Overboard: Nightforce Security Series - Book 3

by Beck, Keira

  “Did you tell Mako?”

  “No. The only person I told was Josh.”

  “That’s why I brought her with me tonight.”

  “Is that the worse of it? Are you leaving out any important details? Now’s the time to come clean.”

  She glanced at her brother, then down at her lap. “Scott was angry that Adam had embarrassed him. Adam was angry that Scott had taken advantage of him. Worse, that he tried to get him to cheat on Blair. And with an escort to boot! We were in the middle of the lake at this point, so there was no way to just send Scott back to shore. Then Adam said…” She chewed on her lower lip and looked away.

  “What did he say?”

  Alana took a deep breath. When she looked up, her eyes had tears in them. “He said he wished Scott hadn’t even come. That they were no longer friends. That he was so angry with him, he could throw him overboard and not think twice about it.”

  “You don’t think—”

  “No!” She shook her head. “No. Adam would never do something like that. Besides, he didn’t mean it. He was just angry.”

  Fuck. She was right. Things said in the heat of anger were almost always said to hurt someone, not to be taken literally. But it would look bad if anyone else had heard him say it. “You don’t think anyone else witnessed the argument, do you?”

  She shrugged.

  “I don’t know,” Josh said. “I sure hope not. But based on the time of the argument and the time anyone noticed Scott was missing, it seems Adam was the last person to see him alive.”

  Declan took out his wallet and threw some bills on the table.

  Josh put his hand out. “No. We’ll get that. It’s the least we can do.”

  “Not necessary.” He could pay his own damn way. He wasn’t a charity case. Then he tossed another bill on the table. “Coffee’s on me.”

  “So, now what?” Josh asked.

  Declan looked around the diner. As expected, the after-hours crew had begun filing in. The guy who had been at the counter had a phone to his ear as he walked out, probably telling the missus he was on his way home. Seemed he didn’t want to deal with the raucous crowd, either. He fought his way out the door as a few rowdy BMOCs came in singing a college fight song. It was too damn late to be so loud. “I’ll start looking into all of this tomorrow. I’m going to want to talk to the guys from the bachelor party. Then I’ll start interviewing wedding guests.”

  “What are you hoping to learn?” Josh asked.

  “That no one overheard their last conversation.”

  Alana ran her hand through her hair. “How do you prove a negative? Especially without revealing what you know?”

  “Very carefully.” He rose and headed toward the door.

  “Wait,” Alana said. “How does that help Adam?”

  Dec turned back to her. “I need to know what the cops know. And they’re not going to tell me. If I can determine no one overheard the argument, then I’ll know the cops have little to go on. And if I find someone who did hear it? Then I’ll know who was poised to frame your brother.”

  Josh sighed. “I guess it’s a place to start.”

  “That’s all I’ve got to go on right now.” That, the conversation he overheard at the marina, the damage to his car, and the GPS tracker. All those things together told Declan all he needed to know—Adam was being set up by a pro. And a damn good one.

  Chapter Five

  Declan left the Morgan siblings in the diner and headed out to his car. He was about to fish his keys from his pocket when he heard a noise behind him. Wheeling around, he squinted into the darkness. “Hello?”

  The sound of gravel grinding underfoot carried over the slap of water lapping against wood. Declan followed the noise around the side of the building. When he reached the deck surrounding the diner, he saw a shadow flee, sprinting around the far corner.

  Fuck. Should have brought his piece. He crept across the boards, stopping just short of the edge of the building. Plastered against the wall, he listened. Not a sound, other than the gentle wake of the lake below him. Declan took a deep breath then rounded the corner.

  Ooomph!

  It felt like a fucking truck hit him. He was driven back, knocked over the railing. A moment of free-fall, then he plunged into the inky water below.

  Sputtering as he surfaced, he scanned his surroundings and assessed his predicament. The deck was too high to reach, and the support wall had no footholds. There was no way to climb out unassisted, and no one knew where he was. He didn’t want to call out in case his attacker was still up there.

  It seemed like he was going to be out there for a while, possibly until dawn when someone could actually see him. Could he still tread water for four hours?

  He needed to make a floatation device. His t-shirt wouldn’t hold air like his jeans would, so they had to go. He struggled to take them off. Lost his shoes and phone in the process, but managed to save his wallet and keys, holding them in his mouth as he labored. Shit, it had been a while since he practiced water survival skills. He tied the pant legs off then swung them overhead. It took him three tries to inflate the damn things.

  Declan had just situated himself when he heard the thunk, thunk, thunk of footsteps on the deck. It was too dark to see who was there. He could call for help, but if it was the guy who attacked him, that would reveal his whereabouts, and he’d rather the guy think he was dead already. The last thing he needed was to get shot in the middle of the night with his pants around his neck.

  But if it was help up there, he would save himself a miserable four hours. Or more.

  Shit. Best to err on the side of caution. So he said nothing.

  “Hello?” someone called—female voice.

  He took the wallet and keys out of his mouth. “Alana?”

  “Declan? Is that you?” she said.

  “Yeah.”

  “Where are you?” Josh asked.

  “I’m in the damn lake. Can you get a rope or something?”

  “Sure. I’ll be right back.”

  “Wait! Take Alana with you.”

  “No,” she said. “I’ll stay here with you.”

  “It’s not a good idea. The two of you should stick together.”

  “I don’t want to leave you alone out there.”

  He fought the urge to scream at her. “You’re wasting time. I’ll be fine out here for a while, but that doesn’t mean I want to prolong the experience. Would you please stay together so I know you’re safe?”

  “We’ll be right back,” Josh said.

  The stygian shroud of a moonless night enveloped him. He tried to get his pants back on, but they were too wet and unwieldy to work with, so he treaded until the Morgans came back.

  And just his luck, they brought help.

  The waitress waved a flashlight over the water until the beam landed on him. “There he is!”

  More lights dotted the deck, cellphones whose range of illumination wasn’t far enough to reach him. But there was enough residual light for him to see he’d attracted quite an audience. The barflies, given the loud and slurred chatter. Fuck. His naked ass was going to end up on YouTube.

  Actually, it wasn’t his ass he was worried about.

  “Declan?” Josh called. “I just finished tying the rope. I’m going to throw it out to you now.”

  He caught it and pulled himself over to the wall.

  “We’ll pull you up.”

  “Wait.” Declan rolled his eyes. Could this get any worse?

  “What’s the matter?” Alana called.

  “I need everyone to go out front and wait for me there.” Better out front than inside, where they could look out the windows.

  “Why?” she asked. “What’s wrong?”

  “Can you just please go?”

  “Come one, everyone.” That was the waitress’s voice. “Show’s over. Let’s go.”

  Footsteps on the deck sounded like stampeding cattle. Finally, the night quieted.

  “They all
left,” Josh said. “Can I pull you out now?”

  “Don’t hurt yourself. I’ll climb out.” Declan slung his jeans over his shoulders, put his keys and wallet back in his mouth, then started to climb. Despite the weight of his wet clothes, he crested the railing in about thirty seconds and dropped to the deck.

  “Oh!” Alana turned her back.

  Declan rung out his jeans. “You said everyone had gone, Josh.”

  “Sorry.” He stared up at the sky, not making eye-contact. “I thought you meant everyone else.”

  “Well, thanks for the help.” He managed to pull the wet denim up. “Okay. I’m decent.”

  Alana didn’t turn around. “How’d you end up in the lake?”

  “When I went to my car, I heard a noise. Followed someone back here. He blindsided me, and I ended up in the drink. How’d you find me?”

  “Let’s get out of here,” Josh said. “We’ll talk as we walk.”

  They walked along the deck, then through the gravel toward the parking lot. Little stones dug into Declan’s feet.

  “We were only a couple of minutes behind you,” Josh said. “Would have left when you did, but we really weren’t in a hurry to go home.”

  “When we got to the parking lot,” she added, “we saw your car was still there.”

  “How’d you know what kind of car I drive?”

  She shrugged. “Mako told us.”

  Damn, the guy was good. He probably wouldn’t have thought to ask Danny for the make and model of someone’s vehicle.

  “Anyway, we started looking around.” Josh shrugged. “Heard splashing.”

  “You know the rest.” They reached the front of the building, and Alana finally turned to look at him. Streetlights cast a warm glow across the parking lot. Her cheeks were red. “Why’d someone attack you?”

  Declan wiped the soles of his feet on his soaking pant legs, knocking free the imbedded pebbles. Then he wiggled his toes. “Good question. I’d like to know that, too.”

  The waitress stepped outside and waved something at him. “Hey!”

  He turned to her. “Yeah?”

  She bustled across the lot. “Thought you might want to sit on a trash bag, save your upholstery.”

  Seats were leather, but that didn’t mean they were waterproof. He accepted the bag and nodded his head. “Thanks. Appreciate it.”

  She grinned and gave him the once over, her gaze lingering on his crotch. Seemed someone had been peering out the window while he climbed out of the lake. “My pleasure.”

  Declan was at a loss for words, so he waved and walked to his car. She returned to the diner while he spread the bag on his seat.

  “Now what?” Josh asked.

  “Now we all go home and get some sleep.” Declan climbed into his car, turned the key in the ignition. The car roared to life. He shut the door then lowered the window. “You guys going to be okay? Need me to follow you, make sure you get back?”

  “I was going to ask you that,” Josh said.

  “Drive safely.” Declan raised the window and put the car in drive. As he drove back to the cabin, he could still feel Alana’s eyes on him, still see the heat on her cheeks.

  He was exhausted but doubted he’d get much sleep.

  Chapter Six

  The next morning, Declan woke up to pounding on his door. He cracked an eyelid, squinted at the digital alarm clock on the nightstand. Couldn’t make out a single number.

  He wrapped a sheet around him then stumbled to the door. When his hand hit the knob, he thought about his gun—back in the bedroom. More often than not, killers broke in rather than knocking. Still, just to be sure, he stole a glance out the sidelight.

  Alana. How the hell did she know where he was?

  Declan threw open the door and rubbed his eye with a knuckle as he blinked into the brightness of day.

  “Morning.” She held up a drink carrier and a bag. “I brought coffee.”

  He swung the door wide and stepped aside for her to enter. She walked straight to the kitchen like she’d been there a thousand times before, put the items on the table, then took dishes out of the cabinet above the dishwasher.

  Declan shook his head and dropped into a chair. “How’d you know where to find me?”

  “Mako.”

  Of course. “I thought you were going back to Detroit last night.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “Because you said you were going home.”

  “And that meant Michigan? What’d you think… several hours in a car or taking Mr. Windsor’s cruise ship, which is currently considered a possible crime scene, across the lake in the middle of the night?”

  “Sorry. I hadn’t thought about that. I should have offered you guys a place to stay.”

  “Don’t worry. It’s not like we slept under a bridge.”

  “Where did you stay?”

  She put napkins on the table and took the seat across from him. “We have a lot to discuss. Maybe you should get dressed.”

  He looked down. The sheet had dropped dangerously low, well past his waist. It had become a glorified napkin in his lap. He pulled it up as he got to his feet. “Sorry. Wasn’t expecting anyone. Be right back.”

  Declan padded to the bedroom, shut the door, then rooted through his bag. This time, he put on boxers before stepping into cargo shorts and pulling on a t-shirt. Choosing to remain barefoot, he returned to the kitchen. “I don’t mean to be rude, but what are you doing here?”

  She slid a cup of coffee toward him and tore open the bag. Two wrapped breakfast sandwiches and an assortment of creamer cups and sugar packets spilled onto the table. “I brought you breakfast.”

  His lips quirked. “Thank you.” He took the lid off his cup, unwrapped a sandwich. “Now, why are you really here?”

  “Have you heard from Mako?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t had a chance to check my messages yet.”

  She bit her lip. “I guess I get to tell you, then.”

  “Tell me what?”

  “At some point last night, the cops officially arrested Adam.”

  “Arrested him? We don’t even know what happened to Scott yet.”

  Alana swiped at a tear, but her voice was strong, unwavering. “A fact his attorney is focusing on, I assure you. He’s being held under suspicion of murder and assault. We’re hoping to hear about bail first thing Monday, but he’s stuck there for now.”

  Fuck. Things just got a whole lot worse. “Thanks for the info. I’ll get with Mako as soon as I finish breakfast.”

  “Okay. Then we’ll go.”

  “Go where?”

  “You said we were going to interview people today.”

  “No, I said I was going to interview people today.”

  “I’m coming with you.”

  He bit into the sandwich—egg, cheese, and bacon croissant. As he chewed, he shook his head.

  “You need me,” Alana said.

  “I don’t think so.”

  “I know all these people. They’ll be more likely to talk to you if you’re with someone they trust.”

  He sipped his coffee. She had a point. But it could be dangerous. “Thanks for the offer, but I can’t put you in harm’s way like that.”

  “This is about my brother. You can’t shut me out.”

  Declan put his cup down. “I get that. But you were there last night. Someone tried to kill me. And that was the second incident that evening. I’m on someone’s radar. It’s not safe for you to be seen with me.”

  “It’s not safe for you to be alone, either. If I didn’t see your car and hear you splashing around last night, you’d be dead today.”

  “No, I wouldn’t.”

  “Agree to disagree, then.”

  “No.” He sat back in his seat and studied her. She had a set to her jaw and a steely look in her eyes that he had to admire. That didn’t mean he’d let her tag along, though. “Look, I was perfectly fine last night. I don’t expect you to have known th
at. I mean, you don’t know anything about me.”

  “I know you’re a former SEAL. I know you just finished your tour and chose not to, what’s it called? Re-up? You didn’t re-up because your grandmother is ill and you wanted to be around for her. I know you’re working for Nightforce Security and weren’t supposed to start until Monday, but you’re doing your boss a favor by helping us out.”

  “And where’d you come across my biography?”

  “Mako.”

  Why’d he keep asking? The answer was always the same. “Just because you have someone feeding you information about me doesn’t mean you’re cut out for investigative work. What do you do for a living, anyway?”

  “I hardly see how that’s relevant.”

  “I just told you why. A kindergarten teacher isn’t really cut out for security work.”

  She scoffed. “You think I look like a kindergarten teacher?”

  “Is that an insult? I loved my kindergarten teacher. She was really nice, read stories with character voices, sang cheerful songs, and always smelled like cookies.”

  “I can only do Kermit the Frog and Donald Duck.”

  “What?”

  “Voices. Kermit and Donald. Those are the only character voices I can do.”

  “So you are a kindergarten teacher?”

  She laughed and shook her head. “No. I’m in real estate. And stop changing the subject. I’m coming with you.”

  Real estate agent. Maybe that’s why she knew her way around so well. Could be useful. And it might be easier to keep her close. She was liable to go investigating on her own if he didn’t, and if she got hurt, it would be on him. “One condition.”

  “What?”

  “Do one of the voices.”

  She met his gaze and held it for a long time. Then she burst into song, singing ‘It’s Not Easy Being Green’ in Kermit’s voice.

  Damned if she didn’t sound just like the little guy.

  Chapter Seven

  Declan sat in the reception area of the phone store, waiting while the sales guy configured his new cell and recovered all the apps and data he could.