Ford looked at Jason.“This asshole probably doesn’t even realize his precious water palace has an AIS.Or that he could have turned it off.”
“Lucky for us.”Jason nodded and touched his earpiece.“Copy that.Great work.We’re on our way.Em, stay where you are in case this is a red herring.Dallas, keep digging.Finn, start heading south and get as close as you can by car.”
“Roger.”
Jason revved the motor and the little boat shot forward.
Ford ran scenarios in his head as they bounced over the waves for another fifteen minutes before spottingThe Side Effectanchored in the swells just outside of another small cove.
Jason kept their inflatable downwind of the yacht and stopped about two hundred yards away.“How do you want to play this?”
Surprised by the man’s deferral, Ford scanned the boat through binoculars, frustrated with how little he could see from this distance.“There are too many unknowns.”For example, was Natalie even on that boat?Or Erik?How many crew and security personnel?He took a calming breath and tried to channel the way Nat reveled in uncertainty, thrived in chaos.So much like Connor, it hurt.“I think all we can do is approach fast, take them by surprise, and trust our training to deal with whatever comes up.”
“So, we’re winging it.”
Ford nodded, swallowing hard.He could pivot on short notice, but normally he’d have the time and intel to plan for multiple contingencies so he could show up prepared.His job entailed prevention and protection.If he did it right, a rescue—replete with wildly unpredictable, uncontrollable scenarios like they faced now—wasn’t necessary.
Ford hoped like hell he was up to the task.
The former PJ gave him a grim smile.“Luckily, winging it is my specialty.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
NATALIE FOUGHT TO stay calm as Wallace’s oversized mercenary held a camel brown gun to her brother’s head and nodded his head toward the rear of the boat.She knew how to handle a firearm, and she could hit a target with reasonable accuracy, but she didn’t have the shape and features of every pistol on the market memorized.She did know that the color of this one made its user a dickhead.
Erik sat rigidly, eyes wide, his normally tanned face stark white.
“Were you actually in the military, or are you just a wannabe?”she asked the asshole holding the weapon.
Her brother gave her a what-the-fuck look, which she ignored.
The goon’s chin rose a fraction.“Army infantry.”His deep voice was unaccountably filled with pride.
“So you were honorable once.”
A muscle in the man’s stubbled jaw tensed.
She pointed her thumb toward the man’s boss.“Old Mr.Wallace here has probably killed more people than you, and I know for a fact that the hardest thing he ever went through was his fraternity’s—”
“You think you’re amusing, but you’re not,” Wallace snapped.He rose and glared down at her, his cheeks and ears bright red.“Enough stalling.”He yanked her right arm, urging her toward the glass wall at the back of the room.
Against her will, she gasped, the sudden jolt of pain making the room spin.Wallace tugged her again, and she stood quickly to ease the strain, resisting the urge to smash her palm into his fucking nose.She couldn’t afford to be rash while Lear held a gun to Erik’s head.
Not too rash, anyway.Donning a Ford-like alter ego might keep her in check.Then again, chaos was her superpower.Her unpredictability and teasing personality led men to underestimate her.Perfect in her line of work, and useful now.
“Out.”Wallace marched her through the sliding door onto a patio-like space and down a short flight of stairs.They stood on a platform cantilevered off the back of the yacht several feet above the waves.He sat her on the lowest step, keeping a grip on her biceps.
Erik and Lear continued onto the wide deck, and her brother made a good show of resisting getting anywhere near the edge, only acquiescing when the gunman aimed his weapon at her instead.As directed, Erik stood within inches of the edge, facing her with his back to the drop-off.
Shoulder throbbing, Natalie scanned for a button or switch that would lower the platform—preferably taking their captors by surprise—but everything on this fancy floating deathtrap seemed to be hidden beneath a sleek panel or door.
Willing away the pain in her shoulder and the panic in her chest with a deep breath, she relaxed her muscles, as if defeated, as the gun swung back toward her brother.“What do you want to know?”
“Everything.”Wallace gave her a stern look as he balanced on the gently swaying platform.With his free hand, he set his phone on a small ledge and tapped the screen a few times.“But let’s start with who you work with.Besides Emma Gallagher.We know all abouther.”
Nat’s shiver wasn’t just from the cool breeze.She had so many people to protect today.Or die trying.No doubt in her mind that Wallace would kill her and her brother as soon as he confirmed her information.The criminal asshat couldn’t afford to let them live.
She sighed.“We’ve been working with Jason Chin.”His involvement in the Switzerland fiasco and his relationship with Emma meant he already had a target on his back, but she still felt guilty throwing out his name.
