Buccaneer (Dane Maddock Adventures) (16 page)

“
She
’
s right.
”
Bones rocked back in his chair, hands folded behind his head.
“
Maddock and I are experts getting into places we
’
re not invited.
”

“
Only because you were never invited to any parties in high school,
”
Angel jibed.

Bones
’
obscene gesture was half-hearted at best. He loved the adrenaline rush of anything dangerous, and was clearly focused on finding a way onto the island.
“
You
’ve got to
figure he
’
ll have deputies guarding the
road that leads to the island,
and, maybe, a boat patrolling the coast, though I doubt it. He thinks he
’
s beaten us, so he
’
ll probably be lax.
”

“
Don
’
t count on it. His ego is huge, but he doesn
’
t miss a detail. We
’
d better plan on two boats, and a patrol on the island as well.
”
Avery cupped her chin and narrowed her eye as she
star
ed at the map.
“
We
’
ll have to go in at night without lights or a motor. Kayaks?
”

“
You
’
ve got a good head for this sort of thing,
”
Bones said. He gave Avery an admiring smile and she blushed.

“
I love kayaking!
”
Angel exclaimed.
“
Let
’
s rock this!
”

“
Hold on.
”
Dane
held up his hands
.
“
Avery
’
s right about going in at night, but any kind of boat is too risky. Besides, I want to do this tonight. Bones and I will swim it.
”

“
No!
”
Avery shouted and sprang to her feet.
“
You can
’
t do that.
”

“
We
’
re pros,
”
Bones said.
“
We
’
ve done the same thing hundreds of times, and trust me, the stakes were much higher. Worst that can happen here is we get arrested and Charlie bails us out.
”

“
I need to go too.
”
Avery clenched her fists until her knuckles were white.
“
I have to show you the way in.
”

“
I
’
m sure you can tell us all we need to know ahead of time,
”
Dane said.
“
Show us on the satellite images.
”

“
It
’
s cool, Avery. We
’
ve got this.
”
Bones reached out to take her hand but she snatched it away.

“
This is my project. I
’
m the expert. Besides, I
’
ve done plenty of diving. I can handle it.
”

“
You wouldn
’
t be able to keep up if we ran into trouble.
”
Dane
sai
d.
“
Look, I
’
ve been on plenty of treasure hunts and I know how you
’
re feeling.
”
Avery shook her head and, too late, Dane remembered that you should never tell a woman that you know how she feels.
“
If the circumstances were different, I
’
d have you right there with us, but this is just one of those times when it needs to be me and Bones. Only me and Bones.
”
He said this last to Angel, who made a pouting face that sent a shiver down his spine. He looked back at Avery, trying to ignore how
warm he suddenly felt
.
“
I
’
m sorry, but this is the way it has to be.
”

“
Besides,
”
Angel said to Avery,
“
this is Maddock
’
s treasure hunt. His father left it for him.
”

“
You don
’
t understand.
”
Avery whisper
ed
as a solitary tear trickled down her face.
“
He was my father too.
”

Dane sat, dumbfounded, gazing up at Avery, who seemed almost as shocked by her words as he was.

“
I
’
m sorry,
”
she mumbled.
“
I
’
ve been trying to figure out a way to tell you. This wasn
’
t how I wanted to do it.
”

Dane looked from Angel, who was likewise speechless, to Bones,
who frowned, and then his face split into
a broad grin.

“
I can totally see it!
”
He pounded his fist on the table, threw back his head, and laughed.
“
The hair, the eyes, the thing you both do when you
’
re thinking hard. I should have
figured
it
out
.
”

“
How?
”
Angel asked.

“
Our father,
”
Avery said, settling back into her chair and studiously avoiding Dane
’
s gaze,
“
spent a lot of time here. Sometimes he was with his wife, but other times he came alone. He and my mother had a fling; two ships meeting in the night and all that. They didn
’
t carry on any sort of long-term affair, but he sent money every month and made sure I had everything I needed. He even helped me with college.
”
Her eyes grew moist.
“
Once every summer, he would spend a few days with me. We
’
d always do something related to his pirate research. I suppose that
’
s why I chose my the career path I did.
”

“
So, this is more than an academic pursuit,
”
Angel said.
“
This is personal.
”

Avery nodded.

“
Say something, Maddock,
”
Bones urged.

“
Sorry, I
’
m just shocked.
I never...
”
He trailed off, lost in dark thoughts.
He’d never dreamed his father would lead a double-life.

“
Let
’
s leave these two alone,
”
Bones said to Angel.
“
I think they
’
ve got some talking to do.
”
He rose from his seat and headed out the back door onto the deck. Angel gave Dane
an encouraging smile and followed
her brother out the door.

“
I
’
m not lying.
”
Avery said after a lengthy silence.
“
I
’
ll take a DNA test if you want me to.
”

“
I don
’
t guess I want that.
”
Dane
said
.
“
Bones is right. It
’
s kind of obvious once you know what to look for. How long have you known about me?
”

“
All my life. I don
’
t mind telling you I
’
ve hated your guts for as long as I can remember. You got my dad fifty one weeks out of the year. I got the leftovers. And now, after all the times he and I spent researching Kidd
’
s treasure, I find out i
t was you he wanted to share it with.
”
Her tears flowed freely now, but her eyes shone with resentment.

Dane nodded, unable to summon any words of comfort. He couldn
’
t blame her for feeling like she did.

“
So, how do you feel about me now? Still hate me?
”

“
I haven
’
t made up my mind yet.
”
Avery managed a tiny laugh.
“
You
’
re bossy as hell and you don
’
t listen to anyone but Bones. That much I
’
ve already figured out.
”

“
I
’
m not bossy, I
’
m decisive.
”
He grinned.
“
And I do listen, it
’
s just that everybody else is wrong most of the time.
”

“
We really are an awful lot alike. Creepy.
”
Avery wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
“
So, what else do we have in common? Are you as unlucky with the ladies as I am with the guys?
”

“
Maybe.
”
Before he realized what he was doing, he was telling her about his wife, Melissa, and her tragic death; a subject he studiously avoided even after all these years. Then it was on to his ex-girlfriend, Kaylin, and, finally, his current sometimes-girlfriend, Jade.
“
Things just aren’t working out between us.
Sometimes I think Jade and I are too much alike, you know?
”

“
I
’
ve got to hand it to you, Maddock. I never suspected you had that many words in your vocabulary, much less you were the kind of guy who would talk relationships for ten minutes straight.
”
She reached out, tentatively, and took his hand. It was a good feeling: companionable and comforting.

“
That
’
s the longest I
’
ve ever talked to anybody about relationship crap,
”
he said, knowing he sounded a bit too much like Bones.
“
Is this typical sibling conversation?
”

“
Don
’
t ask me. I
’
m new at this too
.
Are we good?
”

“
Yeah,
”
he said after a long pause.
“
I think we are. It
’
s still weird, though.
”

“
Totally,
”
she agreed, slipping her hand from his grasp.

“
How about we bring the two peeping Toms back inside and let
’
s make a plan for getting to whatever
Dad
wanted us to find?
”

Bones and Angel were making no effort to hide the fact that they were watching Dane and Avery through the window. When Dane motioned for them to come inside, they bounded through the door like children headed to recess.

“
This is so cool!
”
Angel said.
“
Now I have somebody who can understand what I go through with this assclown.
”
She glared at Bones, who feigned innocence and his heart.

“
Time
’
s short. Let
’
s get to work,
”
Dane said.

“
Bossy,
”
Avery said to Angel in a confiding tone.
“
I just told him about that.
”

“
They don
’
t listen,
”
Angel said in a mock-whisper.
“
You have to learn how to push their buttons to get what you want. I
’
ll show you.
”
She smiled at Dane, eyes sparkling, and winked.