Chapter 8
Knox wanted to appreciate the picturesque sunset over the ocean waves. But he was too distracted. And frustrated.
Jason handed him a slice of pizza and plopped onto the beach chair next to him, keeping his voice low. "Just because they weren't using the ATVs to launch a heinous scheme today doesn't mean these guys are innocent."
"They're not innocent," Knox growled.
Jason sighed and shoved his bare feet in the sand, balancing the pizza box on his lap. "Pizza on the beach isn't having the calming effect on you I was hoping for. Relax. Watch the tide roll in." He squinted at the ocean. "Or roll out. I have no idea when high tide is."
Knox took a bite of pizza, but he didn't feel relaxed. "If anything, I'm more suspicious of Rafael than before. I think today was a planned distraction. We wasted hours watching them."
Their plan to spy on the ATV activity from the drone had been a bust. Fishing. That's all they did with the ATVs. Rafael and one of his buddies went fishing all day long. Apparently, they needed the ATVs to reach a secluded beach inaccessible by roads.
"We're not backing off Rafael. We'll stay on him. And the other guys Rowan ID'd. But it's possible he was taking a break today. Even nefarious villains occasionally leave their evil lairs to relax."
"You might think I'm crazy, but I'm telling you that fishing trip felt contrived.
Why fish from those rocks all day? They didn't catch much.
They could've easily rented a boat and gone deep-sea fishing.
You can fish for marlin around here. And huge tuna.
" He picked a piece of pepperoni off his slice and popped it in his mouth.
"It was a distraction. They wanted us watching them. They pretended not to see the drone."
Jason finished his slice and picked up another one. "Maybe. But what were they distracting us from? If they thought they needed a distraction, they think we know more than we do. We watched the warehouse. No action there."
"We should have kept an eye on the property where they shot down the other drone. Something might have been going on there."
"Maybe." He raised one eyebrow with a mock glare. "Unfortunately, we're short a drone for now."
"For now? Did you request another one?"
Jason shook his head with a humorless laugh. "Requested? Yes. Are we getting another one? No word yet. We may need to get by with the one we have left."
Laughter in the distance preceded a familiar voice. "You started without us?"
"Hello, ladies," Knox said, standing to greet Tayla and Allie.
He watched the women step onto the sand from the sidewalk that circled The Mandeville. Shoes and bags in hand, they were both smiling.
Jason held up his current slice of pizza. "This is just an appetizer. I ordered three large pizzas. There's plenty."
The women continued to look amused by whatever had caused their laughter during their walk to the beach.
"What's so funny?" Jason asked.
They exchanged a look. And mischievous grins. "Nothing," Tayla answered. She bumped her shoulder against Allie's. "We only met an hour ago, and we're fast friends." They exchanged another look, and apparently, some private joke passed between them because they both started laughing again.
"Wow," Jason said. He looked at Knox and jabbed a thumb toward Allie and Tayla. "That happened fast. Why do I feel worried?"
"Because they could gang up on us. Keep your guard up. They're dangerous in numbers."
"Very funny," Tayla said. She looked around at the quiet beach and their semicircle of Adirondack chairs under a cluster of palm trees. "This is really gorgeous." Her gaze landed on Jason. "Thanks for letting me join. I know you three need to talk about work."
"Not all evening," Jason said. "Besides, some people," he pointed to Knox, "need to relax a little bit."
Knox ignored the comment and turned to Allie. "What's in the bags?"
She raised the plastic bags in question with a grin. "I ordered fruit and cookies for us from the café in the lobby."
"And I brought drinks," Tayla said, handing Jason an insulated bag. "Some bottled lemonade from the snack shop and some water bottles. They're still cold."
"Thanks," Jason said. Knox didn't miss Jason's expression when he looked at Tayla.
The guy was hopelessly in love. He couldn't blame him.
Tayla was a perfect match for his best friend.
Knox was impressed with how well she handled all the drama and danger on Isadora when they first met a couple of months ago.
Jason hadn't mentioned it yet, but Knox was sure they'd be engaged soon.
He was happy for both of them. And a little jealous.
The grouping of chairs included three tiny tables—likely only meant to hold drinks. Allie and Tayla scooted the miniature tables together and arranged the pizza, cookies, fruit, and drinks as best they could on the cramped space.
Knox grabbed another slice of pizza and a bottle of lemonade. He watched the sea breeze dance with Allie's hair while she joked with Jason and Tayla about something. His frustration eased a fraction.
"You two couldn't convince Rowan to join us?" Jason asked.
Tayla shook her head. "Nope. He said you gave him the evening off, so he planned to meet friends online to play some kind of video game." Her mouth quirked up. "He seemed very excited about it."
"No doubt," Knox said. "That sounds about right."
The conversation drifted into an easy flow about the white sand, clear water, and pelicans. A couple of monkeys emerged from the trees, about twenty feet from their chairs. Knox suggested they toss some pepperoni to the curious visitors. The rest of the group vetoed that idea. Strongly.
He picked three pepperonis off his slice and acted like he was going to toss them to the monkeys anyway—mainly just to aggravate Allie, who was going on and on about how tourists shouldn't feed the wildlife. She was right, of course. But he wanted to mess with her. Just because.
They were all paying so much attention to the wary monkeys and Knox's feigned threats to feed them 'people food,' that they barely noticed the moped whizzing by on the sidewalk behind them.
But when the rider tossed a small cylinder toward them, Knox saw the danger. And time froze.
"Down!"
Knox's shout was Allie's only warning before he jerked her out of her chair, pulled her fifteen feet across the sand, tugged her to the ground, and rolled on top of her.
She lay underneath him, her head under his chest, gasping for breath, adrenaline spiking, for two seconds before she heard the explosion.
The blast vibrated the air, the ground, and everything inside her. Underneath Knox's muscular form, her body tried to recoil. But movement was impossible.
His arms squeezed around her. She felt his breath on her face.
The explosion was deafening. Now, her ears were ringing. Knox rolled off her and cupped her face. He was saying something. His voice sounded distant, like he was under water.
The worry in his eyes pinched her heart. He obviously needed to know she was okay, so she nodded. But so much adrenaline coursed through her, she really wasn't sure. Was she hurt? Was he? Where were Jason and Tayla? What on earth just happened?
Knox's eyes scanned her body, head to toe.
He looked concerned about her leg. She sat up, but it was still difficult to understand what he was saying.
She looked around and saw Jason helping Tayla to her feet.
They'd been further from the blast. Thank you, God.
This could've been so much worse. Thank you for protecting us.
Slowly, she stood and surveyed the damage. The chair she'd been sitting in had become shrapnel—impaling the trunks of three palm trees.
The sight knocked the wind out of her. Again. Okay, that's disturbing. If Knox hadn't . . .
She looked at him and knew he was thinking the same thing. She nearly died.
He pulled her against him and held tight, tucking his head into her neck. For a moment, she thought he was trying to comfort her—and she appreciated that—but after a few seconds, she knew he was hanging on because he was scared. He'd almost lost her. And he needed to feel her in his arms.
She wrapped her arms around his waist, perfectly willing to stand there as long as he wanted. Oh yes, as long as he wanted.
As her brain started functioning again, she realized her perspective had shifted—on several things. Whether it was an epiphany, or she just got the sense knocked into her, the world looked different.
"You guys okay?" Jason's voice. Her ears were still ringing, but she could understand his words.
Knox stepped back and looked her up and down again. "Your leg. We need to get it cleaned."
"What?" She looked down. Her right pant leg had two tears with a hint of blood on the fringes. If her pants were a darker color, instead of pale blue, she wouldn't have noticed the blood. She didn't feel any pain. Just two small scratches, but yeah, she needed to get cleaned up.
"Are you okay?" she asked Knox.
He nodded. "Fine."
Staff from the Mandeville and some of Alec Drakos's security guards came running.
"Are you both okay?" Jason asked again.
"Yeah, we're good," Knox answered.
"In that case, keep everyone back—especially away from the bomb fragments.
I want to get a good look at what it was.
Get Drakos's security to cordon off the area.
I'll collect what we need and take it back to Room 336.
Call Rowan and get him to coordinate with Drakos's security—we need all security footage from around the hotel for the past thirty minutes. "
"On it," Knox said.
Everyone moved at once, following Jason's orders.
The next hour was a blur.
By the time she returned to her room, Allie was exhausted. And her wound was aching. Not the new scrapes. Her bullet wound. No surprise there. It was still healing.