´Yeah. Almost two years ago. We were standing right here in the gal ey. The
Decrepit
was his before he started raking in the loot.µ Zane tried to ignore the sensation, to banish it by focusing on Teal·s face. But his eyes stil burned and his chest ached. He didn·t want to remember the terror he·d felt, alone in the middle of the ocean with a dying man, hours from help. It hadn·t mattered.
He·d realized after the fact that while he·d been crazed doing CPR, his father was already dead. But he·d felt guilty al the same.
Sure, he shared his grief with his brothers, but they hadn·t been as deeply affected. He·d been the one most like his father. He·d been the one there watching through an unstoppable sheen of tears as his dad·s lips turned purplish, then blue, his tan leaching away as he grew colder by the minute. It was Zane·s fucking fault, and he regretted it every day.
Í·d spent years looking for the
Vrijheid
and had written off this site. I never got a hit on any of the sensors³which I now realize is because equipment tends to go on the fritz in this particular corner of the ocean. Stil , I never considered that it might be the wreck site. I was down here on a pleasure dive when I found a cannon. The minute I saw it, I was a hundred percent sure it belonged to the
Vrijheid
. I wanted to talk my father into coming after her with me. It would·ve been sweet to share this with him. He was excited³hadn·t seen him that way in a long time « then he died.µ
Her eyes were like melted chocolate as she gave him an empathetic look that wrenched his heart. ´He was always kind to me, and I know he was crazy about you and your brothers.
You were just about al he talked about. You must·ve been scared.
Horribly
scared out here so far from help. But I bet it was the way he·d have wanted to go. Being with you, out here, doing something he loved « Better fast than slow. But stil horrible.µ
Zane rubbed his chest. Sudden wasn·t better. Sudden sucked. Sudden made you realiz e al the things you·d never get to do. Al the things you·d never say.
Sudden
took everything and gave you nothing in return but a big, gaping hole that never seemed to fil no matter how much pleasure you took in life. ´You stil have a chance to connect with Sam. It·s not too late.µ
´What?µ Her shoulders hiked.
Too close. Her emotional barrier had been breached. He curled his arm like Popeye to show a muscle, and teased, Úntil my father died, I·d always felt immortal.µ
´You·re stil immortal.µ Teal looked out over the water, a few stray wisps of hair dancing around her face in the breeze. ´
And
very lucky.µ
Śhe·s pretty amazing, isn·t she?µ he said, referring to the
Vrijheid
. Teal got it and mirrored his smile. The ache started to ease. Getting her to smile was like watching the sun come out after a hurricane. Not only was it glorious, it made a guy realize that no matter what had happened, the worst was over.
´That·s why you·re cal ed Ace, right? The sea and pretty girls give you everything you want,µ she teased, brown eyes dancing in the moonlight.
Ńot al of them,µ Zane told her, seriously, holding her gaze. He leaned forward and brushed her hair out of her eyes. She froze, but when he dropped his hand and leaned back, she relaxed. He braced his hands on the railing behind him, and said smoothly, Śome pretty girls stil manage to resist me. It·s baffling and quite mysterious when I·m such a nice guy.µ
He wanted to kiss her again in the worst way. He wanted to strip that beautiful dress off her and see her bare breasts. He wanted « to take it fast. He had to take this s-l-o-w.
Maggie had cautioned him, Ásk the girl to dance, listen to her answer. Do
not
rush her onto the dance floor just because your foot is tapping.µ
He slid his arms around her waist, pul ing her gently so that her back was to his chest. He nuzzled his nose against the soft, fragrant skin of her neck, just below her ear. He knew he was playing with fire, but she didn·t stop him, and he couldn·t find it in him to stop himself.
She tilted her head to give him better access. Feeling like he·d just won the Nobel Peace Prize, Zane nuzzled the delicate nerves behind her ear with his nose, then ran the tip of his tongue around the shel . Her shoulder came up as she shivered, but she didn·t p ul away.
She tilted her head a little, so her silky hair brushed his nose. Ńot«µ
The smel of her skin enveloping him was at once hauntingly familiar, and excitingly new.
Wanting her, he turned her to face him. He couldn·t begin to define the sensation he felt, holding her wil ing body gently against his. The soft brush of her breasts against the hard plane of his chest was shockingly erotic when he knew it probably wouldn·t go much further than a kiss. He couldn·t think straight. His entire being was fu l y engaged in the anticipation of a mere kiss.
His body was a furnace, his temperature spiking as his heart gal oped pleasantly and he lowered his mouth to hers.
Just as he was about to dive in, she stiffened and turned her head. ´What
is
that?µ she whispered, pointing at the dark waves.
For a moment he thought she was referring to his erection. Gritting his teeth, Zane adjusted his shorts over his rock-hard dick, and reluctantly turned to see what she was looking at.
Ah, hel . The unmistakable play of halogen lights underwater. Śomeone·s down there helping themselves again.µ
´The Sea Bitch?µ
This was getting fucking annoying as hel . ´Maybe.µ He had to nip the redhead in the bud sooner than later. He waited a few minutes until one of the security guys did this leg of his circuit, and instructed that two of them track the lights to the source. ´My first suspect is the woman on the
Sea Witch
. Start there,µ he instructed.
The guy went off to get his partner, and a few minutes later the S ea Ray left a white wake behind it as it crossed the water.
´What if it·s
not
her?µ Teal watched the wake dissipate behind the smal boat.
Ńick said he·d check to see where Denny was«µ
´He did. It·s not Ross. Your ex is currently sitting in a very nasty jail cel in Turkey for bringing pot into the country. He·s off the hook. For the thefts anyway,µ
Zane told her dryly. ´Has to be Sea Witch. She·s the only one not sleeping off their drunk after our party. Everyone else was here tonight.µ
Teal chewed her lip. He wanted to chew it for her. Ńot the three grannies.µ
He smiled. Í can·t see those three little old ladies taking a midnight dive any more than I could see them partying down with the bimbos. Can you?µ
´Wel , it was either the Sea Bitch or whoever·s on that Hatteras Power Cruiser. I didn·t see anyone from the
Good Fortune
crew at the party, did you?µ
Something niggled at the back of Zane·s mind. Niggled again. Harder. ´The
Good Fortune
?µ
´Yes, that·s the name of the grannies· boat. The Hatteras Cruiser? I noticed the name when we were out diving yesterday.µ
´The
Good Fortune
? Are you sure? That was the name of an eighteenth-century pirate ship.µ
* * *
Unfortunately, she was the only one around.
´Hi,µ the blonde shouted, ´You must be Teal. I·m³µ
Whoever the hel she was, was obscured by the sound of the blowers Maggie and Colson were using on their dive. Teal indicated she·d come down and jumped onto the platform to help the blonde tie up. Her boat was a sweet, twenty -four-foot Bayliner Cruiser, not new, but wel maintained. As was the blonde. Mid thirties, tanned, buff, with about a mile of sunny blond hair, loose of course. She looked like a sexy mermaid in turquoise shorts and a little tank top that showed off her tan, her bel y button bling, and size C boobs. Teal hated her on sight.
They tied up the boat, and Teal indicated she go on ahead to the salon. Zane was with Ben in the wheelhouse.
Teal climbed up to the wheelhouse and said, as graciously as she could manage while a green-eyed monster ate her heart, ´You have a visitor.µ
Zane glanced up, his eyes softening when he saw her. Teal told her skipping heart to stop being ridiculous. Zane probably thought she·d come up to tel them lunch was ready.
´Who is she?µ
´Didn·t give me her name. Long blond hair, light eyes ³µ Which probably described ninety percent of Zane·s women. ´Bayliner Cruiser?µ
Ćat!µ Zane looked pleased.
Great
. Í·l leave you to your reunion, Ryan·s waiting for our dive.µ
After joining Ryan and suiting up, Teal was just in time to see the blonde fling hers elf into Zane·s arms and give him a big kiss. They were practical y welded together.
Ryan, standing beside her, saw her line of sight. About to jump into the water, he stopped her with a hand on her shoulder as she was spitting into her mask.
Śhe·s Cat Berland,µ he offered, although Teal would·ve bitten off her tongue before she asked. ´Maggie and Ben·s daughter? The three of us went to school together, she·s a good friend, but she and Zane have always been close.
Especial y since Jessie was born.µ
The sun was shining, but Teal·s blood turned icy cold. Mask in hand, she turned ful y to face Ryan and enunciated careful y, ´They have a child together.µ
Not a question.
Wel , there she had it. The precious, black -haired, Cutter-blue-eyed toddler in Maggie·s Grandma book? Confirmed as Zane·s daughter. Ryan looked as though he knew he shouldn·t have said anything. Teal could tel . Wel , too bad. Secrets like that didn·t sta y secret long. Especial y when the Cutter DNA was so strong.
Ńot official y,µ Ryan quickly added. As if the child not being ófficialµ meant Zane didn·t have to take responsibility.
Teal arched her brow.
Ĺook, I wouldn·t worry about it okay? It·s³Shit. I shouldn·t have sai³It just slipped out.
Ask Zane to fil you in, okay?µ
Not official y? And the Berlands stil
talked
to him? Teal put on her mask and nodded. Right.
She·d ask Zane can·t-keep-it-in-his-pants-Cutter when hel froze over.
* * *
Acknowledging to herself that she was jealous, both of Zane·s friendship with the stunning blonde, but also at the closeness of mother and daughter, Teal tried to b e gracious. Own it and move on, she told herself. She tried hard to be her sweetest, the nicest she could be.
It was hard to dislike someone she actual y liked. Which made her feel worse.
Things would go back to normal. Cat was leaving the next morning. Teal didn·t ask where she was sleeping, and no one mentioned it.
It was one of the longest days of Teal·s life. Unfortunately her brain refused to switch off.
She tried reading, she played with the CAD on the computer, she fiddled with the generator.
Nothing helped. What she needed was a long walk around the deck and some fresh air.
The companionway was narrow, the lights dim. Everyone had had a long day and sacked out early. Even the adrenaline high of the past few weeks was no match for exhaustion. And a tired diver was at risk of making stupid mistakes.
Other than the guys whose job it was to stay awake and alert and guard the
Decrepit,
everyone had gone to bed hours ago.
She·d worked her ass off al day. She·d dived three times, fil ed in log reports, and taken photographs of the treasure for Maggie. She·d also scouted around to get a sense of what the mystery divers had taken the night before. Unfortunately, the security team hadn·t turned up any new information. The Sea Witch appeared to be on her boat, though it could have easily been a wel -planned ruse. And by the time the security team suited up and scoped out the site, the thieves were long gone.
As Teal surveyed the scene, it became clear that a central portion of the dive site had been tampered with, and a large urn was missing. It was unclear what else they·d gotten away with.
There was one thing about the thieves that Teal was grateful for, however.
After she hotfooted it away from Zane, she made the rounds and checked up on the crew, making sure everyone was accounted for.
They were al on board, including Ben. He was in the gal ey drinking port with Maggie, the two of them giggling like teenagers.
Teal had felt terribly guilty just then for being so suspicious of him. And though she·d nev er admit it to Zane, she wondered if maybe she could learn a thing or two about trust from him. Maybe, just maybe, she could be a little easier with people, let her guard down, trust a little more.
Then Zane·s baby mama had shown up and ruined everything.
It was very stil , barely a breath of a breeze on a very warm night. She headed for her favorite spot in the bow, under the crane. It was graceless and never used, but she had a soft spot for it.
She was used to the noises the
Decrepit
made. The creak of wood, the chimes of metal brushing metal, and the soothing lap of the wavelets against the hul . Now that she had her sea legs, and didn·t have to do the one -minute mile to find her little yel ow bucket, she was starting to enjoy the novelty of being at sea.
There was a moon, but it was playing coy with the clouds. God, had she ever heard quiet like this? Never. The
Sea Witch
was stil off the port bow, although she was dark and hard to see. Teal stopped as she heard a soft, light female voice.