Page 7 of Clean Slade
“Some guys tried to take me. I assume they had something to do with the cartel?” he said.
“They knew about you because of the report we filed with the police,” Santiago told him.
King rubbed his face and swore. I bit my lip, trying to jog my memory.
Why did he look so familiar?
I’d only been on the island a couple of days, so I couldn’t possibly have seen him around unless he stayed at the bed and breakfast where I was currently a guest.
Surely I would have noticed his adorable daughter though.
“You said you knew who blew up the boat? How did you know about the boat?” Maddox, Ash’s boyfriend and also retired Navy, asked the man.
“Because that’s his MO. Well, one of them, anyway,” King answered.
“Who?” Commander Goodman asked.
King looked at Santiago. “You said you’ve seen men following you? What did they look like? Were they dressed in suits? Shades? Earpieces?”
Santiago nodded.
That was why he’d reached out to Wyatt and his team. Because after stumbling on the cartel, he kept noticing people following him. He’d assumed it had been the drug dealers and that they were trying to kill him.
“Fuck! This is all my fault, Tiago. I got you into this mess. And then I made everything worse by dragging you to the police station.”
“What are you talking about?” his friend asked.
King dropped his head and shook it in despair as if he was telling himself off. As if he couldn’t believe what he’d caused.
Damn it. It’s gonna kill me not knowing why he looks so fucking familiar.
“I…I think the men stalking you weren’t cartel men. Well, at least not until I made you spill your guts to a bunch of fucking dirty cops. He…he’s after me, and I think you got caught in the crosshairs.”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
“I…I think I need your help,” King said, turning to Joey before he looked at the rest of us. “My father-in-law has found me.”
His gaze landed on me, and he paused.
It was only for a second, but I noticed it. As if he recognized me too but also couldn’t place me.
“And he’s very bad news,” he finished his sentence, turning back to Joey. “If he’s found me, I need to go. I need to run.”
Joey approached the distressed man and grabbed him by the shoulders.
“Why? Who is it?”
King took a deep breath and clenched and unclenched his fists.
“If he knew about the cartel and blew it up, then I have to assume he’s here already. Which means he’s coming for me next. Will you help me? I’ve got four dead bodies in my house, and I wouldn’t put it past him if he pinned it on me.”
“Four dead bodies? What happened, King?” Santiago stepped between his boyfriend and his best friend and caressed King’s face.
“They…they gunned each other down. My father-in-law’s men and the cartel guys. I had to hide with Mac. I had to get us out from her bedroom window so she didn’t see the bloodshed.”
“Jesus.” Santiago hugged his friend, and King held on with heavy breathing.
“I need to disappear again. I need to go. But then, if he’s here, he must be following me. Shit. I shouldn’t have come here. I should—”
