Chapter Nineteen

In the dim light cast by the SUV’s dashboard, Laia glimpsed the five o’clock shadow on Kade’s hard profile. Bristle that had left the skin around her lips burning from the last kiss he’d given her before they’d gone back inside the shack to update Jamie on where they were going and why.

She’d felt stupid for not having thought of the dinghy sooner. Josh had given it to Rosa when she was only three, then painted it in her favorite colors. Rosa had adored it from the moment she’d seen it.

Rosa was still blissfully asleep in her bed, but they’d taken Smoke for backup and Jamie’s police-issued K-9 SUV.

“We’ve got company.” Kade shot past her house without stopping.

“Who?” Laia twisted in the seat to look back at front porch of the duplex, but it was nearly midnight, and the porch was dark. “What did you see?”

“Two men in a car parked directly across from your house. One of them just lit up a cigarette.” Kade made two more right turns, then parked at the curb in front of the Millers’ house, her neighbors directly behind the duplex.

“Then how do we get in the front door without them seeing us?” They were so close to finding the missing evidence she could barely sit still.

“We don’t.” He shut off the engine. “Not through the front door, anyway. We need a distraction.” He picked up his phone and punched in a number. The numbers 911 soon lit the screen. When the dispatcher answered, Kade said, “I want to report a suspicious vehicle parked across the street from 241 2nd Avenue in Asbury Park. I’d appreciate it if you’d send someone to check it out.”

“What’s your name, sir?” Laia heard the dispatcher ask, but instead of answering, Kade hung up.

He leaned across her legs and pulled a small black flashlight from the glovebox. “Let’s go,” he said, opening his door and adding, “Try not to slam the door.”

Laia got out and quietly nudged the door shut with a soft click. The Millers’ fence ran the entire length of the duplex’s divided yard that she shared with Alvita. No lights shined inside or outside of the house.

Kade and Smoke waited for her on the curb. Her heart beat a little faster at the prospect of finding the ledger, but she couldn’t afford to get her hopes up. Kade lifted the rear door of the SUV, searched for a minute before pulling out a crowbar, then nudged the door shut.

He led the way up the Millers’ driveway to the six-foot-high wood gate that led to their backyard. “Wait,” he whispered.

A car turned onto the road and drove past but kept going. Kade flipped open the gate latch, hesitating when it squealed. Laia winced, then glanced up at the house, half expecting every light inside to come on, and the Millers’ cute but excessively yappy beagle puppy to wake up and start barking its adorable head off.

He eased the gate open enough for them to squeeze through. “Stay close.”

The only sound came from Smoke as he sniffed the dewy grass and stopped to inspect the swing set, seesaw, and other kids’ toys strewn about the lawn.

Laia’s feet were already soaked. Had she known they’d be trespassing then sneaking through her neighbor’s back lawn, she would have changed from her sundress and sandals into something more sensible. Like boots, face paint, and black camo.

Clouds had begun filling up the night sky. The only light in her backyard was a gentle glow from the partially obscured moon. She could just barely make out Rosa’s dinghy on the other side of the fence.

Unlike the driveway gate, the fence between hers and the Millers’ backyard was only four feet high. Kade quietly dropped the crowbar over the fence onto the grass. “Smoke,” he whispered, pointing over the fence.

Smoke charged to the fence and leaped. The dog was a dark, graceful shadow as he easily cleared the fence, then landed with a soft huff on the grass beside the dinghy.

“Now you.” Kade’s breath was warm against her ear. She’d been so enthralled by Smoke’s Olympic-style hurdle, she hadn’t even heard him come up beside her.

He slipped one arm around her waist and the other beneath her legs, lifting her then holding her over the fence and releasing her so she could stand. The next thing she knew, he landed beside her.

Kade flicked on the flashlight. Unlike the yellow she’d expected, the flashlight’s beam was red.

“Smoke, guard.” He pointed to the gate that led to Laia’s driveway, then swung the beam along the interior of the dinghy. Next, he reached under the boat and flipped it over, exposing the hull. He looked in the direction of the road behind the duplex. The air was quiet, too quiet for him to start tearing the dinghy apart without making some kind of sound. They could have waited until daylight, but Kade had wanted to get to the dinghy ASAP, saying the longer they waited, the more time there was for the evidence to disappear.

“Here we go,” he whispered. Blue-and-red strobes flickered from the other side of the duplex and driveway gate. Less than a minute later, muted voices drifted their way. “Keep an eye out on your neighbors’ houses.”

He began prying off the boards, which, to her immense worry, squealed in protest as the rusty nails reluctantly released their hold. With every squeal, she glanced at her driveway gate, worrying that the police or whoever was sitting in that car not a hundred yards away would hear the sounds and come running. She could just make out Smoke’s profile as he stood by the gate, his body stiff and alert.

Kade set the crowbar on the grass. Keeping his voice low, he said, “Come over here and shine the light inside.” He handed her the flashlight. She knelt beside him and shined the beam into the now-open bow section of the hull. Kade peered inside. “There’s something in there.” He reached into the hull.

A car door slammed, and Laia whipped her head around. The blue-and-red strobes that had been on abruptly shut off. The police car was leaving.

“Kade, hurry! The police are leaving.”

His shoulder was obscured as he fished around in the hull of the boat. When he pulled out his arm, he held a clear, yet dirty, plastic bag. Inside the bag was a black-and-brown leather ledger book. A few tiny spiders dropped off the bag and scurried away.

“Jackpot.” Kade grinned.

Laia’s heart raced faster than a greyhound’s at the track. This was what the cartel had been searching for, and she’d had it the entire time. She ran her fingers down the cover, still not quite believing what she was seeing.

Behind them, Smoke growled. The driveway gate rattled.

Kade grabbed her around the waist, then pulled her down to the grass behind the overturned dinghy and covered her body with his.

A thin beam of light struck the picket fence directly behind them, as if someone was aiming a flashlight through the small space between the driveway gate’s doors.

Again, Smoke growled, a low, fear-instilling sound that should make any burglar think twice about opening the gate.

“Shh,” he said against her ear.

Her heart raced even faster, and with the weight of Kade’s body on hers, she could barely breathe. When he’d come down on top of her, she’d automatically spread her legs to accommodate his hips, vividly reminding her of what they’d been doing just over an hour ago.

So here she was, in mortal danger, hiding out from a drug cartel, and all she could think about was making love again with the man lying on top of her.

The pounding she heard was definitely her own heart pounding but also Kade’s. Pressed together as they were, she heard and felt a double heartbeat. Almost like the proverbial two hearts beating as one.

In the darkness, she rolled her eyes. Living her life to its fullest was one thing. Getting hornier than she’d ever been in her life because she could die any second… What an aphrodisiac.

The light on the fence disappeared.

Kade shifted his head, whispering across her lips, “Don’t move.”

“Okay,” she whispered back, then clasped his face, intending to pull his mouth to hers. If they were going to get shot full of holes any second, what better way to go than to be kissing the man that she—

“Let’s go.” He pushed off her, interrupting her thought before she could finish it.

Kade pulled her to her feet, then lifted her up and over the fence. He snapped his fingers softly, and Smoke sailed over and landed next to Laia.

With the ledger in one hand, Kade did a one-arm hurdle, heaving himself onto the Millers’ grass. Then they were running.