Page 29 of Beachcomber Enemy

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Damn. Damn. Damn it to hell.

His first inclination was to let her go. But it didn’t last a blink before he had the base need to go after her, one he didn’t ignore. He ran up the steps and barely caught the heavy metal bulkhead door before she’d slammed it closed. The bright sunlight of the day nearly blinded him as he threw the door back and shot from the opening. He looked right down the back alley and saw her running.

Without hesitation, he ran after her, ignoring the activity around him, the cars, the garbage men coming for the trash, and as he rounded the corner to the street, the whole world was waiting. If someone saw him and recognized him, all bets would be off. Their deception would be exposed and Whitey would be in the wind. He didn’t think about what would become of Sassy.

Same thing if Shana was identified. Hadn’t she considered this before she ran. He spotted her fast-walking to his left past some shops. No foot traffic around this time of day, this time of year. Slipping on his sunglasses, He followed her without running. Cars passed them by without notice. If he chased her down and caught her, he figured they might do more than notice. Someone might call the cops. So he was patient.

He’d catch up to her at some point, when she got to wherever the hell she was going.

Then it hit him. He knew where she was going.

F—ck.

Should he bother following her to Vendi? If she really wanted to be with Vendi right now, should he stop her?

Hell, yes.

She was his fiancée. No matter if she was angry with him right now. No matter if he’d betrayed her trust.

That thought stopped him as he watched her cross the street and head right for the USCG building on the harbor. He continued to watch, leaning against the wall of a coffee shop while a car parked and a few people got out and went in the shop. She was at the door of the building and he didn’t blink his eyes. Before she opened it, she turned over her shoulder and looked in his direction. He knew she was looking at him. He didn’t flinch. Waited for her to make her decision. Prayed to god she would change her mind. Her hand rested on the door handle for a beat. Then two. Then she dropped it.

Dane breathed, squeezed his eyes shut and felt a shudder of released tension ripple through him. He didn’t deserve her, but there was no way in hell he would give her up. He knew he would have gone after her if she’d gone inside and didn’t even want to contemplate what that would have meant for Vendi. For them both.

As it was, Shana stood for a few more beats before slowly making her way back to him. Her reluctance should have unnerved him, but Dane was too grateful to worry about that. He eyed the coffee shop. It was a new shop, new owners and he made a snap decision as Shana approached.

Pushing himself from the wall, he met her when she reached him, with an arm reaching out and pulling her in. He held her close to him, not saying a word, just breathing in her scent, taking in her essence. She didn’t say a thing either, but he felt her tension and needed to deal with it.

He released his hold a little and whispered into her lush now red hair, “Let’s have coffee.”

She glanced up at him startled. He could see the spark in her eyes even through the shades.

“No one will know us here. We’ll sit in the back.”

“We’ll stick out like alligators in a petting zoo,” she said. But she went with him.

Before they sat down at the table against the back wall in the long narrow shop, his phone buzzed. It was probably Joe wondering where the hell he was. He checked the screen to confirm Joe’s number, but it was Cap.

“Damn.”

“Cap?” she guessed. He gave her an appreciative smile then and felt right about them, at least in that fleeting moment, they were in sync.

Then he put the phone to his ear.

“What is it?”

“Did you catch the press conference?”

“Yeah. What do you want? Applause? Well done.”

“Asshole. We didn’t spot Nash. I had everyone looking. There was a sighting of someone who could have been Eli Hughes, but not close enough to bring him in. Lost sight before they could get a handle. Any news about Sassy Stevens?”

“No. We’re doing reconnaissance at midnight.”

“I’ll send some men— “

“No. Don’t.”