Arresting Developments. Lena Diaz

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СКАЧАТЬ but was now going to be his friend’s new home. Unless Dex could talk him out of it.

      “Hold it,” Jake said. “What do you mean ‘this’ swamp? Aren’t you still in north Florida?”

      “I was. But then you called last week to tell me that you and the former target of our first and only case were an item and that you were quitting. I left my billion-dollar enterprise on the brink of ruin with people I barely trust so I could talk you out of this foolishness.”

      Jake snorted. “Don’t give me that. Lassiter Enterprises runs so smoothly no one will even notice that you’re gone. More than likely, you’re using me as an excuse to hide from the latest girlfriend you dumped. Who is it this time? That intellectual property rights attorney you introduced me to last Christmas? Didn’t you date her for several months? I thought you two were getting serious. Veronica something-or-other?”

      “You wound me deeply to imply that I would use our friendship as an excuse to avoid my commitment issues.”

      “Uh-huh. What’s the name of the woman you’re running from this time?”

      “Mallory. I think she wants to kill me.”

      “They usually do. Dex? Exactly where are you?”

      He tapped the touch screen of the GPS navigation system. “Good question. My state-of-the-art airplane isn’t acting so state-of-the-art right now. It’s blinking like a caution light on steroids.” The screen went dark. “What the...?” He rapped the glass with his fist.

      “Tell me you aren’t flying over Mystic Glades,” Jake said.

      Dex looked out the side window. “As a matter of fact, I think I am. And it doesn’t look any better from up here than I thought it would. I count fifteen, maybe twenty ramshackle wooden buildings down one long dirt road. Looks like something out of the Old West, or a ghost town, or both. Where are the houses? Where are the cars? Heck, where’s the town? Is that all there is?”

      “It’s bigger than it looks. There are side roads hidden under the tree canopies. It’s fairly spread out. And most of the townspeople use canoes or ATVs to get around more than they use cars. But I’m pretty sure I’ve told you most of that already. Do you even remember our last call? The one where I said I was getting married?”

      “I remember that part. It was right before you said ‘I quit.’” He pressed the stick, nosing the plane lower while pulling up on the throttle to reduce air speed for another circle. “This place is in the middle of nowhere—as in no bars, no nightclubs, probably no satellite service. How are you going to keep up with football season out here? I-75 or Alligator Alley or whatever the locals call it is the closest thing resembling civilization, but that’s miles away. Tell me what it is about this place that you find so appealing, ’cause I’m sure not seeing it.”

      “I didn’t catch everything you said. The cell service near Mystic Glades is unpredictable at best. But I can tell you the town has a way of growing on you. About me getting married—I may have...”

      The phone went silent. Dex pulled it back to look at it. The call still showed active. He put the phone back to his ear. “Jake?”

      “Still here. Can you hear me?”

      “I can now. Hang on a sec.” He thumped the instrument panel again, but it remained dark, useless. Thankfully, it was a clear summer day with good visibility. But he was going to raise hell with the manufacturer when he got home. The plane was just a few months out of its shiny new wrapping and still had that new-plane smell. It shouldn’t have had any issues, let alone a full instrumentation meltdown. He shook his head in disgust. Maybe he should get into the airplane manufacturing business instead of high finance and investing in other people’s ventures. He could teach those yahoos a thing or two about quality standards.

      “Dex?”

      “Yeah. You said something about getting engaged?”

      “Uh, about that. We decided on a very short engagement. We’re already married.”

      Dex noisily tapped the side of the phone. “This thing must be messing up again because it sounded like you said you already got hitched. Without inviting me to the ceremony. Which means you can kiss the shamelessly extravagant gift I would have gotten you goodbye. Wait...when did you get married?”

      “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. We did the deed yesterday. We’re in the Bahamas for the next two weeks. Freddie—Faye’s friend, the one who owns Callahan’s Watering Hole—gave us the trip as a wedding present.”

      Dex shook his head and sent the plane into a turn, heading in what he believed was a southwesterly direction toward Naples Municipal Airport. He’d rather head straight home to Saint Augustine, but he couldn’t risk flying that far with a dead instrument panel. “Looks like this was a wasted trip.”

      “Sorry, man. I had no idea you’d fly out there without telling me first.”

      “Honestly, I didn’t, either. But when I complained about you quitting our little business experiment, my assistant encouraged me to surprise you. He insisted it would be good for me to get away. And I figured I might be able to talk you out of a big mistake. Guess I should have come sooner.”

      “Marrying Faye wasn’t a mistake,” Jake bit out, sounding aggravated.

      “Okay, okay. Sorry. I will graciously admit defeat. I guess I have to welcome Faye into the family now. Maybe I’ll even buy you two a present after all.”

      “Gee, thanks.”

      “Hey, what can I say? I’m a softie.”

      “When we get back, I’ll call you and we’ll decide what to do about the company. You could always try to make a go of it without me. Just drop ‘Young’ from the name.”

      “Without my former-police-detective partner there’d be no point. Who’d want to hire an ex-navy pilot turned financier to hunt down a cheating husband or find a missing person?”

      “I couldn’t have solved Faye’s case without your help. You’re not too shabby as an amateur sleuth.”

      “Yeah. I can search the internet and make phone calls with the best of them.”

      “Actually, most of the time that’s exactly what detectives do—research and interview witnesses.” A woman’s voice sounded in the background. Jake murmured something to her, then cleared his throat. “I’ve, ah, got to go.”

      “Wait. Jake?”

      “Yeah?”

      “All kidding aside. Are you sure about this? About Faye? You haven’t known her very long, and half that time you were taking turns pointing guns at each other. I just... I want to know that you’re going to be okay.”

      “Are you getting sentimental on me, Dex?”

      “I don’t even know what that word means.”

      Jake laughed. “Well, you don’t have to worry. I may not have planned this, but Faye’s the best thing that ever happened to me. I love her. She’s my whole world.”

      The certainty in СКАЧАТЬ