Beachcomber Danger_Beachcomber Investigations Book 8_A Romantic Detective Series

by Stephanie Queen

  “We can’t trust them, Dane.”

  He touched his forehead to hers and pushed his fingers through her hair, wrapping a hand behind her neck and holding her with the other.

  “I know. We got this.”

  She grunted a laugh then because he’d thrown her words back at her.

  There was no way in hell he wanted Shana in this with him. But there was no way in hell she’d let him go it alone. And in truth, he’d be lost without her, wouldn’t he?

  “Don’t try and do this without me.”

  She was a mind-reader, but he wasn’t going to let her know that.

  He pulled her in for a tight hug, for himself as much as for her. It lasted until Gable came down the stairs from the pilot house.

  “How far out do you want to go or do you have somewhere in particular in mind for this joy ride?”

  “Another five minutes worth and then anchor it.”

  “Aye-Aye, captain.” He saluted Dane and went back up to man the controls. Lucky for Dane the man was big on intrigue. He’d have to crush Gable’s hopes eventually, but it was necessary. He couldn’t let his billionaire movie-mogul friend in on this action and had mixed feelings on having involved him this far.

  But sometimes you needed the help of friends to get the job done. Dane, in spite of his unworthiness, had always had good friends and he’d been a team player since his special ops days. Peter had had a hell of a time breaking him from his loner inclinations, but he’d done it. And Dane had been a team player ever since—with one minor breach, a dark time Dane couldn’t afford to think about right now.

  Instead, he slipped his phone from his pocket and put it on the glass cocktail table where it clicked loudly.

  “Ready to call?”

  “No. I can’t use either of our phones for this call.”

  The engines shut off, eliminating the low-level drone from the background. A beat later he heard the chunky metallic sound of the anchor lowering. Gable came down the stairs again, this time he took a seat opposite Dane.

  “Now tell me what this is all about. No one will be listening out here.”

  “Give me your cell phone.”

  Gable’s eyebrows knit, but he did what he was told. Dane took it.

  “I can’t read you in on this one, my friend.” Dane’s face reflected his implacable seriousness.

  Gable looked stunned and leaned back.

  “Then what’s this all about? You taking advantage?”

  “Yes, but it’s for a good cause.”

  Gable looked at Shana. “You in on this?”

  She nodded, giving nothing but a serious-as-an atom-bomb look.

  Gable looked like he’d been hit by an atom bomb, but Dane couldn’t soften it for him, didn’t want to get cajoled into anything by this squirrelly business man who Dane knew for a fact was used to getting his way in all things.

  “Leave us alone. We’ll need ten minutes or so, then we can get back.”

  “That’s it?”

  Dane nodded. He held the phone and he held his ground and said nothing more, just waited for Gable to acquiesce. Finally, Gable stood and walked with uncharacteristic stiffness from the room.

  Shana said, “He’ll get over it.”

  Dane shrugged. “He will or he won’t.”

  “You’re a tough bastard.”

  “I’ve had to make a lot of tough decisions in my life, tough sacrifices, in the name of the mission.”

  She nodded. He watched her eyes go distant, retreat from him. When she would have pulled back he reached out and put an arm around her shoulder, reeling her in.

  “You’re not one of those sacrifices, girlie. Never will be.”

  “I know.”

  He bent his head to kiss her to make sure she knew. To make sure he remembered. He’d been too hard in his past, made some mistakes on his tough decisions. He didn’t want to make those mistakes again. He lifted his mouth from her warm familiar lips and lifted her chin with a finger.

  His heart pounded unnaturally. It wasn’t the usual adrenaline. It felt more like fear. The kind of fear you would get from walking across a tightrope. Not a completely unfamiliar feeling, but it was out of place here. He’d already made up his mind. He knew what to do. He shifted and turned his attention to the phone and dialed up the Governor.

  “What’s wrong?” Peter hadn’t let the phone finish its first ring.

  “I was hoping you could tell me. Other than the itinerary, they’re not giving us anything. We’re being used as far as I can tell.”

  “For what?”

  Dane flicked his eyes at Shana and answered.

  “As a distraction. A target at worse.”

  “I’d tell you you’re being paranoid and far-fetched, but this one is giving me concern. On my end.” Peter stopped as if he were unsure—and this was a man who was never unsure.

  “What does the chatter say?”

  Peter took a breath and said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if a local terrorist cell with some money but lacking in expertise—and possibly nerve—went on the dark web and hired a professional hit team.”

  Dane paused. Shana gripped his arm. His heart thudded a deadly loud and fast beat. He wanted to ask Peter when he’d planned on clueing him in on this, but he knew his friend would eventually have made sure he found out one way or another.

  “Any idea who the hit team is—aside from the fact that they’re probably posing as a couple of tourists?”

  “That’s what you figure? A couple of tourists? No official word yet. I had to pry the intel I got from my source. I owe him my next two unborn children. I’m not sure I’ll get any more.”

  “You want me to play along with this charade?”

  “I want you to prevent an assassination attempt. So does my source.”

  “Even if the attempt is on the President’s double?”

  Dead air buzzed in his ear, which Dane was prepared for.

  “You’re too damn good sometimes,” Peter finally said.

  “That your answer?”

  “Prevent the assassination attempt so no one else knows the President sent his double. The prevailing wisdom is that it would be a disaster if the public found out.”

  “Not as big a disaster as if the President got himself killed.”

  “That’s right. I like how you’re keeping your eye on the prize. Remind yourself that every time the Secret Service team pisses you off. I don’t want any calls complaining about you punching anyone.”

  Dane heard the unsaid, unless you have to.

  “Yes sir. Any more words of wisdom?”

  Peter gave him a subdued snort that passed for a laugh.

  “I’m glad you’re backing us up. If it were up to me, I’d have you playing lead on this, but no one’s appointed me Director of Homeland Security.”

  “Not yet. But then that’s not the title you’re going for, is it?”

  “Another conversation for another day,” Peter said.

  Dane signed off. Shana was on his left shoulder, literally hanging on every word of the conversation.

  He wrapped her in his arm before she had a chance to pull away. He wanted to have this conversation with her up close and personal.

  “Serious business,” she said.

  He nodded and studied her jewel-green eyes. They were wide open with seriousness, determination, worry, and awe. There was no hesitation or backing down from the challenge in those eyes. She stared right back at him.

  “As serious as it gets.”

  “We’re up to it.”

  “No shit.” He showed one dimple. If he and Shana weren’t up to it, then they were all in trouble. The Governor had as much as told him they were counting on him to save the life of the leader of the damn free world.

  He wished like hell Shana was in Australia and he was handling this on his own.

  Chapter 5

  Dane heard the yacht’s engines stop, although he didn’t hear the grind of the anchor being lowered.

  �
�No matter how much Gable offers to pay you, not a word to him.”

  She punched his arm as she pushed herself away. “Stop trying to make light of this,” she snapped.

  Gable stepped down the stairs into the main lounge. Dane had lost hold of Shana and she’d started stalking around like she’d lost hold of herself. Maybe there was more worry in that look of hers than he’d realized.

  “What’s wrong?” Gable joined Dane on the long white couch.

  “What makes you think there’s something wrong?”

  Gable looked pointedly in Shana’s direction. She paused a beat in her pacing and gave them the finger.

  Dane laughed.

  “Nothing to worry about. Once I get her to myself back home, we’ll be fine.”

  “You expect me to believe this is all about a lovers’ quarrel?”

  Dane raised a brow at him. Damn.

  “What else?”

  “You didn’t ask me to come out here on the ocean to make a call because you’re—”

  Shana whirled. “Cut the crap, Gable. If we needed to come out here to make a call because it was so top secret, then what makes you think we’re going to share it with you?”

  Dane put up his hands and rose from the couch.

  “Damn.” Gable looked to Dane for a cue. Dane didn’t give him anything.

  “You can get us and the dinghy back to the dock,” Dane said.

  “Yes, sir. Anything else?”

  “Forget you took us for a ride. Forget we made a call.” Dane didn’t bother hiding his seriousness.

  Gable’s face went ashen with concern. He looked like he was about to say something but flicked a look at Shana, who now stood scowling at him, hands on hips and feet spread—her Wonder Woman pose—ready to spring into action. Gable apparently decided better of it and retreated out to the main deck without another word. Dane and Shana followed.

  Dane would owe him after this. Since Gable wasn’t a stupid man, he’d figure without being told that it had something to do with the President’s imminent visit. Nothing Dane could do about that. But that’s all Gable would ever know.

  *****

  On the road, before Dane and Shana arrive back at the shack, he swerved the Jeep into the parking lot of a small unfamiliar mom-and-pop convenience store. He hoped to hell they had what he needed.

  “What’s up lover boy? Your nerves so shot that you need a pack of cigarettes suddenly?” Shana raised one brow at him. She didn’t give him a wiseass smirk. She was too honestly worried and nervous herself.

  “Not yet.” He’d never smoked and she knew it, but they both needed to joke to blow off some of the tension. He got out of the Jeep and she followed as if she didn’t want to let him out of her sight. He caught her around the waist, nuzzled her ear and whispered.

  “We’re picking up a pair of throwaway cell phones. If you have cash on you.”

  She nodded and pulled away to rummage in her purse past the small gun she kept, her favorite traveling gun. Dane stepped into the store first, setting off the jingling bells to alert Mom and Pop they’d arrived. He searched the old place—the well-worn carpeting, the smell of coffee and deli meat permeating the air, and the tall shelves stocked tight like books in a library. He spotted the carousel rack at the end of the last aisle filled with electronics, including plastic-packaged cell phones. Thank you, Mom and Pop.

  Smiling at the older woman behind the counter as they walked by, he went to retrieve what he needed. Shana followed, taking his hand and holding on as if she were in a foreign place.

  He went down the aisle and grabbed a box of Entenmann’s chocolate chip cookies because they were Shana’s favorites. She aimed a world-stopping smile at him, the kind that caused his pants to get too tight. He held his ground and her hand and they went to the cash register to buy their stash from Mom. He absently wondered where Pop was.

  “I’ll take this.” He stopped her from bagging one of the phones and managed to rip open the plastic packaging. “I’m giving it a test run before I go, if you don’t mind.”

  “Sure. You can do whatever you want with it—it’s yours. Cutie.” She winked at him and turned to Shana and wiggled her brows with a smile. Shana laughed.

  They moved away from the counter and leaned against a chest freezer holding all manner of ice cream treats, and with one arm around Shana to keep her where she could listen, he tapped out Acer’s number with his thumb.

  After three rings, Acer came on the line. A frisson of shock went through Dane. Acer never answered his phone. Dane had always left a message and Acer would call back. Ever since he could remember.

  “I’ve been anticipating your call,” his friend said.

  “No shit. How’d you know?” Mostly for Shana’s sake, but also out of habit, Dane didn’t let on that this had shaken him.

  “Give me some credit. The President’s visiting. I figure that means heightened security. I gave you a ring and no answer. Nothing. I knew better than to leave a message. If you hadn’t called me by tonight I was going to contact the Governor. And you know what that means.”

  “A sure sign of panic mode.”

  “So what the hell is going on that you’ve gone to using throwaway phones?”

  “Long story and I—we have short time. You need to get to the island by tonight.”

  “No problem.”

  “But you can’t get here using the conventional methods.”

  “Aha. Going in dark to an island. My specialty.”

  “Exactly. Only I can’t give you any help. I’ll send Ronnie Ryan out with a boat if you need it.”

  “That’ll work. I’ll send him my coordinates. Tell him to expect me around . . . 2100 hours.”

  “Won’t work. We need you here for the dinner hour—by 7 p.m. the latest. We’re under watch.”

  There was silence while Acer contemplated what Dane had said. He wasn’t sure if the time frame had given him pause or if it was the fact that he and Shana were under watch.

  “Coming in without the cover of dark will be tricky.”

  “But you can do it.”

  “Of course. Just warn your boy Ronnie.”

  “Will do. And Acer, we’ll need all the toys you can manage. Set up at our usual rendezvous spot. Ronnie’ll get you there.”

  His friend emitted a string of epithets a sailor might spew and they signed off.

  Dane slipped his phone into one of the pockets of his cargo shorts while he studied Shana’s face, focusing mostly on her stunning eyes. The green was so bright they looked like emeralds in a doll’s face. She showed no fear, no anxiety, not even a scowl of annoyance. His heart hammered up and his gut floated around unnaturally.

  “We’re all set then?”

  He nodded.

  “How will Acer manage to get here if not by boat or plane?”

  “He’ll swim in. Underwater.”

  She laughed. “Let’s go.”

  He had a feeling she really didn’t believe him.

  She was about to exit the convenience store, but Dane held her arm.

  “We need to talk before we get back to the shack and I’d bet my left nut the Jeep is bugged.”

  “So you’ve said. You sound all sexy-spy. You sure you’re not getting too melodramatic?”

  “What do you think, girlie?”

  Her head was tilted only slightly to look into his eyes. He liked that her heels made her close to his height. Gave an extra kick to the challenge of staying on top. Literally. She contemplated the sexy-spy look he put on for her, but he knew her mind was working, knew she was serious. In fact, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to distract her enough to make love again until the President’s visit was over.

  “Our Secret Service pals are going to find out we have these phones sooner or later.”

  “We’ll only use them for a day. Until Acer gets set up on the island anonymously.”

  “Good luck with that. They’ll make it their business to know who every damn last person is that comes onto this
island.”

  “Sure. But you know Acer isn’t coming on island in one of the conventional ways.”

  “How then—for real?”

  “He really is coming in underwater. Did you know our man Acer happens to be an expert scuba diver?”

  “You don’t say.” She shook her head in mock disbelief. “Crazy.”

  She was up to it. She was a warrior. But a sudden unsettled feeling took hold.

  “Not too late to back out now.” He held his breath. Had no idea why he said it. Maybe he was crazy.

  The startle in her look made his heart ache. He reached out to her and took hold. He spoke before she had a chance to answer. “Hell. It’s way past too late—”

  She squirmed and took his face in her hands, glaring eyes understanding and scolding at the same time.

  “It’s been too late since the first day we met. Since you pulled that crushed rose from your pocket and put it in the palm of my hand. You had me.”

  “The rose? You mean I didn’t need to go to all that trouble of running to Rio to rescue you from a dungeon?”

  She smiled and he noted the sparkle of tears in her eyes and wondered how she could be such a damn warrior and so damn sappy at the same time. He loved it. Both sides, the fact that she could handle it all, that she could handle him and not go running for the hills.

  “I love your crazy,” she murmured. Nothing stirred his loins more than her husky murmur, her body close and her hands on him. How the hell could he extract himself from this web of desire? How much did he need to maintain his professional edge?

  As much as he needed to save the leader of the free world.

  With clenched teeth and a hard dick, he put his vibrating hands over hers and pulled them away from his face. He barely avoided bringing them down lower, but she assisted by stepping back from him.

  “I even love that iron will of yours,” she said, her voice cooling off.

  “Iron something.” He barely said the words aloud.

  She’d heard him. The faint catbird smile lifted her face.

  “All in due time.”

  He turned away and dismissed her words. There was no room to even contemplate the promise. This had to be a case of all or nothing. He used to be good at that.