If You Must Know (Potomac Point #1)(99)

Agents Reyes and Jones sat in the front seat, dressed in plain clothes, but neither spoke to me.

My knee bounced restlessly. I needed this win to prove to Eli that I hadn’t been foolish. To show my family that I was a capable, fierce muthaducker.

But what if Lyle wouldn’t sign the title, or Ebba turned out to be a hothead? She was a real wild card. We still didn’t know if she was in on the fraud or if Lyle had duped her, too. She could go batshit crazy as easily as break down in tears.

“We’re almost there,” Agent Reyes said over his shoulder.

“Great,” I lied, fearful that expressing doubts or nerves might cause them to cancel.

“You remember how to turn on that device, right?” Agent Jones said as the car turned into the marina and pulled up to La Cueva del Mar, a canopied restaurant-bar at the water’s edge.

“I do.” I shook out my hands, a nervous reflex I’d need to keep in check for the next thirty minutes.

“Wait here. I’ll go talk to the dockmaster to confirm which slip the target is in. Hopefully, he didn’t duck out to sightsee.” Agent Reyes exited the car, leaving me alone with Agent Jones.

“Normally, we don’t waste resources on a case this small absent corruption of public trust, but I’ll be glad to haul this ass off in handcuffs for how he’s treated his pregnant wife.” He cracked his knuckles.

“Not as glad as I’ll be to watch.” I looped my arm through my backpack. “I’ll be staying on the boat tonight rather than ride back to San Juan in this car with Lyle and Ebba.”

“Suit yourself.”

Being alone in this marina might not be my safest option, but talking to people around here would help me figure out how to get the boat back to the US to sell.

Agent Reyes returned. “The Office is still in its wet slip. You go down the main dock to the fourth row and then go left on that narrow offshoot to the sixth slip on the right. Got it?”

“Yes.” I held his gaze, pretending I was talking to Rodri even though Agent Reyes’s dark-brown eyes weren’t nearly as friendly.

“Repeat it back.”

Crap. I hated tests. “Go down the main dock to row four, hang a left, and then it’s the sixth boat on the right.”

“Sixth slip, not boat. There could be an empty slip.”

His level of particularity reminded me of my sister. “Yes, that’s what I meant.”

“Agent Jones and I will linger around the restaurant and dock. We’ll be listening in, so if you want to pull the rip cord, say the code word.”

“Okay. Code word is ‘bravo.’” Against my will, my heart picked up its pace. My mom and sister were probably sitting together awaiting my call. That pressure wrapped around my chest, but I had no time for a yoga breath now.

“Yes.” Agent Reyes put on his sunglasses while Agent Jones pulled on a baseball cap. “Ready?”

I imagined my dad smiling at me. “Whatd’ya mean you’re afraid? My little toughie can do anything!” No turning back.

“All set.” In thirty minutes, it’d be over, one way or the other. I could keep it together that long.

I opened the car door and, as instructed, didn’t look back. I scented salt water and fish. Gulls squawked, motors churned, and tourists chattered around me. Smiling as if on vacation, I took in the sun and sights. When I reached the dock, I counted ahead to mark my turn. The closer it got, the more sweat rolled down my back. Fortunately, that perspiration wouldn’t screw with the wristband.

I slowed when The Office came into view. Stan had called it a trawler, but it was an elegant triple-decker boat. White with navy trim and handsome wood accents made it look exceedingly romantic.

A rush of rage turned my body thermostat way up. I drew two yoga breaths and blew the last one out long and slow before making a move to board the boat. Two steps later, the buxom blonde I’d met in February emerged onto the aft deck.

Seeing her in her swimsuit, relaxed and happy, made the ache for my sister and niece burn. The slutty bitch yawned like she’d just awakened from a nap. If no one had been watching, I might’ve rushed the boat and pushed her into the sea. That daydream got interrupted when Lyle appeared and said something to her.

Now or never. I grasped a stair railing as I boarded the swim platform and called out, “Hey there, Lyle. Fancy seeing you here.”

His head snapped up at his name, and then he went still.

First round went to me.

“Who are you?” Ebba asked, her voice carrying a faint accent.

“You don’t remember?” I pointed at myself with a phony, bright smile, surprised she didn’t recognize me. Then again, I had shaved my hair after our February introduction. Plus I’d been wearing a winter cap then. “I’m Lyle’s sister-in-law, you silly ho.”

“What did you call me?” She set her hands on her hips, lips parted.

“‘Ho’? Sorry. Is there a better term for a woman who sleeps with someone else’s husband? Oh, never mind. I’ve a better one for you both. ‘Felons.’”

“You’re a crazy bitch,” Ebba said as I joined them without invitation. “Hey! Get off our boat.”

Lyle remained silent, intently assessing my every move, sizing up which of us would be the predator and which the prey.