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“I can get you the names, but we only have two days,” she said.
“We’ll get this together in no time. I’d like to talk to the cops about setting up a sting and having Carlos arrested for trying to blackmail you.”
Jen sat back against the seat and glanced over at Nate. “What do you think about that?”
“I think it’s brilliant. It will shut Carlos up and get your good name back.”
“That’s my thought,” Justin said. “Once Cam gets here I want to see if he agrees to us using the club for the setup. We can control it a lot more if he does it in the club.”
“Control what?” Jen asked.
“Who is there to witness him threatening you,” Justin said.
“Who is threatening Jen?” Cam asked as he walked down toward them.
“Carlos Antonio. And he’s threatened the club as well,” Justin said. “I’ll catch you up on what I’ve learned.”
“Walk with me,” Cam said. “It’s been a long night and I need a drink… Nate, you don’t mind if I help myself, do you?”
“Not at all,” Nate said.
His brothers disappeared into the galley and she turned to face Nate. “Thank you for doing this for me.”
“You’re welcome. I didn’t like that guy from the moment I met him,” Nate said. “Why not?”
“He just seems too slick.”
“He is that,” Jen said. “Not at all like you. I think I thought he was this older chivalrous guy and all the time he was playing me.”
“I’m not playing you,” Nate said.
“I figured that out in your office,” she said. “I’m not playing you, either.”
Eleven
Jen wasn’t really sure what to say once she was alone with Nate. His brothers had left after working out a rough plan that involved her calling Carlos to the club in the morning. Now it was a little after two a.m. and Nate showed no signs of being tired.
He was wound up and raring to go. Looking for a fight but not with her, for her. The times in her life when she’d needed someone on her side had been rare and she’d always had Marcia, but this was the first time she’d relied on someone who wasn’t related to her by blood.
She wanted to pretend that was no big deal and that having Nate on her side didn’t mean the world to her. But it did. It meant more than she wanted it to.
“Do you want to spend the night here on the boat or should I take you home?”
“I’d like to stay with you tonight,” she said.
“I’d like that, too. Did you call your sister and let her know what was going on?” Nate asked as he handed her another glass of wine.
“No. I don’t want to upset her in the middle of the night. I did text her to let her know where I am, though.”
“My brothers would be pissed if I didn’t tell them what was going on,” Nate said.
“She will be, too, but she can’t do anything right now and I know she needs a good night’s sleep. She’s going up against Riley’s father in court tomorrow.”
“He’s a lawyer?”
“Yes. And each time she faces him, it’s important to her that she does her best and wins as much as she can.”
Nate shook his head. “I get that. Must make it hard on her to see him all the time.”
Jen nodded. “The worst part is he still wants to be with her. He just doesn’t want to be a dad. Can you imagine that?”
“No, I can’t,” Nate said.
“Have you heard back from Hutch about the anniversary party?”
“Yes, he’s coming in this weekend and you’ll have a chance to meet him and work with him.”
“I have a few ideas that I think he’ll like. I’ve been listening to his music on my iPod.”
“I know. We don’t have to talk about the club,” Nate said.
“Sorry. I just want to make sure you know that all the help you and your brothers are giving me, it’s not wasted.”
Nate pulled her close to him and kissed the top of her head. “I already knew that.”
“This has been the strangest day. I never thought that Carlos would act like that.”
Nate took another sip of his wine and moved around on the bench until he was stretched out lengthwise, and then pulled her close to the side of his body. “Comfy?”
“Yes.”
“Good. It’s hard to say how someone will react. I had the same thing happen with Daisy.”
She tipped her head up to look at him. The night sky was beautiful, clear and filled with stars. The half moon was moving toward the west but the night was still nice. After the turmoil brought on by Carlos, this was exactly what she needed.
