“Where to lady?” the taxi driver asked her.
“The nearest marina,” Bethany said. She waited while he punched information into his phone, looking for an address. Soon enough the cab was moving.
“Looking to rent a boat? Pretty early in the morning for that,” the cabbie remarked.
Bethany looked out the window. “If you could wait for me once we get there, I’d appreciate it.”
“Sure thing,” he agreed, concentrating on his driving when it became clear that she wasn’t in a talkative mood.
It didn’t take long to get to the marina. Bethany exited the taxi, looking over the boats. She wouldn’t know one boat from another. The point wasn’t to find the one in her memories, she had no expectation of that. No, it was to try to trigger the rest of the memory. She’d obviously been found. Yet what had the man in her dreams thought she had seen? Why did he want her to be quiet?
Who was he?
She wandered down the walkway towards the boats and water. Bethany tried not to think of the water as she chose a path to take. Hiking her purse higher on her shoulder, she wondered if anyone would be about. Could she hop on one of the boats? Did she need permission if no one was around?
Bethany didn’t see a single person. Somehow, her feet had taken her down one of the long, wooden walkways. She felt sick at the sight of the water around her. For a moment she considered backing away, going back to the cab.
That wouldn’t get her any answers.
Trembling, Bethany walked to the edge of the dock. She cleared her throat nervously and clutched her purse strap in a death grip. “Hello?”
Drew knew money when he saw it. He also knew he must have done something that made the man upstairs unimpressed to have two totally clueless people crash his police assignments within the same week. While she was absolutely gorgeous, she was also unwelcome.
Seriously, was this the new trend? He couldn’t believe it. Shouldn’t someone be guarding these people?
Drew groaned. She was approaching the boat that he was hiding in. Could it get any worse? His supervisor was going to have his head. He switched on his radio. “Who was responsible to make sure civilians didn’t wander into our crime scene?”
“Monroe was on that detail. Did you see her? She’s a looker,” Colby whistled through the radio. “Like an actress.”
“Hello? Is anyone there?” a trembling, feminine voice asked.
“Why me?” Drew muttered and looked up. He didn’t go to church often enough. Jana would say that this was God’s way of nudging him. Telling Drew that something wasn’t quite right in his life.
Monroe was going to pay for the mistake. Drew was unfortunately going to have to do damage control. He stood up, coming out on deck, smiling in a disarming manner at probably one of the most gorgeous women he’d seen off a television set. She was tall, willowy, impeccably dressed with blond hair and uncertain blue eyes. “Can I help you?”
She stared at him in surprise. “You look just like Max.”
Drew dropped the smile. He was getting sick of Max Ramesly and he barely knew the guy. Yes, he looked a lot like his brother. Drew wasn’t certain that was a compliment. “Lady, is there a reason you’re here?”
Bethany didn’t know why he’d gone from charming to disgruntled. For some reason, he didn’t like getting compared to Max. Then again, Max wasn’t attractive in her opinion and this guy definitely was. Her nervous heart had taken a little leap while it took her brain a moment to catch up to what she had been seeing. He was the cliché of tall, dark and handsome but with the tattoos on his arms and the scar splitting his eyebrow, he was dangerous looking too. Bethany shoved away the thought. “I’d like to come on your boat.”
It wasn’t his boat. Drew had commandeered it as a good vantage point. He could tell her to get lost, go back to whatever upscale place she came from or he could let her on the boat so that he knew exactly where she was at all times. Letting her go risked her running into the very criminals they were trying to trap.
Drew sighed. Monroe owed him for this. “Welcome aboard.”
She hesitated. In fact, it seemed like she was stalled, hanging onto her purse strap like she feared he might steal it from her.
“Lady? Are you coming or not?” Drew didn’t have time for her to waste. She was sticking out like a sore thumb and he didn’t need for her to mess up the operation.
“Are you going to ask me why?” she asked nervously, clutching her purse. “I haven’t even introduced myself.”
“Ma’am, I don’t much care,” Drew held out a hand to help her onto the deck of the boat. He flashed her his badge with the other hand. “Please get on the boat.”
“What’s going on?” Bethany looked at him with some alarm.
For a brief moment, he wondered if she was in on the criminal side. That they used her to check out the area before committing to a drop. Immediately Drew dismissed the idea. She was too high class for that. “Ma’am, there are police officers all around the area. We’re in the middle of an important activity and I need you on the boat where you will be safe.”
She reluctantly held out a hand even as she instinctively looked around the marina for other people. Drew wasted no time in grabbing her hand, pulling her onto the boat. He could feel her stiffen in surprise as he hustled her into the wheelhouse. He pulled out his radio. “Civilian is on my boat.”
