Page 74 of Lost Truth
“I’m not sure my skills are all that impressive, but you all definitely have defined roles in the group.”
“Hmm.” Gabe tapped his chin and a snarky grin crossed his face. “Now what should we call you?”
“Me?” She stared at him. “I don’t need a nickname.”
“Humor me,” he said, and turned back to his binoculars. “It’ll help pass the time until Collins shows up.”
“You don’t seem to miss a thing so how about Eagle Eye?” Hayden asked.
“That might work,” Gabe said, not sounding all that impressed. “At least it’s a starter.”
Hayden glanced back at her. “What do you want us to call you?”
“Oh no.” Gabe shook his head. “No. No. No. You don’t give yourself a nickname. I like Snoop.”
“Snoop!” she cried out in her defense. “That sounds negative.”
“Sorry, but I like it too.” Hayden grinned at her in the rearview mirror. “Not that I think you’re a snoop in the rest of your life, but I like the sound of it, and it is kind of what reporters do.”
“I suppose,” she admitted reluctantly.
“Then Snoop it is.” Gabe laughed.
She opened her mouth to argue, but a truck entered the parking lot and all joking stopped. The three of them watched the oversized silver pickup pull into a parking space near the marina entrance.
Cady held her breath and inspected the driver through her binoculars. Thankfully, she’d seen Collins at Palmer’s place and could easily recognize him—if he was in the truck, that is, since he hadn’t driven a pickup to Palmer’s house.
The door groaned open, and a man slid down.
“That’s Collins,” Hayden said, then leaned forward. “This is Maverick. We have eyes on suspect in west parking lot. Repeat, we have eyes on suspect. Hold positions until further notified. Over.”
Collins’s boots hit the ground with a thump. He remained stationary, casting cautious glances around. It gave Cady time to give him a good once-over. He had a thickset body, bordering on overweight, and was average height. He didn’t have much of a chin, and his face was pudgy and soft. Definitely not the strong masculine type she would expect in such a devious position.
She was looking at Wade Collins. Not her father’s killer, but someone who worked for the man who’d arranged and carried out his murder. For all she knew, he’d been told of the plan to kill him and did nothing to stop it. But if he wasn’t guilty of that, he had human trafficking charges waiting for him.
He shoved his keys into his pocket and slammed the truck door, then trudged toward the marina entrance. He wore all black clothing, including a black baseball cap, his hand resting on top, likely due to the increasing wind.
With a key card, he opened the main gate and pulled it closed behind him. He paused. Turned. Looked around. Stood unmoving.
Apparently satisfied he was alone, he strode down the dock, his quick pace sending the structure bouncing. He climbed aboard his boat, his movements sure and swift.
He quickly scaled the steps to the top deck where he scanned the area again and remained in position for a long moment. He shrugged and unlocked the door before ducking into the cabin featuring large windows on the sides.
“He’s headed straight for the helm,” Gabe said. “He’ll probably take off, and we should move now before we lose him.”
Hayden glanced at his watch. “It’s still early. He already wanted to bail on the night. If we act too soon we’ll spook him, and that won’t do us any good. But now that he’s here, those of us who are going to tail him on the water should move to Sawyer’s boat.”
“Oh yeah!” Gabe grabbed the door handle and nearly threw himself out of the vehicle.
Hayden leaned forward. “Top Dog, this is Maverick. Are you prepared to rendezvous? Over.”
Hayden tilted his head, obviously listening to Nolan’s response.
“Roger, that, Top Dog. Over.” He repeated the question to Riddler and once again listened.
Hayden swiveled to look back at Cady. “The others will meet us here. Reece, Abby, and Jude will join Gabe and me in the boat. You’ll stay back with Nolan.”
“Wait, what?” She stared at him. “I thought I was going with you.”
“No.”
Just one word, but it had a finality to it, and she knew she couldn’t possibly change his mind. She should appreciate having a man so concerned for her safety. She’d never had that in the past. Sure, her father probably worried about her when she lived in the big city and at times handled controversial subjects for her reporting, but he’d never expressed concern.
She didn’t think she would actually like it, but knowing a fine man like Hayden cared that much about her warmed her heart in ways she never expected.
Ah, yes. She was falling in love with him, wasn’t she? She had a lot of soul-searching to do to figure out what she wanted in her future. But first, she would have to ask what he wanted because he’d told her he didn’t want a relationship.
The other team members pulled into parking spaces near the team SUV and got out. Now, she needed to put all her effort into praying for the safety of these fine men and women while they headed toward a potential showdown with dangerous criminals.
