Free Secret Assignment by Paula Graves

he was heading straight into the heart of danger with no one to watch his back.

Chapter Six
    Terrebonne Marina, despite the name, was not Terrebonne’s primary marina. That honor belonged to Bay Pointe, an eighty-slip marina on the western shore of Terrebonne Bay. Most of the larger yachts and pleasure craft preferred Bay Pointe’s upscale accommodations, but Gideon had convinced General Ross to stick to the smaller, family-run marina on the eastern shore, appealing to the old soldier’s inculcated suspicion of strangers.
    Even before this most recent invasion, there had always been danger involved in living in such an isolated, unprotected place. Drug runners, pirates, even the possibility of terrorists seeking a less difficult point of entry to the United States for their destructive schemes—all theoretically posed potential peril for the Rosses and Nightshade Island.
    At Terrebonne Marina, at least, Gideon knew all his fellow slip mates by name and their boats by sight. Wandering around Bay Pointe to find a boat he’d never seen, his only clue the fact that somewhere on board there’d be a Zodiac Bayrunner, was one of his less inspired ideas.
    The marina office receptionist had been little help. “Many of the larger vessels have lifeboats,” she’d told him with a harried air, clearly up to her elbows in paperwork. “If your friends are here, maybe you could just look around and see if you spot them.”
    He didn’t bother explaining that the only time he’d seen his “friends,” they’d been wearing black masks and sneaking around a private island, clearly intending to commit a crime.
    But he thought he might recognize the Bayrunner again. For one thing, thanks to its larger size, it wasn’t likely to be the preferred choice of inflatable for the average yachter. And he’d noticed a bright green patch on the rear of the port buoyancy tube. All he had to do was visit every one of the Bay Pointe slips to see if any of the boats had that Bayrunner on board.
    His lack of sleep was starting to catch up with him, aided by the August heat and humidity. By ten-fifteen, he’d begun to regret bringing his Walther along, as its presence prevented him from shedding the extra shirt he’d worn to cover his holster.
    He stopped halfway down the pier at a small waterside bistro and ordered the least appalling iced coffee choice they offered. The barista, a lean, tanned blonde woman in her early thirties, handed over the iced coffee with a flirtatious smile. “New to Bay Pointe?” she asked.
    “Something like that,” he answered, dispensing with the straw and gulping down the coffee, willing the caffeine to do its job.
    “Which boat is yours?” she asked curiously, wiping the already clean bar in front of him.
    “The one with the huge black Zodiac Bayrunner hanging from the back davits,” he answered wryly.
    “Nice yacht,” she said with approval.
    His gaze snapped up to hers. Her eyes widened and she took a half step back from him, as if she saw something in his face that scared her.
    He forced his expression back to neutral friendliness. “Yeah? What do you think of the color? Too much?”
    She relaxed a little, shrugging. “Blue and white is a pretty standard color pattern, isn’t it?” She smiled at him, the flirtatiousness back. “One time, some guy rented a slip for the winter with the most hellacious yellow-and-orange Viking—” She shuddered dramatically. “You made a good choice with the Azimut. Though don’t you think that Bayrunner’s a little big? Should have opted for one of the smaller RIBs, maybe a Zoom.”
    “You know your watercraft,” he said with a smile, noting her use of RIB, the acronym for rigid inflatable boat.
    “My ex used to be a boat pilot for hire.” She grimaced. “Until he ran off to Barbados with some rich guy’s daughter.”
    “Sorry to hear that.”
    She flashed him a smile. “Better off without him. You going to be docked here long?”
    “Remains to be