“Turn that on. I want to see your track.”
Dammit. The guy knew the equipment.
“And turn on that fancy fish finder of yours to see if we can pick up the bag.”
The man leaned in front of Emma, closer to him. “Don’t make me have to tell you this kind of stuff again.”
Cap veered right to follow the line shown on the screen.
“That’s better. Now, Emma, be a dear and pay attention. I need that bag, or your friend in the other boat dies. Am I clear?”
Emma swallowed audibly. “Yes.”
Cap leaned subtly into her to offer some reassurance. Her fear-filled gaze latched onto his for a moment before he pulled away and looked forward. He hadn’t wanted to look away from her; rather, he wanted to focus on those dark eyes of hers and project surety that everything would be okay. But would it?
What a freaking mess. He left his job as a drug investigator for a reason. He didn’t need this kind of stress. The blood pressure, which he’d gotten under control since he’d left protective service, was probably through the roof right now. It would be one thing if it were just his life in danger, but six others relied on him. If he didn’t think of some way out of this mess, they’d all be dead soon. The men showed their faces, their boat. There was no way they would get out of this alive. Once those drugs were found, they’d be killed.
He drew a deep breath to reset himself. He could handle this, had done so in the past.
* * *
Panic surged, and Emma nearly cried out when Cap pulled his reassuring gaze from her. She wondered what he was thinking. Did he think they’d not get through this alive?
Her heart beat wildly. Everyone depended on her. Morgan, Carly, Hailey, Preston, Cap, and even Jonathan. She needed to find that bag.
She studied the shoreline as Cap drove. Trees, houses…they all looked the same. The only thing she could recall was that she tossed the bag a few minutes after they’d exited the canal. She hadn’t cared where; at the time, she just wanted it gone. She just wanted to hurt Jonathan. Now, it made sense why the bag was so heavy. It had contained drugs. How did she not have a clue her ex was a drug dealer? How could she have been so dumb to not realize this?
The man dressed in black with the gun in his hand looked at her. His dark, intense gaze bore into her, heating the blood coursing through her veins. The evil, blank darkness beyond his irises scared her.
He looked like a man capable of anything. Was she a fool to think that even if she found the drugs for him, he’d let them go? Or let them live? One thing was for sure, though: the only way they stood a chance was to find those drugs.
“Emma, does anything look familiar? Anything at all?” Cap asked.
His tone was far calmer than she’d expected hers would be if she spoke. How could he be so calm when she was on the verge of falling to pieces?
She pulled her gaze from the shoreline, which felt closer to her than when they’d initially passed by, but she knew Cap had to be following his exact path because the guy with the gun demanded it.
She focused on Cap. Even in this chaos, his warm gaze soothed her. The tension in his facial muscles softened.
“Deep breath, sweetheart. It’s okay. Just take your time. We’ll find it,” Cap said.
Sweetheart. Her heart fluttered. How could this be the same guy from the dock who had dissed both her and marriage? He seemed too…caring.
She drew in a long breath and let it out, and then, even though she didn’t want to tear her gaze from Cap, she turned her head and looked at the shoreline.
Beach and trees were all she saw. Some homes and cottages were in the mix, but it all looked the same. No different identifying markers. There was no way she would remember the exact location. She had paid little attention.
The only thing she could remember was that she had tossed it once they were out of the canal. At the point the boat had traveled faster.
The white buildings with red shingles at the Coast Guard station came into sight. Her gaze followed the long piers they’d passed as they entered Lake Michigan. At the end of one pier was a red lighthouse. She remembered taking a couple of photos of it with her phone before they peeled off to the south. She only knew it was south because Cap had informed her and her friends of that.
They were too far. She’d missed the spot.
“Emma, are we too far? Do we need to turn around?” Cap asked.
“Yes. It wasn’t this close to the Coast Guard station.”
The ringleader groaned and looked frustrated. The last thing she wanted to do was annoy him. He lifted his hand and made a circular gesture to the man driving the other boat that they were going to turn around.
