Jason could’ve sworn he heard something move behind him. He stilled. Something was definitely moving. Not the wind blowing the trees. Breathing. He heard breathing.
Something rustled behind the large rock to his left.
He locked eyes with Knox and signaled what he was about to do.
Silently, he crept behind the rock. A second later, he grabbed a dark figure, pulled him to the ground, and pinned his arms behind his back.
The man turned his face to the side and the scant moonlight shone just enough for Jason to make out the man’s features.
“Enzo? What on earth are you doing here?” Jason whispered. He hoped the men loading The Sea Queen hadn’t noticed his movements.
He lowered his head near Enzo’s ear. “Don’t say a word yet.”
Knox crept over. Jason signaled for Knox to pat down Enzo while Jason kept his captive pinned to the ground.
Knox removed one handgun from Enzo’s leg holster, and a cell phone from his pants pocket. He gave Jason a thumbs up.
“Okay Enzo, what’s going on? And keep your voice down.” Jason had no idea what Enzo was up to, but if he wanted to expose them to the men on the pier, there were easier and safer ways to do that without sneaking up on him in the dark.
“Can you let me up?”
Jason exchanged a look with Knox, and his friend nodded.
Enzo clearly registered Knox’s gun pointed at him. “I’m not here to cause you any trouble. Now, if you don’t mind?”
Jason loosened his grip and Enzo pulled himself to a sitting position, careful to stay behind the large rocks blocking the view from the pier.
“Thank you, Mr. Bridger,” Enzo said, with more calm and politeness than the situation warranted.
“What are you doing here?”
“I expect I’m here for the same reason you are.”
Jason struggled to keep his response civil. All he could see when he looked at Enzo was an image of Tayla in a flooding sea cave. He hadn’t expected to come face to face with Enzo so soon after Tayla’s tearful explanation. The temptation to hurt the man burned in his chest.
Oh, dear God. Help me.
“We’re not here for the same reason, Enzo.What do you want?”
A glint of amusement shone in Enzo’s eyes. “I’m interested in this cargo. I wanted to evaluate the level of security around this shipment.”
Jason inwardly groaned. Isadora Islandwasan island full of crooks—all trying to steal each other’s stolen goods.
He heard Leland in his ear. “What’s going on up there?”
“We’re fine, Leland. Enzo showed up. He’s subdued.”
Silence for two beats. “Enzo?” Leland asked.
“Yeah. But he’s not going to be a problem,” Jason answered.
“They’re stacking crates closer to my position now. I need to move. Coming to you.”
“Roger that.”
He returned his attention to Enzo. “Don’t be an idiot. There’s way too much attention around this cargo for it to be worth it to you. One of our agents was killed over this already. And as soon as we catch the person responsible, we’re calling in the FBI to take a closer look in those crates.”
Enzo smiled. A creepy, irritating smile. “I see. I’m sorry about your agent. But . . . “ He peeked around a nearby rock at the activity on the pier. Two ATVs drove onto the pier, each carrying a large crate. “You see that man incharge? In the baseball cap? He’s out of his league. That cargo is worth twice what his appraiser quoted him and he has no idea. And he’s guarding it with a bunch of local thugs—half of whom will be loyal to me for an affordable price.”
