Chapter 16 #2
“But we wouldn’t have to say we suspect Eric of anything in the text. You send the text. Just update Jason on what you found—that the guy in the baseball cap is the same guy from the video. You don’t have to mention that his name is Dylan Kitts.”
Rowan shoved both hands through his hair again. “Okay, but they may already know it’s the same guy. They saw the video and they have binoculars.”
Rowan’s focus snapped back to his screen. “We have some movement.”
“What’s happening?”
“Just what we thought. The other men are back. They’re loading crates onto the boat.”
Tayla replayed Eric’s behavior over and over in her mind. He absolutely recognized The Sea Queen and his cousin, Dylan. But he pretended he didn’t.
She watched the camera feed on the laptop next to Rowan’s.
She checked her watch. She prayed. She watched the screen some more.
She was so focused on the screen in front of her—half-expecting something horrible to happen—that she hadn’t noticed Rowan donning his laptop headphones until he tapped her on the shoulder.
He removed his headphones, disconnected them from his laptop, and motioned for her to look at his screen. “Check this out.” He turned up the volume.
“This is one of my security camera feeds from the side parking area.” He pointed to an image on the screen. “This is from a few minutes ago. You can see Eric walking to his car. He’s talking on his cell. You can hear him when he gets closer to the camera.”
He played the clip.
She watched Eric slow his pace as he neared his car, holding his cell phone to his ear.
At first, she couldn’t understand anything he said.
Then, very clearly, she heard, “No, you don’t!
You have no idea what you’re doing! Three of my men are watching you right now.
They’re hiding in the cliffs by the pier. You need a distraction. You need to—”
He shut his car door.
“Rowan,” she said.
“Yeah?”
“I’m driving out there.”
Jason could’ve sworn he heard something move behind him. He stilled. Something was definitely moving. Not the wind blowing the trees. Breathing. He heard breathing.
Something rustled behind the large rock to his left.
He locked eyes with Knox and signaled what he was about to do.
Silently, he crept behind the rock. A second later, he grabbed a dark figure, pulled him to the ground, and pinned his arms behind his back.
The man turned his face to the side and the scant moonlight shone just enough for Jason to make out the man’s features.
“Enzo? What on earth are you doing here?” Jason whispered. He hoped the men loading The Sea Queen hadn’t noticed his movements.
He lowered his head near Enzo’s ear. “Don’t say a word yet.”
Knox crept over. Jason signaled for Knox to pat down Enzo while Jason kept his captive pinned to the ground.
Knox removed one handgun from Enzo’s leg holster, and a cell phone from his pants pocket. He gave Jason a thumbs up.
“Okay Enzo, what’s going on? And keep your voice down.” Jason had no idea what Enzo was up to, but if he wanted to expose them to the men on the pier, there were easier and safer ways to do that without sneaking up on him in the dark.
“Can you let me up?”
Jason exchanged a look with Knox, and his friend nodded.
Enzo clearly registered Knox’s gun pointed at him. “I’m not here to cause you any trouble. Now, if you don’t mind?”
Jason loosened his grip and Enzo pulled himself to a sitting position, careful to stay behind the large rocks blocking the view from the pier.
“Thank you, Mr. Bridger,” Enzo said, with more calm and politeness than the situation warranted.
“What are you doing here?”
“I expect I’m here for the same reason you are.”
Jason struggled to keep his response civil. All he could see when he looked at Enzo was an image of Tayla in a flooding sea cave. He hadn’t expected to come face to face with Enzo so soon after Tayla’s tearful explanation. The temptation to hurt the man burned in his chest.
Oh, dear God. Help me.
“We’re not here for the same reason, Enzo. What do you want?”
A glint of amusement shone in Enzo’s eyes. “I’m interested in this cargo. I wanted to evaluate the level of security around this shipment.”
Jason inwardly groaned. Isadora Island was an island full of crooks—all trying to steal each other’s stolen goods.
He heard Leland in his ear. “What’s going on up there?”
“We’re fine, Leland. Enzo showed up. He’s subdued.”
Silence for two beats. “Enzo?” Leland asked.
“Yeah. But he’s not going to be a problem,” Jason answered.
“They’re stacking crates closer to my position now. I need to move. Coming to you.”
“Roger that.”
He returned his attention to Enzo. “Don’t be an idiot. There’s way too much attention around this cargo for it to be worth it to you. One of our agents was killed over this already. And as soon as we catch the person responsible, we’re calling in the FBI to take a closer look in those crates.”
Enzo smiled. A creepy, irritating smile.
“I see. I’m sorry about your agent. But .
. . “ He peeked around a nearby rock at the activity on the pier. Two ATVs drove onto the pier, each carrying a large crate. “You see that man in charge? In the baseball cap? He’s out of his league. That cargo is worth twice what his appraiser quoted him and he has no idea. And he’s guarding it with a bunch of local thugs—half of whom will be loyal to me for an affordable price. ”
Jason wanted to hit something. Or someone. But he settled for a long, deep breath. “You didn’t show up tonight expecting that guy to just hand everything over. What was your plan?”
“I have two boats waiting offshore.” The irritating smile reappeared. “They won’t get far.”
Jason rubbed a hand down his face. “Two boats with armed men.”
“Naturally. I’ll let them know when the .
. . what is it called?” He scratched his chin, and couldn’t have sounded more casual if he tried.
“Ah, The Sea Queen. Yes. I’ll let them know when to expect her, and how many men they’ll need to deal with.
It’s best to know these things before they . . . invite themselves onboard.”
“Even if we gave you your cell phone back,” Knox said, “you couldn’t text them. No service out here.”
“Oh, my dear man.” Enzo shook his head. “You see, this is your problem. You keep underestimating me. I don’t know why.” He glanced at Knox. “I have a shortwave radio in my car.”
His focus rolled back to Jason. And the smile disappeared. Enzo’s cold, hard glare—overflowing with silent threats—fixed on Jason.
Over the years, dozens of men had given Jason the same glare. He wasn’t afraid of Enzo. And he was about to tell him that when Leland showed up, and crouched in the darkness near Knox.
Even in the moonlight, Jason could see the fury on Leland’s face when his eyes fixed on Enzo.
“Steady, Leland. He’s not going anywhere.”
Enzo looked annoyed. “You can’t hold me here forever. And keeping me from radioing my men won’t stop them. Yes, they’d appreciate a heads up from me, but they’ll take that boat, regardless.”
“I figured as much,” Jason said. “But I have a plan.” He looked at Knox. “Keep him here. I’m going to get a closer look at The Sea Queen. Leland, keep watch.”
“Hang on,” the senior agent raised a hand. “As I was making my way over here, I got a good look—the tall one in the baseball cap,” he pointed toward the pier, “he’s the one in Gus’s video with the appraiser.”
“You’re sure?”
“Positive.”
Jason felt a little relief. “Excellent. He’s the one we wanted to find.
Okay, new plan—I’m going to plant some distractions at the base near the pier and to the south.
When things start popping, we will grab Baseball Cap and haul him to our rendezvous point in the bushes near where Rowan dropped us off. Leland, can you—”
“Way ahead of you.” He pulled a set of handcuffs and a roll of duct tape from his jacket.
Jason smiled. “Perfect. That’ll keep Enzo quiet long enough for us to get Baseball Cap.” He leaned his head toward the pier. “At the rate those guys are moving, it will take them another thirty or forty minutes to load up the boat with everything. That gives us plenty of time.”
“You can’t just leave me here,” Enzo groused.
“We’ll come back for you in the morning,” Knox said. “If you’re still here, we’ll cut you loose.”
Enzo looked like he had something to say about that. But Leland’s duct tape skills were quicker than Enzo’s response, so all they heard were muffled retorts.
Jason ignored Enzo’s smothered complaints. He grabbed his pack and patted Leland’s shoulder as he squeezed passed him between the rocks. “I’ll radio when the charges are set. Try not to shoot Enzo while I’m gone.”
“No promises.”
The moonlight, brighter now that the clouds shifted, was a blessing and a curse. He could navigate the rocky terrain easier, but he knew he was easier to spot as well. He made his way to the road and waited for one of the ATVs to pass by.
That’s when he saw a familiar figure hiding behind one of the parked cars.
After the ATV was safely out of sight, he sprinted to her and placed his hand over her mouth before she realized he was there.
“It’s me. It’s me. Stay quiet,” he whispered into Tayla’s ear.
As soon as the shock on her face gave way to recognition, he removed his hand. “What are you doing here?” He didn’t use his most polite voice, but he didn’t feel too bad about it. Tayla being out in the middle of this was very, very dangerous.
She threw her arms around him. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
He tugged her arms off of him and gently held her hands. “Tayla, you can’t be here. It isn’t safe. There are—”
“You don’t understand. I came to warn you.” She explained Eric’s conversation in the parking lot.
“Wait. You heard him telling someone on his phone that we were here?”
“Yes, and that whoever-it-was needed to create a distraction. And he took Rowan’s headset, so Rowan couldn’t radio you. Have you seen Eric yet? He left the hotel several minutes before I did.”