Caribbean Rescue (Coastal Fury Book 16), Matt Lincoln [best book recommendations .txt] 📗

been a long day. We might end up making mistakes if we keep trying to run on fumes like this. We can get up early tomorrow and figure everything out before we have to head down to the bar again at noon.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Holm replied as he stood up from the couch.

“Okay,” Ethan replied with a short nod. “Let’s head back.”

The three of them walked back out of the police station and to the car. Olivia offered to drive this time since both men seemed like they could use a break. It wasn’t the first time she’d driven on the left-hand side of the road. She’d worked on a few international cases before, so she had some experience with it, but Ethan had been right when he’d commented that it felt weird to be on the left side when the steering wheel was also on the left side of the car. The space to her right seemed far too big, and she had a little trouble gauging how close she was to the lines on the road.

She was so concentrated on driving that she didn’t say a single word the entire drive. It wasn’t until they pulled into the parking lot that she even glanced over at Ethan, who was sitting beside her in the front passenger seat. He was staring intently at his phone, typing away with his fingers.

He stayed that way even as the three agents got out of the car and headed into the hotel. By the time they’d made it to the elevator, she couldn’t take the curiosity anymore.

“What are you looking at?” she asked him as they made our way up to the floor all three of them were staying on.

“Oh, it’s nothing, really,” he replied, though the grin on his face indicated otherwise.

His eyes were lit up at whatever he was looking at, and her curiosity only grew stronger as she watched him.

“Alright,” Holm sighed as we made it to his door. “Good night, guys. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He opened his door wearily, and Olivia waited until it was shut before she turned her attention back to Ethan, secretly glad that Holm’s room was the first one they had passed.

“Come on,” she pestered him once more. “What’s got you in such a good mood all of a sudden? You were acting all worn out back at the station, and now you’re all smiles.”

“It’s just Dragon’s Rogue stuff,” he replied, his smile widening as he showed me his phone. It was opened to a text conversation that he had uploaded several pictures of the anchor to. With all the commotion lately, Olivia had almost forgotten about the big discovery he’d made back in the antique shop.

“Who’s Tessa?” Olivia asked as her eyes roved up to the name of the recipient.

“Oh, she’s a friend of mine,” Ethan replied easily. “She’s been helping me with my search for a while now. I always share everything I find with her. She’s probably the only person who gets as excited about this stuff as I do.”

“A friend, huh?” The thought came to Olivia’s mind unbidden. She had no reason to believe otherwise, but something about the way Ethan was smiling down at his phone while texting this woman was filling her with an uncomfortable sensation that she absolutely refused to recognize as jealousy.

“Hey, what do you say we have a couple of drinks before we turn in?” she asked him before she could think twice about it. “I know we said we should just go to sleep and get an early start tomorrow, but you seem pretty awake right now.”

He blinked at her with a look of mild surprise before smiling at her and slipping his phone back into his pocket.

“Sure,” he replied as she changed direction toward her room.

She felt a smug feeling of satisfaction at having pulled his attention away from the phone. She felt a little silly over how jealous she’d gotten over a name in his contact list, but was she really wrong to want his attention to herself tonight? She wasn’t an idiot. She was perfectly aware of the way they’d been flirting with each other over the last few days. The anxiety she’d felt tonight as he and Holm had gone off to the bar had only cemented her desire to do something about it all the more quickly.

She quickly unlocked her hotel room door, and the pair stepped inside.

“I wonder if they have anything good in that little mini-fridge,” Ethan remarked as he stooped down to peer into the small refrigerator tucked beneath the TV stand.

“Forget that,” Olivia scoffed as she walked over to the suitcase at the foot of her bed. “Overpriced beers and tiny bottles of cheap wine? I’ve got something way better.”

She rummaged through her suitcase for a moment before she finally found what she was looking for, a bottle of her favorite whiskey.

“Here it is.” She smiled triumphantly as she pulled the bottle from where it was tucked beneath a stack of clothes.

“Wow,” Ethan chuckled behind her as he moved to sit on the only chair in the small hotel room. “You came prepared.”

“I always make sure I have a bottle of the good stuff when I travel,” she replied as she set the bottle on the table before walking over to where the coffee maker was and grabbing two glasses. “Special victims cases can get pretty… taxing. Rape, child abuse, vulnerable people with no one to stick up for them. I try not to rely on it too much, but sometimes, a nice hard drink is exactly what I need after a long day of work.”

“Hey, I’m not judging,” Ethan replied as he took one of the glasses from her. “Not everyone can do what you do. There’s nothing wrong with taking the edge off once in a while.”

“Oh, shoot,” she huffed after crouching down to get some ice out of the refrigerator. “There’s no ice in here.”

“I think I saw a sign