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“Hard to tell right away, right? It was only thanks to one of the men who was able to spot that the logo was off that I even noticed it. I gave the real Coast Guard a call, but the boat was long gone before they showed up.”
I tossed the pictures onto my desk, sitting back and weaving my hands together over my middle.
“So, we’ve got a boat impersonating the Coast Guard, trying to get close enough to scope us out.”
“That’s right. You thinking what I’m thinking?”
I let out a snort. “Marone.” The name hung in the air like a bad smell as I thought the matter over. “Alright. First of all, who was the staff member that spotted the boat?”
“Esteban.”
“Give him a thousand dollar bonus. That’s the kind of work I want to see rewarded.”
“Consider it done.”
I tapped the desk in consideration. “No doubt Marone’s scoping us out. I had a feeling he was going to pull something. Just didn’t think he’d do it so soon.”
“The girl?” Roberto asked. “You think she’s in on it?”
“My gut says no.” I glanced out the window for a long moment before turning my attention back to Roberto. “What’s your take on this?”
“Someone’s doing recon—of that I have no doubt. And they likely already have the information they were looking for. My suggestion is to make that information useless.”
“How do you mean?”
“I know a crew of five trustworthy security agents on St. Thomas. You give the word and I’ll have them here before the day’s out. We might not be able to stop Marone from tryinganything, but we can sure as hell have a surprise waiting for him if he does.”
“Make it happen. Find out their rate and pay them that plus twenty percent. I want them here and eager to work.”
“You got it,jefe. And is there anything you want me to do about the girl? We’re going to be keeping a team close, especially if she goes to the beach or on a walk.”
“Do that. But give her as much space as you can. I don’t want her to feel like a prisoner.”
Roberto nodded. “Sure thing.” A small, knowing smirk appeared on his face. Roberto was the picture of professionalism, but now and then he’d let his more human side show. “Have to admit,jefe, I’m a little surprised that you’re not volunteering for personal bodyguard duty.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
He chuckled. “Just saying, couldn’t help but notice the tension between you two.”
I pursed my lips for a moment. “Let’s focus on the task at hand, Roberto.”
He laughed, rising from his seat and taking the folder off the desk. “I’ll take that as me being on the mark. Don’t worry—secret’s safe with me. That is, if you’re planning on keeping it a secret.”
Roberto chuckled, leaning forward and giving my desk a tap as he prepared to leave.
“I’ll keep you posted on any changes.”
I nodded, not saying a word as he turned to leave, shutting the door behind him. I sat in silence for a time once Roberto was gone. It wasn’t that I was upset that he’d pointed out the tension between Emily and me. Roberto and I had that kind of friendship—not to mention that it was his job to notice such things.
No. The issue was that I wasn’t keeping my feelings in check. It’d been not even two days since Emily and I had met and I was already letting too much slip. The worst part was thatIwasn’t even sure how I felt. She was stunning, sure, but what else was there?
I spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening in the office taking care of New York work matters, only breaking to spend a little time in the gym. Pearl brought my dinner to me in my office, as she so often did, and I quickly polished off my braised short ribs with my eyes on my computer monitor.
“You know,” Pearl had said when dropping off my food, “there’s a whole gorgeous dining room down there that doesn’t ever seem to get used. Hell, I’d be happy with you taking dinner in the nook even, instead of wolfing it down while working.”
I chuckled. “Nooks are a luxury that I don’t have time for. How’s our new guest?”
“Settling in nicely. And she’s already thick as thieves with Marianne.”
