LITMIR.BIZ

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      “Uh-huh. She practically seduced the poor kid to get him to agree. Promised him more of the same in payment.”

      “She would be short of cash by now, and her credit cards are at their limits, so that would be her only, uh, asset left to bargain with.”

      “Well, she used her assets effectively. Armando had agreed to meet her at sunset.”

      “Was she on the boat when it capsized?”

      “No. Armando was the only one on board.”

      “Had he already taken Ursula to Tamir?”

      “He hadn’t had the chance. He had spent the day cleaning up the cat’s cabin and finagling a way to buy some wine in preparation for what he’d thought would be a hot date. He was in a hurry to meet her and admitted he wasn’t paying attention to the sailing conditions when he ran into trouble.”

      “Where was he supposed to meet her?”

      “At the same beach where they met this morning.”

      “We have to alert the police,” Kate said immediately. “They need to search the area.”

      “It’s already being done. I radioed the information from the rescue launch.”

      “Oh. Good.”

      “I doubt Chambers would have hung around waiting if the kid was late.”

      “Probably not,” she said. “At least we know she’s still on the island.”

      “Yeah. Our mission isn’t over yet.” He looked at Kate. “And neither is our partnership. Sure you don’t want to help me with my buttons?”

      “Sam…”

      He held up his hands. “Just checking.”

      Chapter 6

      Kate lowered her binoculars and turned her face to the sun, inhaling the scent of the ocean as she braced herself against the breeze. It had been too long since she’d sailed. Odd, when she thought about it, that someone who was in the Navy would think she didn’t spend enough time on the water. Still, there was nothing like the crack of canvas and the hissing slap of waves on the hull to remind her why she loved the sea.

      “Can you take the wheel for a minute?” Sam asked. “It’s my turn to check in.”

      She let her binoculars dangle from the strap around her neck, grasped the top of the cabin house to steady herself and made her way to the cockpit. This sloop had been volunteered for the mission by a retired Montebellan police captain. It was a nimble boat, responding superbly to each adjustment in their course as they navigated along the coast. Although it was equipped with an auxiliary motor, both she and Sam preferred to use the power of the wind.

      Of course, they both knew this wasn’t a pleasure trip. The surveillance net had been in place for almost a week now. Ursula Chambers hadn’t yet been spotted despite the close scrutiny the undercover “fleet” had provided. When Sam had suggested that they direct from the front rather than from behind a desk today, Kate had been quick to agree.

      Professionally, it was a good idea, but as far as her peace of mind was concerned, it was bad. She had found it difficult enough to ignore Sam when they’d been working together at the base. Hadn’t she realized how much worse it would be when they were alone on a sailboat? Didn’t she realize that sailing with Sam would evoke memories of their time together five years ago, when they’d been on another boat, another sea?

      Or was that one of the reasons Sam had suggested this?

      Those were questions that were better left unanswered, she decided. She took the wheel from Sam, her gaze following him as he went below.

      Like the rest of the personnel who manned the fleet, neither of them was in uniform today. Sam wore a faded T-shirt with a beer logo and a pair of well-worn jeans. To a casual observer he would look like an ordinary man out for a sail.

      No, not an ordinary man. Not with those broad shoulders and rangy muscles. Not with that air of determination around him. To Kate he looked good enough to make her palms sweat.

      She curled her fingers more tightly around the smooth wooden spokes of the wheel and concentrated on keeping the boat on course.

      They were following the eastern shoreline, skirting the edges of several established surveillance grids to verify the effectiveness of the search pattern. So far, they had been spotted by undercover police and Navy personnel at least two times in each grid. From the communications they’d heard on the radio frequency assigned to each area, they had been visually checked out and their progress tracked all morning. It was encouraging. Chambers was bound to make another attempt to leave the island soon, and this time they would be ready.

      Sam was carrying two mugs when he emerged from the cabin. “Here,” he said, holding one out to her. “I thought you might like some coffee.”

      “Thanks.” She took a mug and eyed it cautiously. Sam liked his coffee strong enough for a spoon to stand up in. It had been an ongoing joke between them five years ago. He’d claimed he’d needed the caffeine boost to keep up with her, but they’d both known he hadn’t needed any chemical help. In fact, he used to demonstrate his stamina delightfully each morning within minutes of awakening….

      No, this excursion probably hadn’t been a good idea at all. She took a tentative sip. To her surprise, the coffee was smooth and perfectly brewed. He had even remembered to add a teaspoon of sugar, just the way she liked it. She lifted her eyebrows. “This is good.”

      A corner of his mouth curled in a lopsided smile. “Didn’t think I knew how, did you?”

      “Well, I remember you prefer it stronger. I wasn’t expecting you to, uh…”

      “Compromise?”

      “I didn’t say that.”

      “But you seem surprised each time I do something reasonable.” He tilted his head and regarded her closely. “Why is that, Kate?”

      What could she say? That she believed he was too stubborn to change, too strong-willed to bend to someone else’s point of view?

      Well, she wasn’t wrong. He was still the same man he’d been five years ago. The differences she was noticing lately were minor details. They couldn’t mean anything.

      “Did you hear any news when you checked in?” she asked.

      “Mmm?”

      “On the radio. I couldn’t quite make out what was being said. Any developments?”

      His smile faded. He shook his head. “Not really. Someone in sector three is keeping track of a slow-moving trawler, but other than that there’s nothing.”

      “Chambers can’t stay hidden forever. It’s only a matter of time before she tries to escape the island again.”

      “Yeah.” He looked at his mug for a moment, then drained it in two gulps. “I don’t like waiting.”

      All right, that much hadn’t changed. When Sam had wanted something, he’d always gone after it in a straight-ahead take-charge fashion. Sometimes he’d have her half naked before she could blink. Once they had been about to leave the motel room for dinner when he’d reached out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear. His hand had lingered on her neck, then dropped to her shoulder and eased the strap of her sundress down her arm. The next thing she knew the dress had pooled at her feet and his shirt front was rubbing across her bare breasts.

      They had ordered Chinese take-out later. Much later.

      She sipped her coffee, hoping he didn’t ask why her hand was shaking. “What was your last assignment like?” she asked quickly.

      “A lot dryer than this.”

      “What do you mean?”

      “My team was doing advance reconnaissance.

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