Read Online The Trouble with Temptation by Shiloh Walker - Free Book Online
Authors: Shiloh Walker
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was the first to respond, but they don’t handle investigations or anything. The FBI did all that.”
He turned away and braced his hands on the railing, the muscles in his back tense. “Not like they had a lot to go on—dead ends everywhere from what I could tell. Only one person to question, unless they missed a shark or two.”
The grim stab at humor didn’t do anything to lighten to mood.
After a moment, he looked back at her and the expression on his face was bleak. “That stranded vessel—investigating officers were pretty sure it wasn’t stranded at all. The most concrete info they had was from my dad’s call to the Coast Guard. When they saw the boat, my dad put in a call for assistance—according to that information, he said he thought somebody had been hurt. He saw somebody lying, half over the railing, blood dripping into the water. There were sharks circling. That was what caught their attention. Our dads thought maybe they’d gotten into a fight with some drug runners or something … and they stopped to help.”
Hannah felt cold.
Griffin lapsed into another bout of silence, his eyes seeing something off in the distance. She was seeing something, too. That flicker of a man’s face—the one who looked like Griffin—it was solidifying, becoming more than a flicker now. Almost a memory and she had flashes of him smiling down at her. Music playing— Brown Eyed Girl —and they were dancing.
“The FBI agent I talked to, he’s retired now, but he suspects the guys were dealers. The deal went south and then our dads showed up—they were dead from the moment that other vessel saw them,” Griffin said. One hand clenched into a fist, while his eyes turned hard and flat. “There was only one guy alive at the end of it all and he wasn’t about to come clean.”
Griffin skimmed a hand back over his short hair, his expression grim. “That’s probably the only reason we even know anything at all about what happened. The Coast Guard was pretty close—got there fast. Your dad … Uncle Sean held on for a few minutes, but they couldn’t save him.”
Hannah buried her face in her hands. Then, while the grief dug holes into her heart, she pushed upright and moved to the wrought-iron railing. “And they don’t know what happened?”
“They know the basics. There were two people on board—well, two people and a corpse. One of the guys shot our dads—yours first, then mine. They were pulling up alongside the other boat when it happened. My father was soaking wet according to the report. They speculated that he saw enough of what was happening to know there was trouble, so he dove into the water. Stupid bastard—there were sharks in the water, but if your dad was in trouble … anyway, he swam around and came up behind, grabbed one of them as they came aboard Uncle Sean’s boat. Most likely, my dad hamstringed him with the knife, but the other guy shot him. The Coast Guard was right on top of them by that time, but my dad was already dead. The stupid fucks tried to shoot it out with the Coast Guard, but that didn’t go over well. One guy died right away, the other surrendered, was taken in for questioning, but he was killed in jail within a week. All that much more reason to think it was drug-related.”
Hannah closed her eyes and wrapped her hands around the metal railing. Too much. It was all too much to process.
She couldn’t think about a man she barely remembered lying dead on the deck of a boat.
All because he and his brother tried to help some strangers.
She squeezed her eyes shut, tried to pull up some memory of him.
You’re my … brown eyed girl. Do you remember when … we used to say.…
That bit of song spun around and around in her head and she sucked in a breath, grabbing at her skull as though it was going to fly apart. One sliver, one tiny fraction fell free.
A woman.
Hannah gasped.
Mom .
Smiling.
Her round face— Hannah’s face—smiling at her from across a
He turned away and braced his hands on the railing, the muscles in his back tense. “Not like they had a lot to go on—dead ends everywhere from what I could tell. Only one person to question, unless they missed a shark or two.”
The grim stab at humor didn’t do anything to lighten to mood.
After a moment, he looked back at her and the expression on his face was bleak. “That stranded vessel—investigating officers were pretty sure it wasn’t stranded at all. The most concrete info they had was from my dad’s call to the Coast Guard. When they saw the boat, my dad put in a call for assistance—according to that information, he said he thought somebody had been hurt. He saw somebody lying, half over the railing, blood dripping into the water. There were sharks circling. That was what caught their attention. Our dads thought maybe they’d gotten into a fight with some drug runners or something … and they stopped to help.”
Hannah felt cold.
Griffin lapsed into another bout of silence, his eyes seeing something off in the distance. She was seeing something, too. That flicker of a man’s face—the one who looked like Griffin—it was solidifying, becoming more than a flicker now. Almost a memory and she had flashes of him smiling down at her. Music playing— Brown Eyed Girl —and they were dancing.
“The FBI agent I talked to, he’s retired now, but he suspects the guys were dealers. The deal went south and then our dads showed up—they were dead from the moment that other vessel saw them,” Griffin said. One hand clenched into a fist, while his eyes turned hard and flat. “There was only one guy alive at the end of it all and he wasn’t about to come clean.”
Griffin skimmed a hand back over his short hair, his expression grim. “That’s probably the only reason we even know anything at all about what happened. The Coast Guard was pretty close—got there fast. Your dad … Uncle Sean held on for a few minutes, but they couldn’t save him.”
Hannah buried her face in her hands. Then, while the grief dug holes into her heart, she pushed upright and moved to the wrought-iron railing. “And they don’t know what happened?”
“They know the basics. There were two people on board—well, two people and a corpse. One of the guys shot our dads—yours first, then mine. They were pulling up alongside the other boat when it happened. My father was soaking wet according to the report. They speculated that he saw enough of what was happening to know there was trouble, so he dove into the water. Stupid bastard—there were sharks in the water, but if your dad was in trouble … anyway, he swam around and came up behind, grabbed one of them as they came aboard Uncle Sean’s boat. Most likely, my dad hamstringed him with the knife, but the other guy shot him. The Coast Guard was right on top of them by that time, but my dad was already dead. The stupid fucks tried to shoot it out with the Coast Guard, but that didn’t go over well. One guy died right away, the other surrendered, was taken in for questioning, but he was killed in jail within a week. All that much more reason to think it was drug-related.”
Hannah closed her eyes and wrapped her hands around the metal railing. Too much. It was all too much to process.
She couldn’t think about a man she barely remembered lying dead on the deck of a boat.
All because he and his brother tried to help some strangers.
She squeezed her eyes shut, tried to pull up some memory of him.
You’re my … brown eyed girl. Do you remember when … we used to say.…
That bit of song spun around and around in her head and she sucked in a breath, grabbing at her skull as though it was going to fly apart. One sliver, one tiny fraction fell free.
A woman.
Hannah gasped.
Mom .
Smiling.
Her round face— Hannah’s face—smiling at her from across a
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