Page 40 of Forged in Secrets

As for the rest of what he’d just said, he’d just have to figure things out. The list of reasons why he should stay away from her hadn’t changed, but he couldn’t deny that he wanted to find a loophole.

“Anyway,” Grace said, disrupting his thought as she gestured toward the monitor. “Let’s see what we’ve got.”

He drew a few deep breaths as he settled back in front of the screen, clicking away a couple of warnings about the laptop’s waning battery life. He had time to figure out his feelings for Grace. But Katie Fairman needed him to be focused right now. Every passing hour counted.

“The moment of truth,” he said, only half joking as he pulled up the reconstructed video, letting it play at half-speed.

“Whoa,” Grace said.

The images weren’t perfect, but they were good enough.

The key fob was clear now. He could see a little picture of an anchor, followed by two lines of text.

Ocean Rodeo Marina

Slip #118

CHAPTER

FIFTEEN

BEN

The Ocean Rodeo Marina was even busier than Ben had expected.

Since the place was on the opposite side of the island from their hotel, they’d decided to drive there, but the only parking space he could find was a good fifteen minute walk away.

At least he had a good excuse to hold Grace’s hand as they fought their way through the thick crowd of college students that surrounded the marina’s signature restaurant.

He could hardly see the rows of sailboats, yachts, and fishing boats through the throngs of people, but he could imagine how gorgeous the view must have been during the off season.

The smell of seafood wafted through the air, and even though dinnertime was still a few hours off, Ben wished they had time to grab something to go.

“Okay, we seriously need to eat here at some point,”Grace said, seeming to read his mind. She paused for a moment, resting her weight against the large statue of a dolphin that sat out front. “Also, once we find Katie, I demand we take a dolphin watching tour.”

“It’s a date,” Ben said, surprised at just how natural the words felt.

Ever since that kiss–or maybe even since that first night on the beach–he couldn’t seem to get his head right. Things were moving forward, sure, but he couldn’t help but to worry about the blowback that would surely come.

What if he screwed this up, and he lost Grace even as a friend?

Not to mention the fact that if things fell apart between them, it might very well be too awkward to continue working together.

He shuddered internally at the thought of Gabe’s potential reaction.

Though Ben tried to act tough, the truth was, his oldest brother scared even him. And if he made them lose their office manager, there was no telling how furious Gabe would be.

“Look. I see the sign we want. Numbers 85 thru 125.”

“Hmm?” he said, not exactly comprehending Grace’s words.

Seriously, he didn’t have time for talk of romantic boat rides to see dolphins frolicking in the sunlight–something he probably would have said was lame had anyone but Grace suggested it. For him and his brothers, the op came first. Always.

On the other hand, when they found Katie and left this island, the reality of the hole he was digging for himself would hit. He couldn’t win.

“The slip numbers, dummy,” Grace said, giving him an affectionate punch on the arm. “Come on. Let’s find 118.”

He followed her toward the water, where fortunately the crowd had thinned somewhat, probably because there was no beer being served in the immediate vicinity.

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