Page 13 of Beachcomber Enemy

“I’ll need a disguise too. An old woman should do it.”

Madeline nodded.

“You’ll be recognizable to Whitey Nash no matter what you do. If he sees you it could jeopardize Sassy’s life. If he has her, he’s only holding her, keeping her alive to entice you back if you survived,” Dane said.

“You don’t know that,” she said. He saw the doubt creep into her eyes.

“Why else would he take Sassy?”

“We haven’t confirmed that Whitey has Sassy yet.”

“And when we do?”

“Then it’s all the more reason for me to go back to the island with you. To rescue her and to get him.”

She stared at him, daring him to disagree, so he did.

“I’ll take Joe with me,” Dane said. Then he took a deep breath and added, “You stay here.”

“No. F—cking. Way.” Green eyes flashed fire as if she were a dragon lady. Normally Dane would have backed down by now. But not this time. Not when she was the target and the guy was certifiable. Not to mention determined. Whitey had already come all the way from Australia to track her down. If it was him.

They really needed to confirm.

Meeting her gaze with a rock-hard stare, he sent his message and then went to the governor’s computer. Tapping the keyboard, he brought up the photos of Whitey, several recent quality photos, and printed them in living color.

“What the hell are you doing?” She didn’t move from her spot. He could hear the hissing anger, the heat of pride and outrage in her voice. No need to turn his head to look at her. He heard Madeline murmur a few things and then she and Shana left the room.

“What the hell are you doing?” Peter asked mildly. Dane looked up and the governor was eyeing the assault Dane had made on his desk, the papers flipping from the printer.

“There’s only one advantage Shana can claim that gives her a right to go back to that island.”

Peter nodded. Joe kept his face passive.

“She may know what the man looks like, intimately, but so will we.” He snatched the papers from the printer and handed copies to Peter and Joe.

“We need to study these and any other photos we can of him after his . . . injury. There are several clear shots of him shortly before he was released. At least that was one precaution the prison took before their inexplicable attack of insanity when they let him go.”

“On that—why do you suppose they released Whitey?” Peter said. “If it were me, and he came up for pardon, I wouldn’t do it. He’s guilty of violent crimes against children. That’s what’s known as unpardonable crimes in this business. The world over. What could possibly have gone wrong?”

“I suspect he either had something on the prison, or the warden. Or maybe he had a good lawyer who found some technical glitch with his trial.” Dane didn’t have time to track that intel down, but it could prove useful. If this Whitey character was connected or had someone watching his back, Dane wanted to know about it. Because he intended to execute the man and he intended to get away with it. With as little hassle as possible.

“I’ll look into it,” Peter said.

“When do you want to leave?” Joe asked.

“I have some advice for you on that,” Peter said. “There’s one more thing you’ll need before you go back to the Vineyard.”

“What?” Dane asked, though he had a feeling he wasn’t going to like the answer.

“You need some rest. It’s still early in the day. Why don’t you sleep while I take care of the press conference and funeral arrangements with Cap. You can leave in the dead of night.” Peter looked at Joe and Joe nodded.

“Fine. But I leave with Joe and without Shana. You don’t tell her. As far as she’s concerned, we’re leaving in the morning.” Dane waited for Peter to agree.

Peter let out a deep sigh.

“I understand where you’re coming from, I really do. But I don’t envy you.” He paused, then nodded. “We’ll do it your way. But,” he gave a warning look, “Shana is not my prisoner. I can’t keep her here against her will—check that—I can, but I won’t.”

“Copy that.” What else could Dane say? Peter was right. She was bound to follow him and he couldn’t ask or expect Peter to try to stop her.