Page 24 of Too Broken to Love

“Yes, but something’s off. He never goes near the water. Either someone superimposed him onto a boat, or he’s on it unwillingly. Either way, I think he’s in Belmarva. See the plane behind him pulling the banner about the tournament? I saw it flying yesterday morning.”

“We need to go. The police are meeting us at your house.”

She nodded, her breathing leveling out to a steady cadence. Her focus on him was steady too, not darting around for an escape route.

Good.

Grabbing her hand, he led her toward the boardwalk. “Nice work back there getting away from him. Whatever you said must have been quite the distraction.”

“I told him you were my ex and asked him to help make you jealous. Then I touched his crotch when I lifted the gun.”

“Shit. Tessa.” The snark she’d injected into the story didn’t hide how desperate she’d been. “I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner to stop that scumbag.”

“But you did. I appreciate that more than you know.”

The sincerity in her voice carried over the shriek of the seagulls. Swiveling his head, he searched for threats. He didn’t detect any on the empty boardwalk, but that didn’t mean whoever wanted Tessa wasn’t watching. “Did the scumbag look familiar? Maybe an old friend of Frank’s?”

“No. He wasn’t anyone Frank knew. He was shady, like all of Frank’s associates, but this guy’s look was too…clean. And he didn’t smell like alcohol or cigarettes. He smelled like⁠—”

She pressed her palm to her forehead. A tight exhale slipped out. “I can’t believe I forgot to mention this earlier. Lia and I went to that new bakery by the jetty. The owner is from Belize. His accent reminded me of the fake agent. And he smelled a little like the fry jacks I had from there.”

The Belize link between Frank and Tessa’s almost abductor kicked up Hudson’s pulse. “Anything else you remember about the scumbag?”

“Not that I can think of, but we’re calling him Fry Jack from now on since the fried pastry that tasted like heaven is ruined forever.”

Hudson snapped a photo of Frank’s picture and sent it to the General.

Tessa peered at his phone. “Did you send that to the police?”

“Someone better. When we meet with the cops, what should we tell them to do with the bass Pop caught yesterday?”

“I think we should give it to his buddies for bait. Kind of like ashes to ashes, but fish to fish, if that makes sense. I think Sam would like that.”

“Me too.” He waited for the flicker of jealousy to hit—the kind that flared when she knew intimate things about Pop—but it didn’t.

Placing his hand on the small of her back, he guided her around a nail sticking up from a board. Tripping would be a minor nuisance considering she was almost abducted, but he’d been trained to identify problems and deal with them.

And Tessa McVie was a sweet-smelling, smart, and talented problem he couldn’t help touching, even if her questionable skills unearthed a mountain of questions.

They walked a half block in silence, Hudson keeping her close enough to shield her if any other threats emerged.

She kicked at a seashell. “Hudson, why do you think Sam didn’t tell you everything about me?”

The uncertainty in her voice grated like sand against skin. “Malcolm and I were talking about that on the way here.” He held out his palm. “See that scar? It’s the booby prize from a date Pop set me up on. She lied about liking fishing. About liking boats. Lied about everything.”

“What happened?”

“I caught a cobia. It swallowed the hook. As I was prying it out, my date stood up to whine about how ugly the fish was just as a wave hit. She toppled into me and I lost my balance. We didn’t go overboard but the fish did, and I wound up with pliers stuck in my hand.”

“Cobias are not ugly. Do they really fight as hard as sharks?”

“Yes.” He extended his hands well beyond shoulder length. “It was this big. Thick and gorgeous.”

But not as gorgeous as Tessa’s wide eyes cresting with excitement.

“Too bad your date didn’t go overboard instead.” Tessa took his hand and traced the scar on his palm with her fingertip. “Did you tell Sam never to set you up again?”

He guided her to the edge of a lawn to let a woman and her dog pass by. “Yes, and he didn’t try it again. At least I didn’t think he did until⁠—"