Crystal Blue (Buck Reilly Adventure Series Book 3) by John Cunningham (novels for beginners txt) 📕

get the scoop on what happened and how he’d been rescued. I was curious to hear what their story would be, but given the cargo still on my plane, my lips were sealed.

As soon as the rope was thrown down from the dock, they descended on us, with Stud lifted up on several sets of shoulders. As soon as his manager was off the boat I nodded to Jeremy, who yanked the throttles into reverse and backed away.

Booth pushed his way through the throng around Mahoney and waved at me.

“Reilly!”

I pointed toward Foxy’s.

Jeremy navigated through the anchored boats and got us all the way to shore, where he spun the boat around and let the surf carry us in until we settled into the soft sand. Nobody met us, which was fine by me.

“Look at that dude,” Lenny said. “Stud Mahoney! I can’t wait to hear how you saved his ass.”

I knew I’d need to bring him and Ray up to speed, but that could wait. I jumped onto the sand, then helped Crystal off the boat.

“Remember what I said, okay? I’ll find him.”

We locked eyes for a moment before she turned and hurried toward the headquarters for the concert. Ray and Lenny jumped onto the sand and watched her walk away, then I filled them in on the situation with her husband.

“You sure he’s alive?” Lenny said.

“No.”

“You sure we can find him?” Ray said.

“No.”

Before they could ask me another question I didn’t have an answer to, I heard somebody shout my name.

“Yo, Buck Reilly, nice entrance!”

Diego Francis stepped out of a weather-beaten shack adjacent to the beach, behind one of Foxy’s bars. Brass Knuckles stood beside him. I felt a grin on my face, although I wasn’t sure why.

“You found him on Guana Island like I told you, right?”

“Where can we talk?” I said.

Diego jerked his head toward the square building he’d just come out of, away from the crowd that had swooped in on Stud.

“Foxy’s office,” he said.

I spotted Booth’s blue blazer.

“I’ll meet you inside,” I said. “I need to talk to someone first.”

Diego followed my gaze and his eyes bulged. He hustled out of sight. Ray and Lenny followed after him, along with Brass Knuckles.

“Where the hell did you find those two?” White spittle was caked in the corners of Booth’s mouth. “Every asset…in a five hundred mile radius…has been searching.” He took in a deep breath. “And your band of misfits shows up with the prize!”

“What did Stud and his manager say?” I said.

“Some bullshit story about them overpowering two guys, jumping off a boat, swimming to Guana Island, and finding an empty villa to hide out in. Then you found him by chance when you were having engine troubles—”

“Ha! That’s good—”

“So what did happen, hotshot, and why would they lie?” Booth mopped his sweaty forehead with the sleeve of his blazer.

I bit my tongue.

“Well?”

“All I care about right now is where can we find John Thedford,” I said. “Do you have any news? And I don’t want to hear that everyone’s been focused on finding that weenie.” I jerked a thumb towards Stud, still holding court. “And what’s the deal with the Russian cartel?”

Booth’s hesitation was all I needed—he wasn’t going to tell me a damn thing. Time was of the essence, so I decided to come clean. I core-dumped information from all of my meetings, including Hellfire, Boom-Boom, and Diego Francis, the syndicate moving in—

“What the hell were you thinking?”

“Put it to you this way, Booth. It was Diego Francis that pointed me toward Guana Island—”

“Francis had Mahoney?”

“No, but he had better intel than you and all the rest of these cops put together—at least until they came under attack themselves. What can you tell me about that?”

“Those favors aren’t cheap, so you better watch your own ass.” He glanced around. “Some of the Royal Police seem to be less than trustworthy too.”

“So I’ve noticed.”

“And I told you to forget about the Russians—”

“While all the locals get kidnapped and murdered?”

A smile tugged at Booth’s lips.

“Cleansing process,” he said.

Stud swept passed us to enter Foxy’s bar area, where we could hear him being appropriately greeted by some of his Hollywood brethren. It was obvious the show hadn’t been cancelled, so would John’s abductors’ make good on their threat?

“Reilly! Don’t drift off when I’m talking to you. Have you learned anything else that could help us find Thedford?”

“So now you’re interested?”

He rolled his eyes. I decided to come all the way clean.

“It was Boom-Boom’s people who told me the Russians grabbed Thedford.”

“Why the hell would they care about a charity concert for adoption?”

“You’re the intelligence czar, you tell me.”

He shook his head. Something seemed to click in his eyes. What?

“We’re way out of our jurisdiction here—”

“We?” I said.

“I meant the FBI, smartass.” His teeth were gritted. “But leave the new crime boss to me, Russian or not. The Royal Police and the BVI government are already pissed—”

“I don’t give a shit—”

Loud and tinny, The Star Spangled Banner’s first line burst from Booth’s blazer. He reached in and grabbed his cell phone. He checked the number, hesitated, and pressed END.

“Shouldn’t you take that?” I said.

“You know what I’m curious about, Reilly? Why was Crystal Thedford with you when Stud Mahoney turned up? Like maybe they had all this planned—”

“Don’t even go there, Booth. You saw her earlier today, you know how upset she was.”

“But how did you find—”

“I told you, Diego Francis clued me in.”

“For all we know her husband’s hiding out at some other resort, and this is all for ratings,” Booth said.

I’d never admit to Booth that I’d wondered the same thing, but if that were true, Crystal deserved an Oscar for Best Actress.

Booth scurried off in search of quiet place to return the call to his handlers. Knowing him, he’d already taken credit for the recovery of Stud Mahoney. I walked in the opposite direction, and just as I was about to enter Foxy’s office, a dark figure jumped out of the dense brush.