Page 67 of Broken Rules
Chapter Twenty One
“No,” she screamed andcharged at the slender man with soft brown curls and wire-rimmed glasses. She barreled into him. He fell back, skidding down the ramp. Her heart hammering, she continued her assault, shoving him, trying to force him over the edge and into the water. Tears blurred her eyes. “Leave us alone!”
“Stop, Savannah!”
She twisted to see Damien’s face. “Run! He’s a cop!”
“Savannah, it’s okay—”
“No, you don’t understand. He must have followed me. He’s—”
“He’s a friend,” Damien said calmly.
She scurried back and let Damien help her to her feet. Brows drawn, her heart still racing, her gaze darted between Damien and the detective who was now climbing to his feet. Breathless, she gripped Damien’s shirt possessively and eyed her former customer warily.
Damien crooked his thumb beneath her chin, gently forcing her to meet his gaze. “Edward and I served together. We go way back.”
Slowly, the tension eased from her shoulders, and she released a long breath.
Wrapping his arm around her waist, he started to lead her back up the ramp. “Why don’t we all go sit down.”
A warm, salty breeze lifted her hair as she sat on the white cushioned bench built into the cockpit. Her gaze traveled the length of the towering mast.
“Here you go, Savannah.”
She turned and met Edward’s gaze. He stood in front of her with a martini in his outstretched hand. A sideways smile upturned one side of his mouth. “I thought I’d bring you a drink for a change.”
Her hand shook as she reached for the glass.
Brows drawn, he sat across from her. “Some of the crew just got back. Damien is getting rid of them. I just wanted to take this time to apologize to you. I know you’ve been through hell and that this is all really confusing, but let me just say that I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?” she muttered uneasily.
“For being such an asshole to you when I was undercover and for not being able to tell you that Damien was okay. But mostly, I’m sorry about your grandmother.”
Tears stung her eyes, but she fought to hold back the rush of emotion. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“Damien has been out of his mind with worry. It was all I could do to keep him hidden. He wanted to go to you, but it would have blown the deal we made and put you in serious danger.”
Confused, she shook her head. “What deal?”
A full smile curved Edward’s lips. “Damien’s a free man.”
“Free-ish,” Damien said, jumping down from the side deck.
“You’re not going to prison,” Edward said pointedly.
“Yeah, but I’m shackled to you for the next ten years.”
Savannah couldn’t take it anymore. “What deal?”
Damien sat down beside her and covered her hand with his. “That last day we spent together on the boardwalk, do you remember seeing Edward on the beach?”
She nodded. “He was still dressed like that slime ball Steve he was pretending to be.”
“That’s right. He was still undercover.” Damien paused and pressed a tender kiss to her lips before he continued. “I knew those guys from Jersey would make a move that night, so I reached out to Edward and struck a deal.”
Edward nodded. “It didn’t take us long to work out the details, but what we didn’t count on was a third interested party showing up.”
