Page 10 of Cheating the Devil

A curvaceous waitress in a black sarong and bikini top stopped at their table. “Can I get you anything, gentlemen?” she practically purred.

Her very-interested gaze blatantly flitted from one man to the next, lingering on Carter and ignoring Jordyn, who growled and pulled off her sunglasses, revealing her blazing, chocolateeyes. “As long as it comes out of a bottle, sweetheart, and I’m not talking about the bleach you use on your hair. Trust me, you’ll earn a bigger tip if you stop drooling over my man.”

Carter dipped his chin down, trying to hide his amused grin, as the waitress’s jaw dropped. Brad and Cameron quickly ordered a beer each, and Carter raised his, silently indicating he’d take another Corona with lime. When the bleached blonde scurried away, Jordyn tossed her sunglasses onto the table as she glared daggers at the woman’s retreating back. Carter’s shoulders started to shake as he snickered. “Jealous much, baby?”

“What? That’s the third time she ignored me in the last half hour, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to sit here and watch her salivate over you.” Mournfully, she looked at the half-finished strawberry daiquiri on the table in front of her. “But I guess that means I can’t order another one of these. She’ll probably spit in it. Damn.”

Reaching over, Carter brushed his thumb along her jaw. “I’ll go to the bar and get you another when you’re ready for it.”

Her facial features softened as she leaned into his touch. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure.”

Brad leaned forward and rested his forearms on the table. “Now that that’s taken care of, want to tell me what you’re doing here?”

Carter shrugged and then relaxed back in his chair as if he didn’t have a care in the world, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t one-hundred percent aware of their surroundings. He could probably rattle off astute observations he’d made about every person around them, having analyzed everyone’s threat potential within minutes of arriving. “We were visiting friends on Caicos and had a few more days off. Haven mentioned you and Avery were here, so we decided to take the ninety-minuteflight to say hi. It’s been a while since we visited Aruba, and it’s one of Jordy’s favorite islands.”

That big lie was for Cameron’s benefit. Brad didn’t question the “friends on Caicos,” because he’d heard them mention knowing people on the small Caribbean island before—a couple named Jase and Brie. That had probably been the truth. That it was one of Ms. Alvarez’s favorite islands might also be true. The stopping by and saying “hi” had been the lie. These two people didn’t just show up out of the blue without a reason. Haven had to have told them about Avery and Brad’s suspicions someone had been following them, and she’d sent them as backup. Well, when it came to his woman and his daughter, Brad wasn’t too proud to ask for help. Having the two spies watching their six made him feel a lot better. He also didn’t doubt they came by private jet, ensuring they could bring some serious fire power with them. There would be no kid dropping off a loaded, black duffel bag.

“Well, then, glad you could join us. You manage to get a room here?”

“Yes,” Jordyn responded. “We’re on the third floor.” It didn’t surprise Brad they were on the same floor as him and Avery. Lori and Cameron had the room across the hall from them, and it was a sure bet Jordyn and Carter now occupied one of the four rooms next to either of those two. “Where are Avery and Lori?”

“Out shopping at some huge market; they should be back soon.” But twenty minutes later, with still no sign of the two women, nor a call from them, the four of them started to get concerned. Brad had called Avery’s phone again, while Cameron had tried to reach Lori. Both calls had gone to voice mail.

Carter set his beer down. “Brad, why don’t you take the kid here, and we’ll follow you to the market and see if we can find them. Leave word at the concierge for them to call you if Avery and Lori show up.”

As they all stood, Brad nodded. “Yeah, but I think we need to get Cameron some gear first. You have extra?”

“Of course,” Carter answered with an eye roll, as if it’d been an inane question in the first place.

Cameron’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

Cocking his head toward the hotel, Brad said, “We’ll explain upstairs.”

When they reached the spies’ room, Jordyn grabbed some clothes and ducked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Meanwhile, Brad told Cameron about Avery’s suspicions that someone had been tailing her. “We haven’t been approached by anyone, and aside from the two men at the bar last night, no one else has raised a red flag. Avery’s carrying and is former black-ops—it’s the only reason I let them out of my sight today.”

Carter then gave Cameron a very abbreviated version of who he and Jordyn really were, along with a loaded Smith & Wesson 9mm with two spare clips and a holster. “All you need to know, kid, is we’re the good guys, with more US-government clearance than you’ll ever know, even after you end up in special-ops.” Yup, Haven had definitely passed on a lot of intel about Cameron.

Taking the weapon, the young Marine checked the clip and chamber to make sure they were loaded. He then holstered it at his lower back and put the spare clips in the cargo pocket on the side of his thigh. “And if I ever mention your name after this I’ll end up six-feet under somewhere and they’ll never find my body, right?”

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Carter grinned broadly. “Something like that.” He looked at Brad and cocked his head back toward Cameron. “I like him. He’d fit in well with the Trident boys. You know how Ian loves sarcasm.”

Brad snorted. “Ian is the definition of the word. I wouldn’t be surprised to see his photo next to it in the dictionary.”

“True that.”

The door to the bathroom swung open again, and Jordyn walked out dressed in a pair of multi-pocketed capri pants and a loose shirt that would hide any weapons on her body. As she loaded up with several firearms and knives, Carter handed Brad a legal gun, which he placed at the small of his back. He then strapped a holster to his ankle and stuck the gun Haven had had delivered into it. Since it was a weapon with a questionable background, it was best he didn’t use it, but it still might come in handy later. He didn’t want to think about why. For now, there was a more important matter at hand—finding his woman and daughter.

CHAPTER 9

His heart pounding,Brad pulled the keys out of his pocket as he and Cameron jogged toward the rental car. Jordyn and Carter were heading toward a tan SUV a few spaces down. They’d gotten directions to the market from the concierge. It was about a ten-minute drive down a winding road into the main town and then a few blocks over from there. Brad prayed the women hadn’t gotten into trouble and would be passing them along the way. He knew they’d gotten there okay several hours earlier because Avery had sent him a text, with two photos, asking what color he preferred for a shirt she’d wanted to get him. He’d gotten a warm feeling in his chest as he’d typed in an answer to her. It had been a long time since a woman had bought him something with his input. Some women had gifted him with clothes, but most of the time it’d been something he’d never pick out for himself, much less wear, but Avery had found a shirt that was definitely his style. Damn, he loved that woman.

After a little over two miles, they came around a curve and Brad slowed the vehicle to a stop. There was a police car and a tow truck idling on the side of the road with their lights flashing. A heavy winch was dragging a demolished taxi up a small incline at the side of the road, where it had apparently hit a tree. Pullingonto the opposite shoulder, Brad left the car running as he jumped out with Cameron following. Jordyn and Carter joined them as they approached the police officer and tow truck driver.

Brad addressed the cop. “Excuse me. Can you tell me if two women were in there?”

The uniformed man shook his head. “Only person in there was a male driver. He’s on his way to the hospital in critical condition.”

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