Page 63 of Honor ’N’ Duty

The only sounds were their harsh breathing and the gently lapping water against their bodies. If it weren’t for the water’s buoyancy, he would have fallen to his knees and drowned. Although he already was drowning.

In her.

Laia pulled his head down and fastened her lips on his. They remained that way for several seconds longer. Her breath was his. His breath was hers.

“Wow.” She laughed softly.

“Yeah. Wow.” He chuckled, remembering Jamie’s offer for them to take the boat out. “No need for a boat.”

Laia snapped her head up. “Oh my God!”

“What is it? What’s wrong?” He turned them, twisting his head in every direction. If he’d missed a threat and Laia got hurt because he’d been so crazed by his need for her, he’d never forgive himself.

“The boat!”

“Where?” He kept looking around them but didn’t hear an engine and didn’t see anything.

“No, not here.” She clasped his face. “Josh did leave us something.”

“What?”

“The dinghy. Rosa’s dinghy.”

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.