Page 24 of Between Love and Honor

Again.

His phone rang, startling him. He checked the caller ID.

“Aunt Marnie, I don’t have time right—”

“You better get down to the marina, Bennett. Someone’s trashing your boat. I’ve already called Rich.”

“Shit!” He shoved his phone into his pocket and made a beeline for the door.

“Stay with Josslyn,” he heard Adam command the agents in her detail.

The two of them sprinted out the door, circumventing a couple on a tandem bike, and headed toward the docks.

The siren from Rich’s squad car blared, but it was still some distance away.

“What are we looking at?” Adam asked.

“Someone’s vandalizing my boat.”

“Quinn?”

Ben didn’t bother answering. Of course, it was Quinn.

She’d been lurking beside the Seas the Day when he’d first encountered her earlier today. Her bullshit about seeking him out to make amends was just that—bullshit. But what was her game? Once again, she had sucker-punched him and he with the superior IQ hadn’t seen it coming. Adam had put the pieces together faster than he had. His anger at being duped made him run faster.

They took the stairs down to the dock single file. He could just make out movement on the back deck of his boat. But it wasn’t Quinn. Instead, it was a trio of men. All of them chattering in Russian. Ben suddenly had a really bad feeling. Adam already had his gun in his hand when they turned down the row housing the Seas the Day. Rich’s siren was now much closer.

But still not close enough.

A woman’s muffled scream was followed a few seconds later by a loud splash.

Quinn!

The men disembarked and were headed toward the end of the dock. Adam and Ben took cover behind one of the boats.

“Stay right where you are, gentlemen,” Rich called out over the loudspeaker in his squad car.

Apparently, the Russian’s didn’t understand English or they were just brazening it out because they continued walking. Adam fired a shot over their heads to get their attention. The two men at the back quickly returned fire while the man at the front carried on as if oblivious, calmly walking to the edge of the dock before jumping off. Rich fired off a few rounds from his rifle but the other two men followed their friend over the side. An outboard engine roared to life and suddenly the three were hurtling over the bay in two Jet Skis at a breakneck speed.

“Well, that was interesting,” Adam said.

But Ben was already heading toward his boat. He leaped onto the back deck.

“Quinn!”

Her purse was on its side on the deck.

“She’s not down here,” Adam said from the galley behind him.

Ben frantically clicked on the running lights, illuminating the water around the stern.

“There!” Adam pointed to a ripple along the surface.

Adam was still shrugging out of his boots when Ben dove in. He kicked his legs out with enough force to propel him deeper toward the sandy bottom. The lights only illuminated the water behind the boat a couple of feet. It was another three meters or so to reach the bottom. Blindly flailing his arms, he tried in vain to search the area in front of him.

She had to be there.

Another body sluiced through the water. It was Adam carrying an underwater flashlight. He arched the beam in a slow circle beneath them. Too slowly for Ben, though. His lungs were already on fire. Quinn had been under water a good two minutes longer than him. They didn’t have a moment to lose. He grabbed at the lantern just as its beam reflected off something shiny below. He kicked down deeper. A third body swam past him, following the same reflection.

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