Page 33 of Beachcomber Enemy

But she didn’t look at him either. In fact, she felt as cold and hard as steel under his arms. There was no yield to her.

She looked at him and said, “Maybe you ought to go with Ronnie to Sassy’s house.”

“Not happening. I’m with you.” He met her eyes, met the edgy glint there, but couldn’t help softening his look. His heart raced with fear thinking about her facing Nash without him. She stepped from his hold.

“You think you’re better protection that a dozen trained cops?” she said, hands on hips. She must have known what his answer would be, but he said it aloud anyway.

“None of them loves you the way I do.”

Chapter 11

“I’m with you until the moment we… get Whitey. Then I’m heading to Sassy’s house. Without you.”

“You’ll be in more danger than I will,” she said. A spike of fear hit her, but she tamped it down.

“She’s right,” Cap said. “We have all the law enforcement and you’re facing explosives, possible traps and an ex-con on your own.”

“Don’t be a wiseass,” Dane said. “I’ll be with Joe and Ronnie and we’ll call in the bomb squad as soon as we can.

“How do we know if Eli is going to be there—or Sassy for that matter?” Shana said.

“Hate to spring it on you,” Dane looked at her. “but we have an ace in the hole.” He smiled. She knew how he loved holding back, just a little something.

“What?” she asked almost blandly.

“We left behind a little surveillance camera to watch the front door and driveway. If and when they leave, we’ll know all about it. It’s motion activated and will beep. Joe will hold the receiver. And you can watch out for any action yourselves. I’m sending you the link to the feed so you can keep an eye on us on your phone, Cap.” He tapped a few keys.

“What about me?” Shana said.

“You’re going to be disguised as a man. You don’t get to play with a cell phone at the funeral. You can’t do anything to draw attention to yourself.”

Uneasiness hit her. In this plan, once he went to Sassy’s they wouldn’t be working side by side, as partners. As lovers who protected each other. The understanding seeped through her that she was grateful he’d be at the funeral with her, relieved. But did she dare say to him that she wanted him at the funeral with her? That she didn’t trust anyone else to have her back the way he did? No, not here and now with an audience.

She didn’t know what why he was now okay with her staying at his side. Unless he had a secret plan to lock her up somewhere. But even Dane, as underhanded as he’d been to leave her in Boston the way he’d done, wouldn’t resort to that.

* * *

Dane had no intention of letting Shana attend that funeral service. He and Joe would pretend to drive her to Cap’s house to meet him there so she could go to the service with him. Under the guise of dressing up as one of their elderly neighbors. But Cap wasn’t going to be at home. Dane knew he’d be at the station. He planned to put her in plastic cuffs and literally lock her in a closet. If he was in a kind mood, he’d let her use the bathroom first.

That was the plan he whispered to Joe.

Now all he needed was the balls to carry it off.

Of all the ballsy things he’d done in his life, all the crazy missions, nerve-wracking daring fights, infiltrations and exfiltrations, this was the most dangerously outrageous he’d ever considered.

Because he was putting his relationship with the love of his life on the line. But if he didn’t protect Shana from Whitey Nash and bring the man down before he got to her, Dane would never forgive himself.

On the other hand, if he didn’t let Shana put herself out there in harm’s way, she might never forgive him.

* * *

The day started out as suddenly as a lightning strike. But there was no thunderstorm outside. It was all in Shana’s head, likely brought on by last night’s tequila and Dane’s loudly thrashing phone alarm this morning. She moved and realized he wasn’t lying beside her, only his phone sat there. An instant of loss gripped her before all the memory, hurt, and anger seeped back in, dissolving the sense of loss like acid.

There’d been no choice but for her to sleep alongside him, close and intimate on the small cot. Joe and Ronnie made do with chairs. She might have relegated Dane to the cement floor, but there were no pillows, nothing to soften or warm it. And though her heart had been hardened and pained enough to make him lie on the hard, cold surface for the remainder of the night, the few hours they had left until dawn, she knew the others might object whether they said so or not.

Besides, they needed Dane to be in top form today. They were relying on him, as always.

That thought stung her into action and she rose, finding Dane brewing coffee at the makeshift table in the dim basement light. He turned, flicking on the overhead fixture as he saw her.