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When Dad started counting how many hundred-dollar bills were in one stack, I said, “I’m going to see if Kingsley got into that computer thingy.”
Nodding, Dad continued thumbing through the moldy notes.
Tyler was on the sofa in the hut, hunched over his laptop, where he’d plugged the beeping device into the side.
He glanced up at me as I entered.
“Any luck?” I asked as I sat on the sofa opposite.
“No. It’s locked. Highly encrypted by the looks of it."
“Which means . . .?” I zipped down my wetsuit and peeled my arms out.
“Whoever owns this went to a lot of trouble to stop anyone snooping.” He lowered his gaze to the screen, showing me the scar behind his earlobe again.
“Do you think the pilot was killed because of this?”
His back stiffened, and when he faced me, those piercing blue eyes bore into mine as if searching for something I wasn’t sure I wanted him to find.
“Yes, I do. And that means we need to get this to Aria and her team before they come looking for it.”
“But it’s been down in that plane wreck for ages.”
He scooped the beeping device into his palm. “Agreed. But this tracking signal just told some bastard that it’s no longer on the bottom of the ocean.”
CHAPTER 16
Tyler
The persistent beep of the hard drive gnawed at my sanity, adding to the urgency for us to get moving. We were sitting ducks out here in the middle of the ocean. I had no signal to contact the mainland, and if anyone came at us in a high-powered boat, we were fucked.
Indiana toyed with a stray thread on her bikini top. The boat’s covered area sheltered us from the setting sun, but there was still enough light to see the worry lines on her beautiful features.
My computer sat open on the table between us, and the screen had just one rectangular white square asking for the encryption key. I snapped the lid shut.
“What do we do?” Her voice had a sharp edge to it, maybe sensing the dread scraping through me.
I met her gaze. “We need to get going ASAP.”
She stopped fidgeting. “You know Rhino doesn’t do ASAP, right?”
I plucked the power cable from my computer and as I shoved it into my backpack, my fingers brushed against my gun. I resisted pulling it out of my pack, deciding it was best to remain calm. Old Smithy was doing enough craziness for everyone. His cheer reached us from the back of the boat as if emphasizing my thoughts.
“Are you going to let Dad keep the money?” Her eyes pinned me like this was some kind of test.
I matched her gaze. “I haven’t thought that far ahead.”
She darted her eyes away.
Test failed.
Good, she needed to be reminded that I was a cop.
Indiana leaned back, rubbing the scar on her forehead. She squinted, not from the sunlight bouncing off the ocean beyond the deck, but from the mistrust lacing her thoughts.
Nodding once, like my decision put a definite line between us, she pressed her lips into a determined pout.
Indiana wasn’t going to give up that cash without a fight. Neither was I. Those banknotes could hold the clues we needed to crack this case wide open.
