Page 82 of A Lethal Betrayal

“Someone else had to be there. Casper didn’t scuba dive and couldn’t have tied Owens to the anchor on deck and then thrown him overboard. The body wasn’t secured well enough.”

He scowled at her. “Fucking smart bitch. You’re too smart for your own good.” He adjusted the controls a bit and goosed the throttle. The bow lifted higher. “He took one of the heavies that worked for his bookie. Once the guy got Owens attached to the chain, he came back up. Owens helped the guy off with his tanks while he sat on the side of the boat and then shot him. The body fell overboard and floated away. If only he’d done that with Owens, we wouldn’t be in this mess. But he had to get fucking creative. Thought finding the floating muscle that was known to the police for being involved in illegal gambling would make it look like Owens was killed because of that. Of course it didn’t happen. Idiot.” He shook his head.

She eyed the gun. It was on his right, a bit too far from her to make a move. If she shoved him, she might have a chance to get it, but it was a crapshoot. Last resort. Not that she had any other ideas at the moment.

She kept up her diversionary tactic. “So Casper wanted more money because he killed Owens. Thought he deserved more.”

“Asshole had to pay for the muscle he killed. The bookie just tacked it onto his debt. Casper needed real cash.” He looked at her. “And I wasn’t willing to give it up.” Ainsley’s smile took an evil turn. “We’re coming up to your final destination. I won’t mess up in case you’re wondering. I know what the fuck I’m doing. We’re not by any shipping lanes. There’s nothing out here but ocean for miles and miles.”

Her heart slammed into her ribcage. There had to be something she could do. Something to stop this from happening. She looked over the ocean for lights. Anything.

“You looking for your boyfriend, Landry?”

How the hell did Ainsley know about Dane? It wasn't like he was the only one who’d stayed at the hotel with her. The team had been coming and going for days.

“What? You didn’t think we knew about that? We’ve been following you for a while. He’s not coming to rescue you. Right now, he’s following Cross. The poor bastard thinks Cross is behind all this.” Ainsley snorted. “Cross doesn’t have the balls for it or the brains. You’re on your own.”

Fear spiked through her as the hope in her heart flickered out. Maybe this was it. She was going to die on a boat in the middle of the ocean. She should’ve called her folks, and she shouldn’t have pushed Dane away. The last memory he would have of her was her being a bitch.

That stung. She couldn’t have that. No giving up. There had to be a way. She just had to find it before her time ran out.

CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE

“Any word on a boat?” Dane tried to be patient, but Mac’s life was in danger so all bets were off.

“There’s nothing close by. Hold one,” Jace said. He was gone for thirty seconds. Then, “Okay. Spoke to Sinclair. Explained the situation and asked him to keep it under his hat. He wasn’t keen, but he agreed. He’s on his way. He’s on a RHIB. He’ll be here in twenty. Best I could do.”

Twenty minutes was way too long. They could be anywhere by that point. Mac could be dead. Dane pulled into the marina, found a spot in a dark corner, and parked.

“I’ll check it out but I’m sure they’re already on the water,” Koa said as he climbed out of the SUV.

Cain had pulled in beside them. He got out and came over to the driver’s side window. Dane opened it.

“Look,” Cain said, “I know exactly how you’re feeling right now, and I’m gonna tell you what someone once told me. Have your moment, feel it, and then put it back in the box, or you won’t be any help to Mac.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Dane deflected.

“Fuck that noise. We all know you’ve got something going with Mac. She’s in danger, and now you can’t function. Can’t think straight. I’m giving you until Koa gets back here to feel what you need to and then you pack that shit away and do your job. That’s what’s gonna bring her home safe. You got me?”

Dane didn’t know what to say. He just nodded, and Cain walked away from the vehicle. In the side mirror, Dane watched him go and then took a deep breath. He was right. Being all over the place wasn’t going to help Mac any.

A spike of adrenaline rushed sickeningly through him. Just the thought of her out there with Ainsley was terrifying. If anything happened to her, he knew it would be the end of him. He just couldn’t take another hit. He needed Mac to be okay like he needed to take his next breath. If they didn’t find her safe and sound, he’d—

Stop right there, Landry. Pull your shit together.

Maybe she was right. Maybe them being together was a bad idea if this was any indication. He couldn’t function if he was constantly worried that she was in danger. And with her job, she’d be in danger a lot. Mac leaving Hawai’i might be the best thing for both of their careers.

He sucked in a deep breath and hissed it out. First, he had to get her back. Nothing was going to stop that from happening. Cain was right. He needed to focus. Go cold. He took one last breath and got out of the SUV as Koa approached. Ainsley was his, alive or dead, made no difference to him.

“Nothing,” Koa said. “Not even anyone around to ask. There are some cameras, but by the time we get anyone down here to access them…” His voice trailed off.

“It will just confirm what we know,” Cain said as he rejoined the group. “Ainsley has Mac and they took a boat. The question is what boat?”

“I can answer that,” Jace said out the window as he, Cass, and Tac parked beside them. “My money is on Ainsley taking Casper’s boat. This is the marina where he typically docked.”

“What berth?” Dane asked.

“Fifty-Two.”

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