neatly in little shelves.

His eyes lowered to a set of drawers and he yanked them open.

At least a dozen black, white, and pastel-colored panties filled the drawer.

His fingers grew damp on the knob and the front of his pants stretched against his groin.

He shut the drawer with a soft click. He didn’t need this right now. What he needed was to clear the place. He moved to Carlos’s side of the closet. He probably wouldn’t leave a bug where Maddie would spot it. His fingers grazed beneath the shelves, a device could be hidden in any crevice.

Huh. Maybe he was getting paranoid. That didn’t surprise him one bit. Where Maddie was concerned, he didn’t fire on all four cylinders. He dropped to one knee and peered down the side of the closet organizer. Clean.

Pulling away, he moved to get to his feet, but his eye caught a flash of black at the back of the closet. His brow furrowed. He parted Carlos’s pressed dress pants and stretched his hand to the back of the closet. His fist closed around a strap and he dragged out a heavy duffle bag.

What the hell?

Their suitcases lined the top shelf of the closet. Why would there be a full bag hidden? He tore open the zipper and the muscles in his neck clenched. Jesus.

He lowered his hand into to bag and pulled out a bundle of crisp hundred dollar bills.

He snorted. All this time they’d been searching for an electronic exchange of money and Carlos had had it on the ship the whole fucking time.

Another glance in the bag showed dozens more bundles.

He rummaged through them, doing a rough count.

Three million dollars sat inches from his knees.

Never in his life had he been this close to that kind of money and he wanted to bleach his skin as if a flesh-eating disease had crawled on it. He tossed it back in the bag and zipped it shut.

A soft click sounded. He froze. The hair on the back of his neck stood at attention. Voices flooded down the hall to his ears and the front door of the suite snapped shut.

“Shut up, Hector. I’ll tell her to come to the room now and get to the bottom of it.”

Fuck. Carlos and Hector were here.

“Get to the bottom of it? She’s lying to you!”

“And I will deal with it.” Carlos’s voice shook with menace, the vibration reached Nate’s bones, chilling him.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Sweat broke out on his temples, cooling his skin. He didn’t give a damn if they caught him. His fear wasn’t for him. They had to be talking about Maddie. He returned the bag to the back of the closet and pushed the closet doors back in place. His pulse drummed in his ears.

His feet were rooted to the carpet, and indecision rippled through him.

There was no way out. He couldn’t get caught.

They’d piece things together and it would only endanger Maddie more.

But what the hell did they want to talk to her about?

He leaned forward in time to catch Hector’s tall, brooding form follow Carlos into the office.

His teeth sunk into his tongue. They’d left the office door open. Carlos’s slender arm hung in view, his back facing the door. If he tried to make a break for the front door, they would catch him. But what other option did he have? He couldn’t exactly hide under the damn bed.

He pressed his back against the wall next to the closet and closed his eyes. His breath came in smooth shallow puffs through his nose. He was six-foot two and two hundred and twenty fucking pounds. Where the hell could he hide?

The curtain at the patio door fluttered open, beckoning him. He squeezed his eyes tight. Oh, hell no.

“Everything okay, bro? You’re making some funny sounds.”

For once, Nate was grateful for Dylan’s voice. “They’re in the suite. Carlos and Hector. I need to get out.” His jaw worked as his gaze went back to the patio door. Dylan’s suite was directly below Carlos’s and his stomach coiled at what he would have to do.

“Sonofabitch,” he growled. His anxiety radiated through the phone, matching Nate’s. “Okay, are you still in the master bedroom?”

“Yeah.” It came out as a grunt, barely above a whisper.

Carlos’s voice carried down the hall, his tone curt and demanding, but his words muffled.

He was bringing Maddie into a damn trap.

What did Hector have on her? It had to be something incriminating.

Damn it to hell and back. Had he fucked up?

He needed to know what Carlos wanted to talk to Maddie about—but he couldn’t stay in the suite.

He pressed his head into the back of the wall and inhaled through his nose. He had no choice. A glance into the office showed Carlos’s back facing him. He pushed away from the wall and skirted across the room to the balcony.

“I’m going to have to escape through the balcony. There’s no way I can make it to the door.” His throat closed on the words. All he wanted was to be back on land. If he ended up back in the unrelenting waves, he’d have a fucking heart attack.

“Dude, that’s perfect. Just drop down to my balcony and you’re home free.”

He eased the glass door open further and stepped onto the smooth wooden deck. Glass encased the length of the patio, providing an unobstructed view of the ocean.

Something he could do without.

He reached into the suite and closed the curtains, and then eased the door shut in case someone decided to close it.

A soft whistle echoed in the night. He inched his way to the railing and peered over. Dylan waved at him, his white teeth flashed mischievously. He thought this was funny. The fucking bastard.

“Hurry up, I can see your vagina from here.”

Nate’s hands dug into the metal rail. In a minute, Dylan wasn’t going to be happy to be face-to-face with him.

He shot him the finger, glanced over his shoulder, and then heaved himself up onto the railing.

The salty wind swirled around him and the bright white of the full moon illuminated his way down… all the way to the black sea.

He swallowed, swung his legs over, and balanced his toes on the edge of the overhang. All he had to do was drop down, hang from the overhang, and swing onto the deck below.

Not an easy feat for the average person, but for him, it should be no sweat. His military training had been intense, and recon put that to shame. Difference was, none of that had been with the ocean beneath him. Since when had he become such a pussy? Dylan was right.

A soft grunt sounded from his throat as he crouched down, grasped the smooth overhang in his hands, and lowered himself over the abyss.

Sweat collected between his traps and trickled down his spine.

The edge of the overhang dug deeply into his palms, his weight bearing down even harder.

His shoulders bunched, the muscles straining to hold onto the sharp edge.

Dylan’s hand grasped his ankle and guided his foot to the rail below.

The balls of his feet balanced on the curved surface. His teeth ground together, shooting pain through his jaw as his limbs stretched. Dylan grasped the back of his knee.

“Let go and jump, bro. I’ve got you,” he whispered.

Nate released his death grip on the ledge and leaped forward. His feet connected with the deck below, the impact vibrated through his bones. But he’d made it. He wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his wrist and straightened.

Dylan clapped him on the shoulder. “C’mon. We gotta listen in to Carlos, they’re bringing Maddie in. It’s not good.”

Nate breathed a curse as he followed Dylan through the patio door. His heart constricted in his chest and his stomach clenched. He should have stayed in their damn suite.