Then the place fell silent, every man’s gaze shifting to the door.
There stood Gabriela, doing that thing she did, exuding sensuality from every pore. She crossed to the bar, slid her arm through Dylan’s. “Rum and Coke, please.”
The bartender, a big bald man, almost fell over himself getting her drink.
“Whiskey for me.” Dylan nuzzled her cheek. “I told you to stay in the car.”
“Have you found a boat yet?” She sipped her drink then gave the bartender that smile of hers, the one that made Dylan weak. “My husband and I are looking for someone to take us to Curaçao this afternoon. Can you help us?”
The bartender leaned forward, lowered his voice. “You don’t want any of these men to take you, Señora. My cousin has just the boat you need.”
“Call him. We’d like to meet him—now.”
Twenty minutes later, Dylan found himself walking along the pier with Gabriela and Paulito, a former navy man whose weathered skin proved that he’d spent much of his life on the water. “Is the boat seaworthy?”
“Sí, and very fast, too.” Paulito clearly loved his boat. “The maritime border is closed, so it’s going to cost you more. We could be stopped or boarded.”
“We stop for no one. Is that clear?”
“That could get tricky.”
“I have a few skills up my sleeve. Name your price.”
“A thousand dollars US.”
Dylan didn’t have that. “I can pay you five hundred now and a thousand when we reach Curaçao.”
Paulito studied him, hands on his hips. “You must really need to get out of here. Are you in some kind of trouble?”
“Do you want the money or not? Show me the boat.”
“This way.”
Most of the boats here had wooden hulls and looked like they’d break apart in choppy water. And then he saw it.
“There she is.” Paulito chuckled. “Isn’t she pretty?”
Dylan couldn’t help but smile. “She is a beauty.”
The boat was a refitted RHIB—a rigid-hulled inflatable boat—similar to the ones that the Teams used. He knew these boats inside and out and could pilot it himself. He could even work on the engine in a pinch.
“So, now it’s a deal?”
Dylan met Gabriela’s gaze and gave her a nod. “Sí, Paulito, it’s a deal.”
20
Gabriela took Dylan’s hand, accepted his help stepping up and onto the boat, which rocked beneath their weight.
Dylan chuckled. “It’s not going to flip over.”
Paulito bent down, untied the rope from a piling. “The water can get choppy. Do either of you get seasick?”
“Nah, man, I’m good.”
But Gabriela had no idea. “I guess we’ll find out.”
Paulito grinned. “Have you ever been on a boat?”