No.

That was the only thought that lodged itself in Oscar’s mind: No.

There was no bloody way these people—whoever they were—were going to do anything to take Teddy from him.

Somehow, he managed to keep his head clear and his thoughts smooth as he faced what was surely the most dangerous moment of his life. Without looking, he reached for and took Teddy’s hand. It was freezing.

“Who are you?” he said, even as he measured the situation.

The man looked vaguely familiar, but Oscar was certain he’d never seen the woman before. Both of them appeared solid and fit, but that didn’t bother him.

It was the gun the female was holding that made his blood turn to ice.

“We tried to get you out of here,” she said, stepping into the room. “You had your chance. But just like stubborn, nosy Stuart Millore, you just wouldn’t leave.”

“Stuart Millore?” Teddy’s voice sounded a little creaky to Oscar, but as she spoke more, it gained strength. “So what did you do about him? Did you push him off the lighthouse?”

The man shrugged as the woman laughed. “Like I said, he got too nosy. And he started asking questions. He’d see us when we came to do the yard work—you think the lawn mows itself? Or those flowers just sprang up from out of nowhere?”

“That must be how you rigged up the recording of the scream,” Teddy said. “Because you were here working on the yard, and if anyone saw you, you had the perfect excuse.”

“That’s right. Been doing the landscape work for this place and others managed by the rental agency for years now. That kept us free for our nighttime work.”

“You’re talking too much, Misty,” interrupted her companion. “Let’s get this done.”

Oscar felt Teddy tense against him, and his heart skipped a beat. Whatever they were here to do, he suspected it didn’t bode well for him and Teddy.

“I say we shoot ’em and lock ’em in here,” the man said. “No one will find ’em for weeks—if then.”

Misty frowned. “I don’t want to see the mess every time we come in here to get our things. Plus—duh—obvious murder.” Her eyes narrowed. “I liked the way we did it with the other guy. Looked like an accident.”

“Three people falling from the top of a lighthouse? That might raise a little suspicion,” Teddy said, and Oscar squeezed her hand.

Did she want to get shot, for crying out loud?

“She’s got a point, Rob,” Misty said. “Still, I don’t want a big fucking mess in here. We’ve got stuff to store.”

“But there’s a big storm coming,” Rob said. “Another one. A nasty lightning strike would be—what do they call it? An act of God?” He laughed, and it made the hair on Oscar’s neck stand on end. “The lovebirds climbed up to the top of the lighthouse to watch the storm roll in—sooooo romantic—and oopsie, they get struck by lightning. There’s a lot of metal up there.” He looked at Oscar with cold eyes. “And that lighthouse is a big old beacon in the middle of nowhere, just waiting to attract a bolt of lightning.”

“Good plan. What’ll we do with them till then?” Misty asked, apparently in agreement with the idea and having no qualms talking about Oscar and Teddy as if they were inanimate objects.

“Just leave ’em here.” Rob glanced toward the interior of the room.

Oscar liked that idea. Not getting shot yet meant a chance to figure out an escape, so he tried not to look too enthusiastic.

“They’re not going to go anywhere with these.” Rob reached into one of the plastic tubs and produced a handful of zip ties. “Storm’s a couple hours away. We’ll have time to do a little diving before then—and this time, it won’t matter if they see us walking to and from the beach.” He gave Oscar and Teddy a cold smile.

“What are you diving for?” Teddy asked as Rob maneuvered over toward them.

“Buried treasure,” Misty said with a laugh. She kept the gun trained on Oscar as her partner zip-tied Teddy’s ankles then wrists together. And then she transferred her aim to Teddy when it was Oscar’s turn.

The plastic bit into Oscar’s wrists as Rob yanked the thick strip tight, restraining them behind his back. When Rob shoved him roughly to the floor, Oscar’s head bounced off one of the plastic tubs and he landed awkwardly, twisting one of his wrists. The zip ties on his ankles were just as tight.

“Buried treasure? Like what—a shipwreck?” Teddy, of course, had to ask the question.

Even though Oscar’s mind was filled with options for escape, he appreciated the fact that the more they knew about who these people were and what they wanted, the more it could help he and Teddy know what they faced. And potentially assist with an escape.

Still, he wasn’t all that optimistic at the moment. Especially since he thought he might have just sprained his wrist.

“The granddaddy of all Great Lakes shipwrecks, in fact,” Misty said as she stripped off her shorts and shirt to reveal a swimsuit. She pulled a wetsuit out of one of the tubs and began to shimmy into it, all the while talking. “Everyone else thought the Catherine went down closer to Chicago, but we were the ones who really found her.”

When Rob tried to hush her up, she turned on him. “Who the hell are they going to tell? We already know where she is. We’ve already got plenty of the cargo up—and there’s more to come. No one can stop us now.”

Oscar felt Teddy bristling next to him, and he almost smiled. But his wrist was screaming with pain, and his head pounded from where he’d hit the edge of a plastic tub. Those things were harder than they looked.

“You’re talking about the Catherine Teal?” Teddy asked. “The ship that went down in the late 1890s.”

“That’s right,” Misty said.

By now, their captors had donned diving gear. Rob helped Misty hoist the heavy oxygen tank onto her back, then, with face mask in one hand and gun in the other, he tucked a pair of flippers under his arm. Giving Oscar and Teddy a salute, he said, “See ya in a bit. Enjoy.”

And with that, Rob closed the door, leaving them in darkness.