Page 57 of Exposed
Dylan’s set up of three computers and all kinds of other shit, including two days’ worth of room service plates, was on the dining room table. Moments ago, Carlos’s sharp accusations had rung through the air and Nate had been on his feet.
Pain shot through his chest, numbing his arms. In seconds, Carlos could have put a bullet in Maddie’s head and thrown her over the balcony with no one the wiser.
Bang, bang, bang!
Nate’s eyes flew to the solid wood door behind Dylan’s back. His stomach lodged in his throat and his gaze sharpened on Dylan’s face. Shit. He strained his ears to listen to the computers, silence hung in the air. Was it Maddie? Had she fled down here in search of him?
Dylan’s jaw worked and his temper flared. “Get back,” he growled, his voice hoarse.
Nate didn’t budge.
Dylan turned and lowered his eye to the peephole as the door bounced with another insistent knock.
“It’s Ashley.” The tension eased out of Dylan’s voice and Nate moved so he could let her in. Her eyes went from Dylan’s pinched face and landed on Nate. A frown creased her smooth brow.
“What’s going on? Are you two fighting again?” She shut the door behind her and planted her fists on her hips. Nate watched Dylan’s eyes lower to the slim indent of her waist. Damn, he’d never thought two people could have it as bad as him and Maddie.
“I lost Maddie and have been trying to get ahold of you guys. You know it’s not safe for me to come down here. What happened?”
Nate groaned and crossed his arms over his chest. Shit. He’d taken his earpiece out when he’d gotten into Dylan’s suite, not thinking that Ashley would be out of the loop. She was right, coming down here was risky. Hell, he shouldn’t even be here. The plan had been for Nate and Ashley to arrive as a couple and Dylan on his own. That way if Dylan’s cover got compromised, Nate and Ashley would go unnoticed, and vice versa. If the three of them were spotted together and one went down, they all would.
“The shit hit the fan, that’s what happened.”
Ashley’s eyebrows shot up and her hand rested on her chest. Her lips parted and she looked at Dylan, her eyes wide.
Dylan cleared his throat and locked his eyes on Ashley’s. God, he was sunk. He’d have to have a talk with his friend about biting the bullet with Ashley. She didn’t give too much away, but Nate had noticed a few lust-filled, brown-eyed stares from her. He was certain nothing had started between them yet; too much tension arced in the air between them.
Voices started up again at the computers and Nate strode over to the table to listen as Dylan spoke. It wouldn’t do him any good to go storming in to Carlos’s suite if by some miracle things had smoothed over.
“Carlos called Maddie to their suite. He got ahold of the surveillance tape of Maddie kicking Tony’s ass in the parking lot at the club,” Dylan explained.
Ashley gasped. “Shit. That’s not good. What did he say?” She reached around and pulled her hair out of the bun at the top of her head. Her raven hair fell in a wild curtain down her back and Dylan let out a stammer.
“He–uh–he’s…”
Nate wanted to cross the room and slap the stupid out of Dylan. He couldn’t even pretend to be unaffected by Ashley.
Maddie’s voice carried over the speaker, “It hurts that you don’t trust me.”
“Shh!” Nate barked.
He pressed his palms into the table and stared at the control panel on the screen. Damn he wished they had been able to secure a camera in the room. Most cruise lines had paper-thin walls and setting up a camera would have been a breeze. In a ship as luxurious as this, soundproofing was a top priority. Steel walls separated each suite, making drilling and threading a cord impossible.
Three tiny gnats flitted from a plate of dried gravy and landed on an empty glass of beer. Nate’s lip curled as he swatted them away. Dylan would never land Ashley if he continued to be such a slob.
The speaker monitoring the master bedroom kicked on and the door slammed. Dylan had each bug hooked up to a different computer so it would be easier to tell which room they were in. The other computer speaker crackled on and Hector’s voice reached his ears.
“She’s lying. I’m not right about everything, but I’m right about this.” Desperation laced his words.
“Did you corner her in the bathroom?” Menace filled Carlos’s voice and he enunciated each word as if through gritted teeth. A beat passed.
“Yeah, but only because I knew I could get her to confess.”
“I told you, I had her checked out months ago. She was clean.”
“What if she’s not? What if she’s undercover? Ricky wouldn’t possibly be able to tell that.”
Silence strung through the air and Nate leaned forward, his pulse tripped.
