Page 17 of Beachcomber Danger

“I’ll take this.” He stopped her from bagging one of the phones and managed to rip open the plastic packaging. “I’m giving it a test run before I go, if you don’t mind.”

“Sure. You can do whatever you want with it—it’s yours. Cutie.” She winked at him and turned to Shana and wiggled her brows with a smile. Shana laughed.

They moved away from the counter and leaned against a chest freezer holding all manner of ice cream treats, and with one arm around Shana to keep her where she could listen, he tapped out Acer’s number with his thumb.

After three rings, Acer came on the line. A frisson of shock went through Dane. Acer never answered his phone. Dane had always left a message and Acer would call back. Ever since he could remember.

“I’ve been anticipating your call,” his friend said.

“No shit. How’d you know?” Mostly for Shana’s sake, but also out of habit, Dane didn’t let on that this had shaken him.

“Give me some credit. The President’s visiting. I figure that means heightened security. I gave you a ring and no answer. Nothing. I knew better than to leave a message. If you hadn’t called me by tonight I was going to contact the Governor. And you know what that means.”

“A sure sign of panic mode.”

“So what the hell is going on that you’ve gone to using throwaway phones?”

“Long story and I—we have short time. You need to get to the island by tonight.”

“No problem.”

“But you can’t get here using the conventional methods.”

“Aha. Going in dark to an island. My specialty.”

“Exactly. Only I can’t give you any help. I’ll send Ronnie Ryan out with a boat if you need it.”

“That’ll work. I’ll send him my coordinates. Tell him to expect me around . . . 2100 hours.”

“Won’t work. We need you here for the dinner hour—by 7 p.m. the latest. We’re under watch.”

There was silence while Acer contemplated what Dane had said. He wasn’t sure if the time frame had given him pause or if it was the fact that he and Shana were under watch.

“Coming in without the cover of dark will be tricky.”

“But you can do it.”

“Of course. Just warn your boy Ronnie.”

“Will do. And Acer, we’ll need all the toys you can manage. Set up at our usual rendezvous spot. Ronnie’ll get you there.”

His friend emitted a string of epithets a sailor might spew and they signed off.

Dane slipped his phone into one of the pockets of his cargo shorts while he studied Shana’s face, focusing mostly on her stunning eyes. The green was so bright they looked like emeralds in a doll’s face. She showed no fear, no anxiety, not even a scowl of annoyance. His heart hammered up and his gut floated around unnaturally.

“We’re all set then?”

He nodded.

“How will Acer manage to get here if not by boat or plane?”

“He’ll swim in. Underwater.”

She laughed. “Let’s go.”

He had a feeling she really didn’t believe him.

She was about to exit the convenience store, but Dane held her arm.