Not that anyone would be able to dive during the storm, but it would take time to sail back to the site from the mainland, which gave anyone an open invitation to waltz in and wreak havoc while he was gone.
And he had to admit, the thought of his most irritating rival having the bal s to weather a storm that drove him home made him just a little competitive. Not that he·d risk his team·s safety to satisfy his own ego, but al indications pointed to the storm being manageable. It didn·t even qualify as a category one.
Until now, he·d reasoned that the
Sea Witch
was the only one who knew the extent of the riches that lay beneath them. Now it looked like he had another competitor. Why else would anyone hang out in the middle of the sea during a storm if not to stake their claim to the site? The fact that one of boats was named after an infamous pirate clipper only confirmed his suspicions. But, Jesus! Three little old ladies? It made no fucking sense. The answer was out there. He just couldn·t see it. Yet.
They emptied the refrigerator and tossed everything into a huge tub, which they sealed shut, then secured to something immovable. They did the same with al the contents of the cabinets and drawers, sealing the lids with duct tape to ensure things stayed dry. They secured the computers and other electronics with plastic and tape to take with them. In the pilothouse, Zane would be waterproofing everything in the cockpit that he couldn·t carry off the boat when they eventual y put into port.
Once the storm shutters were secured over the windows in the salon, it was dark inside³
not pitch, but dusk -like and hot.
Zane waited for the other boats to head in. They didn·t. He decided to play chicken and wait them out. Hanging around to see who blinked first grated on his nerves. Now that the ship was ful y secured, he decided to slip in a dive before the storm hit. It would clear his head.
He asked Teal to be his partner.
´Think they·l leave?µ She glared across the chop of the waves as she strapped on her tank.
He strapped on his tank. Ńobody wil be able to dive once this storm hits. We have about an hour, then whether they split or not, we·l head in.µ The sky was gunmetal gray, and there was a tinge of ozone in the air. The sea wasn·t too choppy for a dive. But it soon would be.
They suited up, checked tanks, and went down into blue liquid silk. After a long, stressful day, it was a Zen-like moment, and Zane·s chest fil ed with a primal satisfaction. He opened his arms wide, giving her the entire ocean of rippling purples, corals, and golds. After hanging suspended, savoring the pure perfection, he indicated which way he wanted to go.
He was going to use every second of their hour. No work, no salvage, just being one with the pure fathomless beauty of the ocean.
They swam through a school of brightly colored Fair y Basslets, their tiny bicolored bodies mimicking the colors of the sky in swoops of purple and gold.
Unafraid, they swam around the two humans in their midst like curious underwater butterflies.
Teal smiled, clearly charmed and delighted as the fish wov e and flashed, playing between their rising air bubbles. That smile made Zane·s chest ache. Why, he had no idea.
In the frame of her mask, her eyes suddenly narrowed. She grabbed his arm and pointed down. The Basletts scattered in pinpoints of bright color at their sudden tension. Zane drew his knife and spun around to put himself between Teal and ³whatever.
Not
what
ever.
Who
ever.
Silt swirled around three divers as they moved about thirty feet below where Zane and Teal hovered. Oblivious to the divers above them, the men were fil ing baskets as fast as they could. Helping themselves, Zane thought, furious, to wha tever the hel they wanted. Clearly they believed they could steal to their heart·s content when he and his team were safely ensconced on the
Decrepit
preparing for the storm.
Wel , fuck that for a joke.
Teal·s fingers tightened on his arm. She shook her head.
No!
The smart move would be to slip back to the surface as quietly as they·d arrived. Zane didn·t know who these guys were, but greedy men were dangerous, and if they were the bastards who·d tried to disable the
Decrepit,
that made them dangerous
and
potential kil ers. If the
Decrepit
had sunk, it would·ve cleared the way to reap what he·d fucking -wel worked his ass off to sow.
But while he itched to confront the thieves head -on, he wasn·t stupid enough to engage them while Teal was with him. The safest bet was to cal in the authorities and have them waiting when the divers surfaced.
The water was becoming darker by the minute as the last of the sun·s rays struggled to permeate the water. A strong current pul ed them away from the
Decrepit
. Despite the danger³to the dive site and to Teal³Zane hesitated.
W
hich
boat had they dived from? The
Sea Witch
? The
Good Fortune
? One of the others? The figures were al clearly male, and the redhead, as far as he knew, was sailing alone. But again, she could·ve hired help «
Other dark shapes were emerging as the daylight died away. Those thieving bastards weren·t the only ones hunting. Out on the far edges of the wreck, sharks emerged to hunt for dinner.
As much as Zane wanted to go down there and whip some ass, the odds were against him.
Fol owing these assholes at a safe distance, then letting the authorities do their thing made better sense. This was one situation where he had to curb his impulsiveness. Taking risks could get him kil ed. Worse, it could get T eal kil ed.
Not a risk he was wil ing to take.
He knew Teal wel enough to know she wouldn·t return to the
Decrepit
without him, although he tried motioning her to go. He scowled when he saw the glint in her eyes and her diving knife in her hand. Being th e contrary woman that she was, she shook her head, clearly indicating that if he stayed, so would she.
He motioned that they
both
rise to put some distance between the men and themselves. And keep an eye on the sharks lazily swimming between them and the men on the ocean floor.
With the sun setting, he and Teal would have the cover of darkness soon enough. It was just a case of not being seen. A game of patience.
She nodded, but didn·t let go of his forearm as they slowly ascended through tiers of blue.
A swift blur of black swam into Zane·s peripheral vision moments before he felt a blow to the side of his head. It was hard enough to make him see spinning starfish for a few seconds, and left him disoriented for a few more. Bubbles obliterated his view of his attacker and he struggled to maintain consciousness as he searched through the gloom for Teal. His heart pounded deafeningly in his ears.
Teal!
Zane righted himself and spun around in a frantic circle. Where the hel «
A jerky mess of arms, thrashing legs, and tanks off to his right showed Teal struggling with a man. Zane caught the brief metal ic flash of the knife ³in Teal·s hand or that of her attacker? Jesus³A swift slash was fol owed by a cloud of red.
Zane·s heart seized and he propel ed himself toward the struggling couple as fast as he could. A shark swiveled into his legs and he kicked hard, hitting it in the side and jettisoning it out of his path.
The man with Teal broke away, streaming red behind him. Thank God. Self -defense³Teal had wisely used her knife.
Zane grabbed the guy·s hose, and sliced through it, causing a shower of bubbles to rise with the man as he frantical y kicked his way to the surface.
Zane turned back to look for Teal. The other men were stil below them. With any fucki ng luck he could get her the hel out of the water before they realized they·d even been there.
Oh, shit shit shit. Five blacktips were circling her in a slow macabre dance that turned his body to ice.
Reminding himself that blacktips were timid by nature , he kicked off, powerful strokes of his flippers guiding him in a few short bursts of energy. Timid alone, but right here they had an unpredictable fucking mob mentality, and these sharks were known for becoming aggressive in the presence of food. Hard not to anthropomorphize the swirling, swishing fins and tails³but he read hunger gleaming avariciously in those fish -eyed stares. Heart manic, he swam around to face Teal so he didn·t frighten her even more.
The largest of the sharks rotated to give him a fuck-off-I·m-about-to-have-dinner glare.
Face pale, eyes terrified behind her mask, Teal jerked in surprise, one hand clamped around her forearm. A mist of red blossomed from between her fingers.
Jesus!
Zane·s heart went from manic to bal istic.
She had been cut,
no wonder the sharks were circling.
Right now he didn·t give a fuck about the bastards who were stealing his treasure, or snarling, circling sharks. Screw his air supply. He had to get Teal the hel out of the water.
Now! Go. Go. Go.
Zane pushed her hand away from the slash in her arm, covering the bloody gash with the hard clamp of his own fingers. Al that was between them and five hungry sharks were their dive knives. And if the men below them happened to glance up «
Show no fear
. Zane tugged her along slightly behind him, and pretended the damned sharks weren·t there.
For a few moments he thought his bluff was working ³
The back of his head exploded with pain.
Nooooo!
He could no longer feel Teal·s arm gripped in his hand. Had he let go of her, for fuck sake? His vision wavered and the water started turning black as he struggled to stay conscious.
Stay with it, Ace.
A jolt of adrenaline brought him sickeningly back to his senses. His stomached heaved from the force of the blow, and his vision was seriously impaired, but he had no time to get his shit together. He whipped around to find Teal, but she wasn·t there.
He couldn·t see her. Oh, Jesus. He couldn·t see her anywh ere.
It was just him and five circling sharks.
He dived down to the sandy bottom, visibility dangerously lousy with the churned up sand, and the dying natural light. The men were gone. The fil ed baskets gone with them. And there was no sign of Teal.
Nooooooo.
The pain behind his eyes was nothing compared to the agony of fear in Zane·s chest as he rose as quickly as he dared to the surface to get help. What the hel was he thinking, diving in the teeth of a storm? Knowing³fuck it³
knowing
that someone out there was just waiting for the
Decrepit
to pul out so they could swoop in and pirate everything they could get their hands on?
He·d put Teal·s life in danger because he was too stubborn, too
stupid
to get the hel out of Dodge when he should have. Asshole.
He felt the brush of a body beside him. Christ. He didn·t have time for sharks.
He dodged. It swam past him. Another came straight for him, its black eyes glassy.
Zane didn·t hesitate. He punched it as hard as he could in the side of the head. It swi veled off in an angry swish of fins. They were going to have to fight with his own self -loathing if they planned to eviscerate him today.
He fol owed his bubbles to the surface as quickly as he dared.
* * *
His brain wouldn·t go there. He·d find her if it kil ed him.
Find her. Alive. That was the only acceptable outcome.
After half an hour of frantic searching, the three of them broke the surface emptyhanded.
´They took her,µ Zane said grimly as they stripped off their tanks on the dive platform. In the blue-gray dusk, the five other boats bobbed on the water a mile away.
Óne of those sons of bitches has her.µ Because the other alternative was that she was dead, and had been dragged off by the sharks. He held to the thought that she·d been taken.
Maggie handed them each a towel. Í·ve contacted the police. They·l be here within the hour.µ
Zane·s stomach heaved with nausea, and the pain on the back of his head was debilitating.
He shook it off. Í·m not waiting an hour.µ
´Don·t do anything rash, honey,µ Maggie·s face creased with worry. Ĺet the authorities find her.µ
Ĺike hel .µ Zane pul ed on a T -shirt and jumped into the speedboat tied on the dive platform. Ányone want in?µ
Several security guys jumped down to join him, as did Ryan and Colson.
Maggie had a death grip on Ben·s arm. As soon as everyone was in, Zane cranked up the engine with a powerful roar. Thunder rol ed in the distance. The rain would start any minute now.
Waves hammered the boat, making it feel as though they were bouncing on cement. He put al his muscle into it, steadily closing the distance between himself and the
Sea Witch,
which was anchored the closest.
The speedboat slewed against the hul of the sleek little boat with a dul thud.
The head of his security team wordlessly handed him a Sig 220. Zane didn·t like guns. A lot.
But he sure as hel wasn·t afraid to use it.
He leaped onto the ladder and climbed onto the aft deck as the rain came down. A deathly calm came over him as the others fanned out around the door leading inside.
He kicked the door open. The redhead, curled on the sofa reading, let out a bloodcurdling shriek and jumped to her feet. She grabbed up a nearby a basebal bat in a defensive stance.
The sight of her taking on six hea vily armed men with a Louisvil e Slugger might have been funny if Zane hadn·t been so frightened for Teal·s safety.
´What the hel do you want, Cutter?µ she demanded. Pretty calmly for a lone woman seeing half a dozen armed men show up unexpectedly on her boat. Or had she expected him? She hefted the bat as if she knew how to use it. Her ridiculously vibrant red hair was scraped back in a ponytail, she wore reading glasses, and she was not happy to see him. Too fucking bad.