stomach roiled, making him want to spit out the beef jerky. He swallowed, forcing it down. He lowered the screen of his phone to lay face down on his thigh. The image of the young, lifeless snitch branded into his brain, his tongue found next to the body.
And that’s who Maddie had so fucking insistently gotten involved with. He sucked the hot, salty air in through his nose, but it did nothing to slow the frantic gallop of his heart. Carlos was a dangerous sonofabitch. He had a reputation for heinously murdering anyone who betrayed him—murders that rivaled some of the worst he’d seen in the past in serial killer cases Nate had worked on. Disgust turned the beef jerky’s flavor sour and he crushed the bag in his lap. So much for lunch.
“Did you see that, Dad?” A young boy next to him screamed with delight and yanked on his dad’s hand.
“Yeah, it was a dolphin. Let’s go to the pier and see if we can get a picture of him next time.” The boy raced ahead of his father and Nate brought the binoculars back to the sleek, pearly white yacht off the coast.
Carlos’s boat easily ran into the millions, all from money he’d made bringing drugs into Miami. It should have been easy to catch the bastard. He blew money like there was no tomorrow; he always had a small entourage of bodyguards. Over the years, Nate had spoken to some snitches—all of whom had wound up dead shortly after. His spine stiffened and the muscles in his face tensed.
Problem was, Carlos owned the Miami police, a handful of judges, and probably some people in the FBI. And Maddie had damn well bull-dozed her way into being an informant and accomplice to taking him down.
Carlos could kill her as easily as he had all of the other snitches.
No. He wouldn’t, because Nate wouldn’t let it happen. Not that she’d given him a damn choice. As much as it irked him that she was putting herself into the hornet’s nest, he’d protect her with his life.
He swallowed. He crumpled the wrapper and tossed it in the trashcan next to him and then stood from the bench. It’d look pretty fucking weird if he sat here all day staring at the same damn scenery. He could go out to the pier, but that might draw more attention to Carlos or his men.
What was it that had drawn Maddie to Carlos? He’d never asked her what had made her want to come after him, but there had to be a reason. His phone vibrated against his leg. He pulled it out and checked the screen.
Ethan.
He let out a breath and dropped it back in his pocket. He couldn’t deal with his questions right now. As it stood, he’d already had to lie to both him and Cal, telling them he was in Arizona working on a case. Ethan had finally found his groove in life as a private investigator. It seemed to be a habit he could never shake—even from his personal life.
He’d met his two closest friends while in the military and recon years ago. They had more than a decade of friendship between them, and Nate had never avoided either of them. Nate was born an only child, and Ethan and Cal were like his brothers. He’d do anything for them and vice versa. Sneaking around with Ethan’s sister didn’t fall under that category.
Maybe he should call Cal and fill him in on what he was involved in with Maddie. Though knowing him, he’d be pissed at being dragged into the middle of it. Cal had a thriving gym in Seattle, and he and Lana had just had a baby a couple months ago. That was something Nate had never expected from the hard, dangerous life Cal had led before meeting his now wife. He pushed his friends out of his mind and focused on the yacht. He’d return Ethan’s call as soon as he was done.
He sighed. He was wasting his time trying to watch Carlos and Maddie on the boat. He’d be lucky to view them at all, let alone know what they were saying. He strode another hundred yards and leaned against a palm tree. Its shade offered a reprieve from the heat. He brought the binoculars back to his eyes and swept across the heads of people bobbing near the shore, and zeroed in on the yacht. From here, he had a better sightline. The top of Maddie’s head caught his eye. The rich tones of her hair danced in the sun, and her bare, slim shoulder lifted. He bit his tongue.
Carlos stepped onto the deck, shirtless and in a pair of black trunks. Aviator shades covered his eyes, and his even white teeth flashed at her. Nate’s stomach lurched. His fingers tightened on the binoculars and he ground his teeth together. A bead of sweat rolled over his temple.
Carlos sank beside Maddie, his profile turned to Nate, and his dark, hairy arm rested on the back cushion of her seat. His fingers picked up a strand of her hair and tugged on it. Maddie shifted in her seat, and slid over his lap, straddling him. She lifted her sunglasses and rested them on the top of her head. The corners of her mouth lifted and she leaned forward and kissed him.
Rage shot through Nate’s veins. He tore the binoculars away from his face as if they burned him, the safety string yanked at the back of his neck. Sonofabitch. His temples throbbed. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose.
She was playing with fire, and to her it was a fucking game. If Carlos found out what she was doing, killing her was just the tip of the iceberg. Heat spread through his chest and he pushed away from the tree. He’d been stupid to come here. If someone had seen him, they were fucked. Maddie would be fucked…
A tingling sensation erupted on his thigh. Who the hell was calling him now? He checked the screen: Ethan.
Goddammit, what did he want? He never called repeatedly unless it was an emergency. Guilt ate at the lining of his stomach. He swiped the pad of his thumb across the screen, ignoring the call.
He slipped it back in his pocket, but it vibrated again, this one a short interval. A message. He sighed and took his phone back out.
Answer your phone, dipshit. It’s important.
He kept his head low as he weaved along the boardwalk. A group of young women in bikinis whizzed past him on roller skates. His body didn’t even stir.
He had Maddie to thank for that. The only time he got turned on, was when he saw or spoke to her. Which was right fucked up. Carlos was probably deep inside her and—
“Fuck,” he breathed as he massaged between his eyes. She was driving him crazy. Maddie could do whatever the hell she wanted. She sure as shit wasn’t his girlfriend, thank god.
He pushed Maddie from his mind, tapped Ethan’s contact icon, and pressed the phone to his ear. He had to play it cool.
“You done avoiding my calls?” Ethan barked. Annoyance rippled through him. If Ethan only knew that he was dealing with Maddie, he’d understand.
“I’m not avoiding you, dude, I’m working. What’s wrong?”
Ethan breathed into the phone. “Sorry, just a little stressed. I didn’t want to bother Cal with this. Gracie is teething, and he and Lana haven’t slept in a week.”
Nate groaned. He’d be damned if he ever had kids. “That fucking sucks. What’s up?”
“It’s Maddie.” Nate closed his eyes and swallowed. He stepped onto the smooth concrete parking lot and fished his keys out of his pocket. The sun glared into his pupils, blinding him even through his sunglasses. He had to be careful. Ethan was as observant as a hawk when it came to his sisters.
“What’d she do now?” He kept his tone even, though his throat swelled with the effort it took.
“Dana called me. Maddie has been avoiding her for weeks. Dana finally got a hold of her today and learned she’s working on a case, but Maddie wouldn’t say what it’s about.”
“You know she can’t divulge information like that.”
Ethan grunted. “Yeah, but is that a reason to ignore your family for weeks? She’s up to something. I swear to fucking god, if I find out she’s doing something dangerous, I’m going to haul her ass out of there.”
Nate opened the door to his truck, started the ignition, and let the air conditioning run while he leaned against the open door. Sweat collected at his brow and he wiped it away. With the pressure