“You’re okay?” she asked breathlessly, her heart racing as her bare chest pressed against his.
“I’m fine.” He hugged her back with his gun still clutched in one hand. “But we need to get dressed and get the hell out of here before he decides to come back.”
“He’s still alive?” Kam pulled back, surprised by the news.
“There were two. One’s in the water. I winged the driver before he got away.”
“Are you sure the other man’s really dead?”
“He is.” Van had watched his bullet hit the guy right between the eyes. “There’s something else I need to do outside. Go get dressed, and I’ll be back in a sec.”
“Do you need my help?”
No, sweetheart. Not with this.
“I’m good. Now go.” He motioned toward the bedroom where they’d been keeping her things. “We need to haul ass out of here as soon as I get back.”
With a nod of compliance, Kam turned and walked away. Van wasted no time in grabbing his phone from the couch and heading back outside to handle what needed to be done.
Thanks to the water around him having gone relatively still, the body floating beside the boat hadn’t traveled too far away. Moving quickly, Van retrieved his telescoping boat hook from where he kept it mounted against the stern’s exterior wall.
He walked over to the railing, leaned his upper half over, and used the boat hook to grab hold of the dead man’s black jacket. Keeping the body as steady as possible, he used his phone to take a few pictures of the guy’s face.
Then he pushed the body back out into the sea, leaving it for the birds and whatever else wanted a feast.
Before he went back inside, Van needed to make a call. With the phone to his hear, he waited. As expected, Logan answered on the very first ring.
“Are you okay? What the hell was tha?—”
“Kam and I are fine.” He relayed what had happened, keeping the details short and succinct. “There were two hit men. Definitely pros. One guy’s dead, the other one got away with my bullet in his right shoulder. I’m sending you the dead man’s picture now, so Lucky can run it for facial rec. Kam and I are headed back onto shore.”
It would take them about five hours, but that was fine with him. They were both still alive and relatively safe. And the ride would give him time to think.
CHAPTER 17
Five hoursand twenty-five minutes later…
Van kepthis duffle bag secured over one shoulder while gripping the handle of Kam’s borrowed bag in the same hand. With his other hand, he held onto hers as they made their way up the dock toward the spot where he’d parked his truck a few days before.
In the back of his mind, he thought about that night. Their time spent at Archer and Cassie’s. The plane crash before. And how so much had changed in such a very short period of time.
Van also couldn’t help but feel a sense of foreboding. As if the worst was yet to come. On reflex, he held Kam’s hand a little tighter. And it was in that moment when he realized…
I never want to let go.
“Who’s that?”
Her sweet voice cut through his thoughts, and he followed the invisible line from her to where she was looking. His stomach dropped, and that sense of dread he’dbeen feeling formed a giant lead ball that settled heavy in his gut.
“Son of a bitch,” Van mumbled beneath his breath when he saw the blacked-out SUV with government plates. It was parked so that it was blocking him in, and there were two suited men standing guard.
“What is it?” Kam came to a sudden and complete stop. “Is it them?”
Shit. “No.” He shook his head, hating that he’d scared her like that. “Unfortunately, I know this guy.”
“Oh.” They resumed their steps. “Why unfortunately?”
“Because I’m guessing the man they’re guarding is Michael Webb.”
