“Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me,” Ben promised and frowned as he stared at her throat. “Is your necklace glowing?”
“What?” Dawn lifted her pendant, and it glowed a soft red. “What the…”
“Where did you get it?” Ben asked, reaching over and taking the teardrop diamond that hung off the end of the white gold chain to examine it.
“Harper gave it to me for my birthday two years ago…” Dawn’s voice trailed off, and she drew in a breath.
“Scott!” They said in unison.
“He put a tracker in my necklace,” Dawn hissed.
“That would explain that,” Ben said, pointing to her left.
Dawn turned to see the Coast Guard zooming toward them.
CHAPTER 12
Liam stood at the bow of the Coast Guard vessel, his eyes fixed on the yacht bobbing ominously on the horizon. His mind raced, piecing together fragments of the chaotic puzzle that had led them here. The salt-laden wind whipped his hair, and the sound of the boat cutting through the ocean waves did little to calm his fraying nerves. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this entire scenario was meticulously orchestrated, from Carl’s mysteriouspoisoningto the sudden revelation of Dawn’s whereabouts. It was too precise, too clean.
As the boat neared the yacht, Wade, with a jagged line of dried blood down his temple from a head wound, lurched to his feet. In a blur of motion, Wade leaped from the Coast Guard vessel to the yacht, propelled by a mix of desperation and fury. Liam followed as soon as he could, his adrenaline surging. But unlike Wade, he was not sure he’d be able to make the leap asconfidently and agilely as Wade had. Instead, Liam had to wait and board the boat with the Coast Guard.
Pushing ahead of the men, Liam’s heart pounded in his chest, mirroring the rhythmic slap of the waves against the hull. He barely set foot on the deck when he saw Wade, like a force of nature, collide with Ben with an impact that resounded through the tense air. They looked like two giants clashing in brutal hand-to-hand combat.
“Wade!” Dawn’s voice was shrill and raw as it cut through the air. “Stop!” She tried pulling them apart.
Liam’s heart nearly pounded right out of his chest when he saw the two men stop and pull apart just far enough for Dawn to jump between the two well-over six-foot angry powerhouses fueled by fury and adrenaline. The instinct to protect her pushed him forward. As he reached them, the phone that one of Scott’s security team had given him rang.
“Get out of my way, Dawn!” Wade hissed through clenched teeth. He looked at Ben. “Hiding behind a woman now, Ben?” He gave a nasty laugh. “Figures.”
“You should know all about that!” Ben volleyed back, his voice dripping with venom. “Oh wait!” he taunted. “You weren’t hiding behind a woman. You were being led around by your nose ring, blinded by a pretty smile and innocent-looking eyes!Hiding a she-devil behind them, who had you playing the patsy for her teenage rebellion.”
“Move, Dawn.” Wade’s shoulders stiffened. His voice was a low growl, dangerous and bristling with fury. “Or so help me, I’ll move you.”
“No!” Dawn’s voice tore through the chaos, raw and desperate.
“Don’t test me, sister!” Wade’s violet eyes clashed with his sister’s.
“No!” Dawn spat, her arms wide, blocking Wade’s advance. Her eyes blazing with a mix of fear and defiance as she refused to move. “That’s enough, Wade.”
Wade cocked his head to the side, glaring at Ben. “What’s the matter, Ben?” His eyes narrowed as he taunted. “Scared? Got no tricks left now that you’ve been caught red-handed?”
He reached over Dawn’s head and shoved at Ben.
“WADE!” Dawn’s voice rose. “Why won’t you just listen? This isn’t like you to just swing first and ask questions later.”
Wade’s eyes, clouded with anger, flickered with hurt. “And you’d know, right?” He turned his full attention to Dawn. “Because you know me so well.”
Ben, wiping a trickle of blood from his chin, laughed bitterly. “Oh, cut the martyr act, Wade. You’re no victim here.”
If steam could really come out of human ears, Liam was sure it would’ve done so from Wade’s at that point. Liam managed to catch up to them, sneak an arm out, and pull Dawn out of the way, feeling the tension spike as the air crackled like a charged storm about to burst.
Liam had no sooner pulled him and Dawn out of harm’s way when Wade lunged at Ben, his fists flying. Ben met him blow for blow, their anger a tangible destructive force. Their cutting slurs hit each other as forcefully as their blows. Their words came out as grunts, punctuated by the impact of fist meeting flesh.
“I trusted you, and this is what you do?” Wade seethed and swung at Ben, who hadn’t moved and had let the first hit land.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,buddy!“ Ben cut back.
The scene that unfolded was chaotic—a tempest of emotions and fists that seemed to blur the lines between victim and aggressor. Liam likened it to a barroom brawl he’d once witnessed, raw and brutal in its honesty.
