"She strikes me as a ruthless killer. If you'd like, I can send you case files on all the people who have been executed by the Navarro cartel. It's pretty gruesome. Makes for good bedtime reading. Guaranteed to give you nightmares.”
I frowned, and that sense of dread swirled.
"There's an international warrant out for her father right now. He'll likely come to the States at some point. A heads up would be great.”
This was not exactly on my bingo card.
"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news,” Jennings continued. “I know this isn’t what you wanted to hear. The woman has enticing qualities.” He dug in his pocket and handed me a card. "Do the right thing.”
I took it and slipped it into my pocket. "I'll look into this. But I think you're wrong about her.”
"For your sake, I hope I am.”
I continued down the dock to theAvventura, and the feds walked back to their black SUV with tinted windows.
I crossed the passerelle and stepped onto the aft deck. Buddy waited for me at the salon door. I slid it open, knelt down, and petted the little guy. He brought joy to an otherwise depressing moment. I felt like the wind had been taken from my sails.
I stepped aboard and found JD. He sat on the sky deck, soaking up the sun with an ice pack on his cheek.
"What's the matter with you?” I asked.
His face twisted with anger. "My tooth hurts worse now than it did before. That whole side of my mouth is on fire, and the damn thing throbs. Don't even talk to me about drinking something cold.”
"Is that normal?"
"How the hell should I know? I never had a procedure like this before.”
"Have you called the dentist?”
"Yes, I called the dentist. She's out of town. I'm waiting for a callback, but I'm not holding my breath. Pepper said to keep icing it, take some ibuprofen, and try to relax. I don't know howI'm supposed to relax when my tooth is screaming.” He paused. "Maybe a pair of pliers would have been a better option.”
I chuckled, though there was nothing funny about the way JD felt.
"Where have you been?"
I caught Jack up to speed, and I told him the bad news about Catalina.
He frowned and considered it for a moment, then shrugged. "I told you that girl was dangerous."
My mouth tightened. "I'm not sold."
"That's because you’re not thinking clearly."
I couldn't deny that certain attributes may be clouding my judgment.
"What are you going to do? Are you going to spy on her?”
25
Jack’s toothache didn’t keep him from belting out blistering rock vocals at band practice. Wild Fury ran through their set at earsplitting volume, then Jack treated the guys to dinner at Blowfish. The soft sushi would be a little easier for Jack to manage than a steak. We filled our bellies, then hit the bars on Oyster Avenue. We ended up at Red November and took in the sights as gorgeous women strutted around in skimpy cocktail dresses.
JD had chosen the route of self-medication. Despite the whiskey, Jack was having a hard time. He had a pretty high pain tolerance, and if he was bitching about it, ithadto hurt.
"I'm about two seconds away from getting a pair of pliers," he said.
I wasn’t entirely sure he was joking.
We weren’t too far into the evening when the sheriff called. It was loud in the club, and I could barely hear when I answered. "What's up?"
