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“So, I found Tillman’s calendar and he has a meeting scheduled for today. I’ve already updated Pharaoh and he wants you to follow Tillman to the meeting place and see if you can sneak onboard and get some intel.”
“Onboard?” He rubbed a palm against his eyes.
“It’s happening on a yacht just off the coast. In two hours.”
“Who’s he meeting?”
“Believe it or not, under notes, he wrote T.A. So we figure it’s either The Agency or he’s scheduled in some tits and ass. Dude has a very limited sense of caution when it comes to his calendar.”
“Fuck,” Ryland murmured, sitting up. “Send me the details.”
“Already on it.”
“Thanks, Banshee. I’ll report to Pharaoh afterward.”
“Roger that.”
Ryland disconnected the call, scrubbed a hand over his stubbled jaw and glanced down at Harper who blinked up at him with sleepy eyes.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Tillman has a meeting on a yacht in two hours with someone associated with The Agency, and I’m going in to see what I can find out.”
Harper popped up, clutching the sheet to her chest. “I’m going with you.”
Her voice was firm and Ryland didn’t have time to argue with her. Besides, it was just a little bit of recon. Nothing too dangerous. And he’d make sure she stayed far enough away from the yacht to be recognized. It also wouldn’t hurt to have an extra set of hands and eyes just in case. “We’re going to need a boat. I’m not exactly sure how this is going to go down, but I won’t turn down a sexy get-away boat operator.”
“You’ve got it,” she assured him.
Damn, she was fearless. Ryland grabbed her face and kissed her hard. “We leave in fifteen minutes.”
They got ready quickly and Ryland made sure he had everything he needed in the small waterproof backpack he’d brought along. Since it was still so early and the boat rental places were closed, he and Harper made their way down to the dock where all sorts of water equipment, from small motorboats to wave runners to kayaks, waited for resort guests to use.
Since they couldn’t rent, they’d have to borrow.
Slipping around the closed rental shack and ducking out of sight, Ryland pulled his picking tools out of a cargo pants pocket and got to work.
“You’re a man of many talents, aren’t you?” Harper murmured, blocking him from view and keeping a lookout.
As he worked the lock, he said, “You have no idea, sweetheart.”
“They teach you how to pick locks in SEAL training?”
“Nope. That would be courtesy of my mom.”
“Your mom?” Harper echoed.
Click.The door opened and Ryland motioned for her to follow him inside. “Long story better saved for later.” He had no idea what possessed him to spill that little tidbit, but he was glad he did. Maybe confiding in her about Addie and his mom would help because keeping it all bottled up wasn’t doing him any good.
Ryland walked straight over to a pegboard covered in hanging keys and plucked one off that belonged to a motorboat. Key in hand, they left the rental shack and walked down to the boats bobbing up and down in the waves. Acting as if they belonged there. Confidence was key and, lucky for Ryland, he had a lot of it.
“That one,” he said and pointed to a boat that matched the number on the key. After helping Harper step inside, he jumped aboard, untied the ropes that secured it to the dock and started the motor. Then he consulted the GPS on his large watch, turned them in the right direction and hit the throttle.
Since it was still early, there wasn’t a ton of traffic on the water. Bouncing over the waves, Ryland snuck a glance at Harper as he gave her a quick rundown on how the boat operated, and his heart skipped a beat. The angle of the sun highlighted her perfectly, creating an ethereal halo effect around her beautiful face. His gaze dropped to briefly admire the rest of her, and he thought she looked like some kind of enchanting sea temptress. A siren or mermaid maybe. Damn, those short shorts of hers would be his undoing.
Dragging his attention back to the GPS, he followed it until a yacht came into view.
“There it is!” Harper pointed to the multi-million-dollar behemoth anchored in the distance. “Wow.”
