The man in Jaden’s arms went limp, blood squirting from his neck, arms and torso.
“On three, run like hell,” he said to Lauren. The man’s thin jacket, a Kevlar vest no doubt, was the only reason the two of them were still alive.
“One. Two. Three.”
Jaden pushed the body forward and cut around the building, which momentarily blocked the spray of bullets. “They won’t stop for long. Move!”
Lauren ran right behind him until they reached the boat where the worker was crouched low, tying off the watercraft. He scanned the boat and saw scuba equipment. Good. That might come in handy later.
Jaden pointed the gun directly at the worker’s heart. “We’re taking this.”
The man put up his hands and half-smiled nervously. “No worries, mon. I’m done with it.”
Lauren scrambled onto the watercraft.
“Get down,” Jaden commanded, keeping an eye on her as he turned the boat around. She curled up on the floor, hugging her overnight bag and shivering. Fierce as she’d been moments before, now she looked small and out of place. Her white cotton skirt hiked up around her thighs revealing far too much leg for Jaden to completely focus.
What was happening here? He had never allowed himself a moment of distraction on a mission before.
Besides, he’d learned the hard way that looks could be deceiving.
His gut told him she was innocent. Could he trust his instincts with everything going on?
Bryce was dead because of her.
Ominous gray clouds hung in the sky. The air became thick and heavy. The wind picked up. Jaden had bigger problems brewing than a storm. It wouldn’t take long for the men chasing them to find a boat or the key to one of those jet skis.
He pulled binoculars from a hook and scanned the coastline.
Damn.
Three manned jet skis had split direction. One to the east. One to the west. And one headed right toward him.
Jaden pressed further out to sea, full throttle, heading south. “Stay down.”
A sharp crack split the air. The bullet missed. Jaden pulled his Glock from the waistband of his jeans where he’d tucked it a few minutes ago. “Change of plans. Drive.”
Lauren pushed herself upright and fought against heavy winds. As soon as she took the wheel, Jaden aimed and fired.
His shot was a little wide. The jet ski was gaining on them. He made an adjustment for velocity and wind and then fired again. The man on the jet ski flew forward as the watercraft abruptly halted.
He surveyed the water. The other assholes were out of sight. Taking back the wheel, he reached into his pocket for his cell. If he’d kept the boat inside of fifteen miles of shore, give or take, he might be able to grab a signal even through the clouds and rain. It was a stretch. Yet with fewer obstructions on the water, the signal could bend over the horizon a bit.
Besides, using his encrypted cell was the safest way to signal his agency for a pick up.
He checked for bars and got nothing.
“Get back down. Just in case,” he said to Lauren.
She immediately dropped to the floor and curled into a ball.
The radio on board worked. He sighed sharply. Everyone and their cousin would be monitoring communications. The Coast Guard and his agency would be good things. The men with guns chasing them, not so much.
Filing the thought, he turned up the radio volume and switched to channel sixteen. He listened before transmitting.
“Aunt Betty heard you come in late for curfew last night,” came through a few beats later. “You wanna explain where you were?”
He recognized Helena’s voice immediately. What was she doing on the frequency? She was asking if he could give his coordinates. No. He couldn’t. He didn’t like using VHF. Not even in code. He felt too exposed. Plus, he didn’t want her involved.
“Party got crashed. Nothing is ever as it seems when South Americans show up,” he said.
“So true,” she acknowledged and her tone was laced with bitterness.
“Have to make sure my date makes it home.” All he had to do was stay on long enough for Helena to locate him and not a second longer. The cartel spent almost as much money on monitoring equipment as the Department of Defense. Luckily, research and development at the DOD kept them one step ahead. Barely.
“I’m coming to get you,” she said.
“No. We lost another man today. I won’t lose you, too. Stay put. I’ll keep you informed.”
“Can’t.” The determination in her voice spoke volumes about her intent. She could wind up compromising the mission in order to find the man who killed Tim. There was no way Jaden could convince her to back off. He’d have to make a mental adjustment for that. Yet, including her was too risky. She was too emotionally invested. Loose threads.
Time was running out on the call.
The cartel had sure as hell gone to a lot of trouble to pick up Lauren.
Why?
Chapter 4
Lauren looked harmless enough, curled up in a ball in the hull. Her lip quivered even when she put on a brave face. Jaden reminded himself of the expression that said looks could kill. In his profession, they usually did.
“Keep your date heading south,” came over the frequency. “The weather isn’t cooperating.”
Away from shore? “Affirmative.”
“Gabriel just handed me a note. Sunnyside vacation reps are waiting at the open house. What does it mean?”
Hell if he knew. He had to think. It was code to keep Helena from figuring out where he should go. Gabriel knew her mental state. Good. But what was he trying to say? Sunnyside? What did that mean? Vacations were taken by the sea. Reps? How did they play into it? Reps with an open house. He got it. Real estate. Condos. Seaside Condos. A safe house.
Jaden couldn’t risk waiting longer. He turned off the radio, and smashed it using the fire extinguisher on board.
Lauren recoiled and gasped. “Why’d you do that?”
“To protect us. Why’d you come here?” He turned his attention to her. Experience had
