The rain is making the polo shirt cling to her skin, and she brushes damp hair back from her face. “Obviously, we’re closed on airboat tours due to the storm.” Her voice is steady but lacks any kind of warmth. Not that warmth from Maren Caldwell should matter to me.
“Not here for that and you know it. Won’t take long.”
She ignores me and moves to loosen the rope from the airboat. “However long it is, it’s probably too long.”
I put my foot out on the length of the rope to stop her from untying it.
“Knox,” she warns. Call me a sucker for punishment, but I love the way my name falls from her lips when she’s angry.
“Two minutes. That’s all this will take.”
She stands and faces me. “I’ve got to get this boat into the boathouse while I can still steer it properly.”
“And a couple of minutes won’t make or break that. Longer you take to answer my questions, the harder it’s gonna get.”
She rolls her eyes. “Is that supposed to be one of those double-entendre threats? You know, where you could mean it’sgoing to be harder to steer the boat, but it couldalsomean harder for me, personally?”
“Jesus, Maren. I’m not going to beat you here on the dock. Two men were here earlier. Who the fuck were they?”
She rolls her eyes. “I had a feeling Sunny or Ridge would scurry back to you like little gossips. It was Ridge, wasn’t it?”
I neither confirm nor deny her suspicions, but I think back to how Ridge thought he and Sunny had been inconspicuous. Maren notices everything, something I need to remember. “What did they want?”
Maren folds her arms across her chest, and it makes her tits look fantastic. “No. Nope. We aren’t doing this. I don’t peddle in gossip. And I’ve managed to live in a small town without rubbing up against your club.”
“According to Ridge, you looked scared when the two of them came in. So stop fucking with me and just tell me.”
She huffs. “So itwasRidge.”
Shit.
Clever girl.
“Maren. Those two men are trouble.”
Her eyes soften for a second. “So, you know who they’re looking for?”
I cross my arms to match her stance. “Just tell me what you know.”
She drops her hands and then looks out over the water as she brushes the wisps of hair that have broken free from her ponytail back from her face. “It didn’t make sense. They just said they were looking for a friend who went missing about six or eight weeks ago. They said that person told them that, and I quote, ‘the girl in the bait shop told him where Jackal was.’ And so now they think I know where the guy they’re looking for has gone.”
Fuck.
“I’m gonna ask you once, and you’re gonna look me in the eye when you answer. Did you tell the person they’re talking about where Jackal was?”
My heart stutters. I have no problem killing people. But for some inexplicable reason, I feel like I’d struggle with killing Maren.
Her eyes lift immediately. There’s confusion in there but not fear. “I didn’t tell anyone anything. Ever.”
There’s no stutter. No darting eyes trying to avoid my gaze.
She meets me. Toe to toe.
“Did you tell those two men where Jackal is?”
She shakes her head. “I don’t want any part in whatever this is. And I don’t know why they think I told a stranger where Jackal is, but I never did.”
The worst part of this is that I believe her. But how do I go back to my club and confirm that while Marenissomehow wrapped up in this there won’t be any follow-through or repercussions? Are they really going to believe Maren isn’t the rat?
