Page 38 of Seaside Strangers
She froze, then turned to stare at him, her face flushing deep red. “He knows we slept together?”
KC huffed a quiet breath, more amused than anything, though the interruption still grated. He’d had other plans for the morning—ones that didn’t involve his uncle pounding on the door.
“He’s probably hoping we did,” he said with a smile. “He’s a bit of a matchmaker. But don’t worry about it. Dan’s a gentleman. He won’t make you uncomfortable.”
She gave a small nod, but he could see the tension still there as she worried her lower lip between her teeth.
He pulled on a clean T-shirt, then stepped close and brushed a quick kiss to the tip of her nose. “Go ahead and take a shower. I’ll handle him.”
After a quick stop in the hallway bathroom, KC headed outside, grabbing his sneakers by the back door. He found his uncle down on the patio, leaning back on one of the chairs with a grin that said he knew exactly what he’d interrupted.
Dan’s eyes lit with mischief. “Hope I didn’t interrupt anything. Or did I?”
KC frowned as he descended the stairs. “Don’tstart that when Maura comes out. I told her you were a complete gentleman.”
“That I am, laddie,” Dan replied, the Irish lilt he’d picked up from his mother slipping into his voice, as it sometimes did. “So, have you given any thought to what you’re going to do about Team Six yet?”
Sighing, he dropped onto the loveseat opposite his uncle and pulled on his sneakers. “I don’t know. As much as I hate to leave my men, I think it’s time. I spoke to Lieutenant Commander Cohen before I left and told him I’d have an answer when I report back.”
“You’ll make a fine instructor.”
KC nodded. “That’s what the L.C. said.”
“Then he’s a smart man.”
A glance around the patio had him frowning. “Where’s that mutt of yours? He’s usually all over me or passed out at my feet by now.”
“Somewhere close,” his uncle said, scanning the area. “You know he won’t go far.”
A faint scraping sound drew his attention. Leaning forward, he peered into the shadows beneath the house. “Damn dog is digging under there.” Rising to his feet, he strode over and crouched down at the edge of the patio. “Get outtathere, Jinx!”
His uncle appeared next to him. “I wonder what he found.”
Beneath the house, the dog had already carved out a decent hole near the center of the structure and was working at it with single-minded focus, pulling at something buried in the sand. Irritation building, KC dropped down and crab-walked under the floor joists, making his way toward the commotion.
“What are you after?” he muttered.
The dog paused long enough to glance back at him, sand coating his muzzle, then went right back to digging.
Pushing Jinx aside, KC leaned in and brushed sand away from the opening. Something dark appeared—nylon. His pulse picked up as he cleared more of it, revealing the unmistakable shape of a duffel bag.
Grabbing the strap, he dragged it free. The weight of it felt wrong—too heavy, too solid.
He pulled the zipper open.
His eyes widened before he sat down hard, staring at the contents of the bag. “Are you kidding me?”
“What is it?” Dan called from the patio.
Still stunned, he ran his fingers over the banded stacks of cash—more than he’d ever seen in one place. Forcing himself to focus, he grabbed the bag and started backing out from under the house as soft footsteps sounded on the stairs.
“Hi, Dan. Where’s KC? I thought he was out here with you.”
He cleared the edge of the crawl space and stood, the duffel bag hanging from his hand. The moment she saw it, her expression changed—curiosity giving way to shock, then something closer to fear. The color drained from her face, and the realization hit him hard.
She knew.
His grip tightened on the strap as he stared at her. “Is there something you want to tell me, Maura? You recognize this bag. What’s going on?”
