Reef’s mouth tugged into a wry half-smile. “I’m the good-looking one.”
Jess snorted, and despite myself, a laugh escaped me too. The sound felt strange in my throat, almost foreign. It hit me then—I hadn’t even thought about that whole scandal with Kai and Reef, the drama that had consumed me just three days ago. Three days. And yet it already felt like it belonged to another lifetime.
“Don’t encourage him,” Trouble cut in, rolling his eyes at Reef. “His ego’s already unbearable.”
That drew another ripple of chuckles, but when it faded, Waylan shifted, his voice low and rough. “Yeah, we’re old timers. Been dealing with smugglers around here fifty years. Back when we were kids, it wasn’t like this. Not so much blood in it.” He spat into the water, eyes gone distant. “The eighties changed all that. Cocaine made it savage. Different breed of men, different rules.”
His jaw tightened, words cutting sharper. “I still remember when it changed. Not far from this dock, hearing the cigarette boats roar through at dawn, loaded with bricks of coke. Sometimes they dumped bodies with the cargo. That was a whole new era. Only got worse from there.” He shook his head, lamenting. “That’s why we need to keep those scoundrels out of the Keys. I’m damned glad that dirty DEA agent’s out of commission. One less snake in our backyard.”
The others took his words in with the gravity they deserved. Beside me, though, Jess’s face held the faintly puzzled look of someone who’d walked into the middle of a conversation without a clue what had come before.
The silence stretched until Trevor clapped his hands together. “Well,” he said, forcing a grin, “I could go raid Dad’s stash and get into the good whiskey. Anybody up for that?”
The suggestion loosened the tension. Reef perked up immediately, Coulter was already nodding, and Spencer gave a long-suffering sigh that said he’d allow it.
Before anyone could rope us in, Kai’s voice cut through. “We’re heading out.”
Just like that. Calm. Steady. Decisive. And God help me, I loved it.
We said our quick goodbyes, promises of catching up later tossed over shoulders as the others started toward the house and the lure of whiskey.
As Kai and I turned toward the car with Jess at my side, Faith’s voice carried after us across the dock. “You did the right thing. All along.”
Her words stopped me mid-step, a rush of gratitude catching in my chest. She was letting me off the hook—acknowledging without spelling it out that she understood why we’d kept the secret as long as we had, and that it was okay. But there was more in it too, something layered, almost protective. Not just a detective doing her job. A woman who knew what it meant to carry something heavy and live with the silence it demanded.
I glanced back, and for a brief second our eyes met. No more needed to be said.
CHAPTER 32
KAI
As we approached Jasmine’s car, I squeezed her hand. “I’ll leave the Jeep here and go with you?”
Relief washed over her face. “Yes, please. You drive.” She pulled the keys out and passed them to me. Jess nudged Jasmine’s shoulder with hers, joking about being the third wheel, even offering to be dropped at a bar so we could have alone time. The contrast made me glance over at her—she was bubbling energy and newly-engaged glow, and it struck me how different that was from the shadows we’d just left behind at the tiki. For a second, the two worlds felt like they didn’t quite fit together.
“You’re not going anywhere,” I said, steady but firm, before Jasmine could answer. “You’ve got an early flight, and the couch at the bungalow’s yours. We’re not sending you off on your own at this hour—especially not in that dress.”
She arched a brow, glanced down at her sundress, then back at me with a wry smile. “That’s sweet, but I really could use a drink.”
I couldn’t help but grin. “Then you’re in luck. I happen to know there’s a great bottle of pinot noir waiting back at the bungalow—because I bought it.”
Jess laughed and let it go, climbing into the back seat. Jasmine gave me a look that made my chest feel full, like she was trying not to swoon. She actually wobbled on her feet a little when she got into the car, catching herself on the door.
We pulled onto the highway. For a while, the only sound was the tires humming against the asphalt. Then Jess leaned forward between the seats. I could see her eyes sparking in the rearview mirror.
“So what’s it like, having a twin?”
“Never dull,” I said with a low chuckle. “Reef and I kept each other on our toes. But I grew up with four brothers—one just happened to be the exact same age. Not much difference, really.”
“Except looking exactly alike?” she giggled. “I noticed you all look a lot alike though.”
“Yeah, just like our dad. Ava looks like Mom.”
Jess smiled as she pressed. “But with an identical twin, did people confuse you two all the time growing up?”
“They still do,” I said, cutting a quick sideways glance at Jasmine.
She drew in a sharp breath, shifting in her seat. The reminder of that secret hovered, prickling the air.
