“If they wanted us gone, we wouldn’t be standing here,” Blake said. His tone was steady, but his eyes tracked the white mist curling over the dock. “This isn’t a hit. It’s surveillance. They’re watching how we handle the heat, and if we’re the newlywed couple wanting to move on, they want to make sure we go far away from here.”
She shifted her weight, every instinct on edge. “You’re saying they’re testing us.”
“Yes. Which means we act like what they think we are.”
Her flashlight beam slid across the warped deck boards, the wet wood gleaming like oil. “A couple of idiots who bought a sinking boat.”
“Exactly,” he said, a faint grin pulling at his mouth. “Once this icy mix ends, I’ll head to the warehouse, talk to Dan, see if he’s tied in. Maybe get a few parts to fake repairs.”
“And I’ll go into town,” she countered. “Supplies, small talk, anything that smells off. Somebody’s bound to know something.”
He met her eyes, and for a moment, the rain and the dark fell away. “Stay sharp, Viv. Laurel Tide’s got eyes here; we can’t afford one wrong move.”
She nodded once. “I don’t plan on giving them a second chance.”
Lightning tore across the sky, the light flaring against the windows of the cabin—then reflecting off something metal near the dock. Not the boat. Farther. Higher.
A glint. Watching.
Her pulse leapt. “Blake.”
He followed her gaze, but by the time he turned, it was gone.
Only fog. Only sleet.
But the echo of that shimmer burned in her mind.
Blake exhaled slowly. “We move separate. If they’re tracking us, maybe we’ll flush them out.”
Vivian’s throat felt tight. “And if they move first?”
He looked back toward the dark water, jaw tense. “Then you win. We follow protocol and call it in. Believe it or not, I’m not trying to get us killed.”
The storm broke overhead with a sharp crack of thunder, the sound rolling through the harbor and rattling the deck beneath their feet.
“Then I guess we both should get some rest for now,” Vivan suggested.
Blake gave a single nod, his expression unreadable. “Yeah. Because I don’t think we’re the only ones waiting for this storm to pass.”
Blake paused, just long enough to glance back over the rail. Beyond the marina lights, past the curtain of fog, a faint red pinpoint blinked once—then vanished into the dark.
The wind snapped the door shut behind them as the rain thickened.
Blake stoodin the salon watching out the window to the stern of theWindward Lady, coffee cooling in his hand,watching his breath cloud into the air. The world was quiet except for the groan of wood and the distant clang of a buoy—too quiet, the kind that made instinct crawl up the back of his neck.
The image of that red pinpoint blinking in the fog replayed in his mind, over and over. A signal? A warning? A laser? Whatever it was, it had been close. Too close.
Vivian was right.
He didn’t want to admit it—not to her, not to himself—but she saw through him better than anyone else ever had. She knew exactly what kind of man he was. The one who would charge headfirst into danger, who’d break orders, chain of command, and logic just to corner the devil he was after. He’d done it before, and he would again. Because once he got a scent on his man, nothing short of blood stopped him.
But Vivian… he wouldn’t take chances with her. Maybe that’s why Maddox stuck them together again—to keep him in check. Or maybe Maddox was playing the long game, hoping Vivian would keep him alive just long enough to get results. Or maybe his first instinct was correct, and Maddox was the one feeding intel to Laurel Tide. He couldn’t tell which of these options was worse.
He drained the rest of his coffee. Either way, he wasn’t about to lose another op—or his partner.
The generator sat gutted below deck, still stinking faintly of melted plastic. The scorch marks from last night’s discovery had been real. Someone had tampered with it, someone close. Dan? Or the so-called boat broker on deck yesterday saying he didn’t know the boat had been sold? The only way to find out was to get closer.
Vivian sat with a folder in her lap, reading through every clue again.
