Chapter 7 #2
"You as well," Gold Chain said without turning back.
Knox heard the front door close and watched Gold Chain walk by the windows and around the corner before focusing on Henrik. "Did he give you a name?"
Henrik looked confused, then his mouth dropped open. "That's him, isn't it? One of the men who comes to the warehouse? That gold chain . . . I thought that might be him. Is he a criminal? What are you guys, really? FBI? Interpol?" He was way too excited.
"Nothing that interesting," Knox tried to sound dull.
"Like we said before, we're just hired security for Alec Drakos.
" Which wasn't a complete lie. "That guy could be tied to some criminal activity, though.
What did he rent?" Knox tried to sound less interested than he was.
He didn't need Henrik to shift into full James-Bond mode.
"Oh, yeah. He rented two ATVs. I don't rent as many of them. Some people who camp on the north end of the island—"
"Did he give you a name?"
"Yeah, um . . . He wrote it down here." He looked down at his notepad. "Rafael Drees."
Allie stood next to him with her mouth quirked into one of her thinking expressions. It was a really inappropriate moment to notice how cute that expression was. But his brain went there anyway.
"Could be an alias," she said. "But if it's one he's used before, it could still be useful."
"True." Knox nodded and glanced at the name to note the spelling. "Henrik, we're going to place some trackers on those ATVs." No use in hiding them from Henrik. Placing them and retrieving them would be easier if he knew.
Henrik shook his head. "No. No, you don't—"
"Henrik," Allie said, "we're trying to protect Isadora Island from criminals setting up shop here. Active illegal activity on the island would hurt your business. We're trying to help—"
"No, no, no." Now he was waving his hands to emphasize his point. "You don't understand. It's unnecessary. I already have trackers on them."
"What?" Knox and Allie asked in unison.
"I've been renting equipment to tourists on this island for years.
No way am I going to lease an ATV without a way to track it.
The tourists leave these things everywhere.
They go hiking, get lost, and can't find their way back to the ATV.
Or they ride them out to the beach, party too much, wake up somewhere else, and can't remember where they left the ATV. " He shrugged. "They're tourists."
He said 'tourist' like they were another species.
"Does Rafael know there are trackers on the ATVs?" Knox asked.
Henrik held up a paper with Rafael's signature at the bottom. "It's in the fine print on the contract. He signed it, but he didn't read it. They never do."
"Perfect." Knox felt they just caught a break. And he knew to savor it, because good fortune never lasted long. "We have a friend named Rowan who will be in contact with you about tracking those ATVs tomorrow."
Henrik looked confused. "I can track them from my computer." He pointed toward his office.
"I know," Knox said. "Rowan can connect with your computer. Don't worry. He knows what he's doing. Just do whatever he says if he calls or stops by."
The overly eager, spy-wanna-be spark returned to Henrik's face. "Sure, sure. No problem."
Knox exchanged a please-try-to-calm-him-down look with Allie.
"Henrik," Allie said. "The reason we came back today was to caution you about your cameras. We don't think Byron is worried about you yet, but if they notice how many cameras you have, they could take an interest in you. And that could be dangerous."
"I don't think they realize you have an abnormal number of cameras," Knox said. "And we need to keep it that way. So, don't touch them. Any of them. For any reason. If they see you fiddling with cameras hidden in your potted plants and on your dumpster out back, they're going to get suspicious."
"Oh. Okay. Yeah, I can do that."
"And just treat Rafael like a regular customer tomorrow. Don't tip him off. Don't put yourself in any unnecessary danger, okay?"
"Of course. Right. Okay." Henrik nodded his agreement, but his chest swelled like he was thrilled to be assisting with whatever he thought Knox and Allie were doing.
Knox set six protein bars on the counter.
He wasn't sure if Rafael or anyone else was watching, but they needed to leave Pelican Rentals looking like paying customers.
Besides, you can never have too many protein bars on hand, especially since Jason might assign him to stake out one of the Byron properties at some point.
"I'll take these," he said, pointing to the bars.
Allie tossed two more bars on the counter. "And these too."
"Sure," Henrik said. He rang up their purchases and Knox paid with a credit card. "Sorry, I don't have cash."
"No problem." He tossed their protein bars in a bag with 'Pelican Rentals' emblazoned on the side. "Anything else?"
"No. Just remember—don't touch your cameras, treat Rafael like a regular customer, and don't go snooping around. Leave those Byron guys alone."
"Don't worry. I'll play it cool. Very cool."
Knox worried about how Henrik might define 'playing it cool.' But there wasn't much more he could say to the shop owner. He prayed Henrik would heed their warnings.
Allie stared at the gentle waves lapping around the ferry pier from the rooftop seating above Island Coffee. Downstairs, the small coffee shop overflowed with customers, mostly waiting for to-go orders.
A minute ago, the bustling crowd in the cafe had been getting on her nerves. Then, when a man reaching for extra napkins on the counter accidentally stepped on her foot, she told Knox she'd find a table upstairs while he waited for their drinks.
Only one other couple had retreated to the peaceful rooftop.
She chose a table near the edge and breathed in the salt air.
None of those people below her feet knew what they were missing.
And she didn't feel like telling them. She needed to breathe and take in the beauty around her for a few minutes.
The ride to Pelican Rentals had been brutal. She'd fought back tears most of the way. She had to swipe two away, but she didn't think Knox noticed.
When she'd seen the hurt on his face, she'd regretted what she'd said about needing to prove herself.
But only because it upset him so much. She still believed it.
How could she simply 'move on' when her actions were responsible for a man's death and Leo's escape?
Not to mention nearly getting Knox killed and endangering his career—all because she didn't trust Knox's instincts about Leo?
That's what she'd done wrong; she hadn't trusted Knox that night. If she had, no one would've been shot. Herself included. And Leo would be in custody where he belongs. Maybe her parents too.
The thoughts about her family didn't bother her like they did at first. She'd accepted Leo's guilt. And her parents' guilt. What bothered her now was that she'd hurt Knox. Again.
If not trusting him was her mistake last time, shouldn't she trust him now? Why did that feel so hard? She knew she could trust him more than anyone else on earth.
She'd prayed about all of this. Many times. Why did God feel silent? She knew he was there. She knew he loved her. Why did a wall of guilt stand between her and Knox?
Between her and peace?
She assumed she needed to prove herself to Knox as penance, more or less. But after the past two days . . . why did that assumption feel wrong?
She was trying to atone for her mistakes. Wasn't that what God wanted her to do? Oh, dear God, could you just spell it out for me? Please?
A to-go cup with 'Island Coffee' written on the side appeared in front of her. She flinched.
"Sorry," Knox said. "Didn't mean to startle you. You okay?"
She straightened and wrapped her hand around the cup. "Yeah, of course. I was just watching the ocean. Maybe letting my thoughts drift."
An incredibly handsome smile crawled across his face. Oh, why does this man have to be so good-looking? His attractiveness is really not helping me today.
Both eyebrows raised as he sat down across from her. "What? What were you thinking just now?"
Oh good grief. She needed to school her expression. "Nothing." She shrugged. "Thanks for the coffee."
He grimaced. "I hope they got it right. I told the barista what you said, 'nonfat caramel latte,' right?"
"Yes."
He pointed at her cup. "That's what I told her. But she said, 'that's the same as The Sweet Beach.' Whatever that is. It was so loud in there I couldn't hear anything else she said. So, I just nodded."
Allie grinned. "I'm sure it's fine. Thanks for braving the crowd down there." She nodded toward the ocean view. "It's so much nicer up here."
"Yeah." Knox nodded. "Don't tell anybody. It's relaxing up here. Let's keep it that way."
"Agreed."
He took a sip of his drink and angled his gaze toward the clear Caribbean waves for a minute. When he turned back to her, his eyes were serious. "I'm sorry I yelled earlier. Again."
"Knox, you don't—"
He cocked his head, his eyes full of patience. "Please, let me finish."
"Okay."
"I got mad because I care about you so much.
And I'm frustrated. But that's not an excuse.
" He let go of his coffee, placed both palms face down on the table, and leaned in.
"I still care about you. But . . . I don't know what else to say and I'm tired of arguing.
I don't want to fight with you." His expression filled with that unique Knox-tenderness that stole her breath when they first met.
"Will you promise me one thing? Then, we'll table this for a while. "
She felt herself nod. But she didn't trust herself to speak.
The corners of his mouth ticked up. "Please promise you'll pray about this.
Everything you think and feel about what happened has you twisted in knots.
I can see that. I wanted to help but," he flicked his glance to the sky, "I think you should seek wiser counsel.
" He slid a hand over hers, gave a light squeeze, and let go.
"I'm praying for you. And for us." He leaned back and cleared his throat. "Okay?"
"Okay." It came out as a whisper, but he heard her.
He took another sip of his coffee. "Mind if we talk about work for a minute?"
Oh, yes please. Otherwise I'm going to start crying. "Sure. What's on your mind?"
His eyebrows lowered. "I thought we got lucky. About the trackers on the ATVs. But now I'm thinking it's just too convenient."
"You think Rafael knew we were talking to Henrik so he came in to bait us?"
He sighed. "I don't know. But if he wanted us to follow him into a remote part of the island tomorrow, he baited us well."
Allie pondered that. "You might be right. It did play out perfectly for us."
"Or I might be paranoid."
"You have good instincts. It could be a trap. But it wouldn't hurt to follow them with the other drone. We wouldn't have to follow in person."
Knox grinned. "True. The most they could do is shoot down the drone. Rowan would love that."
"We'll bring him extra brownies. He'll be fine."
"Sounds like a plan."