Chapter Fifteen
He waited until they were on the street in front of the bank, wanting the distraction of other people, of movement, and not of the hope that they could move forward. To keep her safe, he had to shove that possibility out of the picture.
“We’re not going to the cops.”
“What? Why not?”
He rubbed the knuckle of his thumb between his eyebrows. “What do you think they can do?”
“Find your brother! Find Jacob and Linda! We can’t do this on our own. We’ve done everything we can. And we have to tell them about Dr. Vigil.” She walked backwards, facing him, and pressed her hands against his chest to stop him as he turned toward the docks.
He dodged her, her touch, her body, her gaze.
“Adrian.” She pivoted, scrambling after him on the cracked sidewalk. “Why don’t you want the police involved?” She grabbed at his arm.
Pain shot through him when her fingers dug into his biceps and he jerked away, sending her off balance. He spun to catch her. As soon as her feet were under her, she ripped free, betrayal etched on her face.
Self-loathing slammed through him, piercing his own pain. “Did I hurt you?”
“I’m fine.” She waved off his concern. “You don’t have a permit to dive there, do you?”
“Mallory.”
“And now our friends are in danger because you can’t bring the police out there without getting in trouble.”
“Is that what you think?” He stared. “You think that I would put myself over their safety?”
She set her jaw stubbornly. “If the government finds out you’re excavating without a permit, you can’t excavate here anymore. You’d lose everything you put into this dive.”
“I already have!” The words burst from him. She flinched from the violence that, damn it, he thought he had under control. “I already have. They’re dead, Mallory. They’re dead. My brother, Jacob, Linda, Robert. There’s no other explanation.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks. “They’re not. We looked everywhere. We would have found them. Their bodies would have been there, just like Robert’s.”
He shook his head. “His body was a message. The others could have been taken to the barge and killed, dropped into the water where they may never be found.”
“Why? Why would someone do something like that?”
He stopped to face her. “Do you understand the money involved here? The amount a collector would pay for one box would make my career for a lifetime, fund any dig I wanted to go on forever. All four boxes, you could buy a small country. It makes the money in Robert’s journal look like pocket change.” He started walking. He heard her running behind him but he didn’t look at her. If he did, he couldn’t go through with this.
“Go home, Mallory. Leave. It’s what you do when things get too hard, isn’t it?”
“Not anymore.”
The tightness in her voice made him want to turn, apologize. But her life could depend on him keeping his distance.
“What is wrong with you?” she demanded, right in his ear.
He didn’t slow. “I’m going to do this by myself.”
“You can’t.”
“Go home to Austin.” He hadn’t thought it would be so hard to shake her. Clearly she’d become more stubborn. “I’ll let you know what happens.”
“Adrian.” She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.
He kept going and prayed she wouldn’t follow.
Then cursed when she didn’t.
Adrian guided the forty-five-foot yacht out of the harbor, eager to get to the site. The craft was almost more than he could handle on his own, but the lure of spending Smoller’s money had been great, and this boat had features that made managing it alone simple.
The fact that this one had a queen-sized bed in the stateroom was incidental. He’d be sleeping in it alone. The thought made his heart clench. The one person he loved who was still in his life and he’d pushed her away. No matter his intentions, she didn’t know and wouldn’t forgive him.
She’d probably gone to the police without him, so he needed to be on the watch for them as well as Smoller. Since everyone was out of the way at the barge, Smoller would make his move soon. Adrian would be there when he did.
He’d also replaced his dive equipment with Smoller’s money, and while diving alone went against every safety precaution he knew, he had to see what was going on with his site.
A noise below tightened his nerves and he throttled down, lowered the anchor so he could investigate. Probably something had shifted when he hit the open water, but—
Mallory stepped out of the galley as he hit the last step out of the pilothouse. His heart slammed against his ribs. Why wasn’t she on the way to Texas, to safety?
She tucked her arms smugly around herself and tilted her chin up, daring him to throw her overboard, no doubt.
He shook his head. “I should have known.”
“Known what?”
“That you wouldn’t listen. Why won’t you listen?”
“To your nonsense? Your arrogant ‘I can do this myself’ bullshit? What are you trying to protect me from, Adrian?”
She’d seen right through him. His surprise must have shown on his face because she barreled on.
“Yes, I know you were trying to protect me. I’m not an idiot. Is it Valentine? Do you think he’ll try to hurt me?”
“No. Yes.” He backed up, passed a hand over his hair. “I don’t know. I do know that I couldn’t keep the others safe and I won’t risk you.”
She braced her hand against the doorway as a swell rolled the boat. “But you’ll let me risk you?”
He blew out a dismissive breath. “I’m no risk.”
“Yes you are. I’m not going to lose you again. You can’t do this by yourself, so here I am. I’m not walking away. You can throw me overboard or turn around and take me to the harbor, but even then, you won’t be rid of me that easy. I love you.”
He couldn’t be hearing her right, and though his brain told him to turn this boat around and dump her on the dock, his heart wanted to sweep her into his arms and never let go. She loved him. “After everything?”
Stepping forward, she curved her hand over his cheek. “I think it’s time for a new beginning. Let’s leave the past in the past, all right?”
Stomach churning with joy and fear, he closed his hand over her wrist and smiled down into her eyes. If she meant so much to him, how could he risk her? “Not easy to do. We are archaeologists.”
“Oh, you pick now to be funny.” She eased closer, her body brushing against his. “On the streets of Belize City you scream at me like a crazy man, but now you want to be funny.”
He released her wrist to fold both hands around her waist. His blood heated with her nearness, the scent of her, the softness of her. “I’m done being funny for now. I love you, Mal. Kiss me, woman.” Because God knew what lay around the corner.
With a teasing smile of her own, she stretched up and pressed her mouth to his.
“I love you,” she said again, dropping back on her heels and releasing him. “Now show me your boat.”
Apparently spending someone else’s money was easy for him. She was glad he’d bought a good-sized boat, because she never would have been able to stow away on a boat the size of The Mysterious Miss M. All she’d had to do here was slip into the head while he released the boat from the dock.
Now she moved past the galley, which housed a refrigerator, dishwasher and stove, down into the sleeping quarters, with its queen-sized bed.
Adrian followed her. “What do you think?”
“Nice bed.”
“It is that.” He stepped up into the galley. “With a fridge and stove, we won’t have to eat much more cold Spam. I sent a boy to the market to stock up. I bought new dive gear as well, but I don’t have a suit for you.”
“Doesn’t matter.” She sat on the bed and leaned back on her hands. “I got my own.” She nodded toward the closet where she’d stashed her gear.
He looked from the closet to her with a raised eyebrow. She shrugged. “I can’t believe you thought you were going to go back and dive alone. You’re not usually stupid, Adrian.”
“I’m not going back to dive.”
This time she raised an eyebrow.
He lifted a hand in concession. “Okay, not just going back to dive. I’m trying to catch Smoller in the act of stealing my site.”
“So you think he killed Robert and the others, which I don’t believe, by the way.” Though Adrian’s argument about their possible deaths made chilling sense. “You think he’s going to confess to you and let you walk away?”
“No. I don’t think that.”
“So what? Why would he kill the professor?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he thought Robert would let me know he was coming. Maybe he thought I’d hurry up and get the box and get out of the way. I don’t know. But I know he’s got a hand in Robert’s death.”
She sat forward. “You expected him to hurt me. That’s why you chased me away. What do you think will happen now?”
“Once we’re out on the site, he’ll reveal himself, one way or another. And I have the Belize Defence Force alerted.”
“You do?” Relief washed through her, though she knew what this cost him. By going to the authorities, he’d lost any chance to come back to Belize to excavate. He’d surrendered his site, his treasure to find his brother. If he’d made that choice, he couldn’t hate her for her confession. “I went to the police and told them about Dr. Vigil.”
He stared at her a moment, his expression unreadable, his mouth grim, then he nodded. He might be upset but he didn’t hate her.
At least they weren’t in this alone anymore.
“Mal.” He rested his hands on her shoulders, his forehead against hers, and he closed his eyes. “My brother is out there. I need to find him. I’ve done all I know how to do. I need your help, all right?”
As if she could deny him.
Reaching the barge only took two hours by boat. No one was there and Adrian battled his disappointment that he’d perhaps been wrong, or at least was too soon. He docked and jumped onto the barge before the sound of the engine had faded over the water. The sun had disappeared below the horizon, but the barge’s open design made it easy to inspect. Clearly no one had been here in days.
He returned to the boat and stepped into the galley where Mallory cheerfully arranged fresh pieces of chicken on the broiler pan. He flashed back to one of the happy memories he had of their house, of walking into the kitchen to see her cooking, the feeling of warmth and belonging, of security, that enveloped him. The same feeling washed over him now, diluting the sadness of the past few days, and he moved closer.
“I want to dive the place where our boat went down first thing tomorrow.” Adrian needed to make a more thorough inspection, wanted to see if his brother’s body was there, but he couldn’t say it, not when she looked so happy. He shifted his tone to teasing. “Beats the hell out of cooking over a campfire.”
“A girl could get used to this.” She sprinkled seasoning on the chicken. “I’ve actually become a pretty good cook.”
He slid his hand beneath her jaw, tilted her head up. God, he couldn’t have managed the past few days without her by his side. And tonight, instead of the cramped tent, they’d have an entire bed.
As if reading his thoughts, she stepped back. “My hands.” She held them in front of her as she moved to the sink, leaving him bereft. “I’ll call you when dinner is ready.”
Despite the dining area in the living quarters of the boat, they ate under the stars, balancing their plates on their laps like in camp. Using utensils that weren’t plastic was a novelty to Adrian, as was eating something not flavored with campfire smoke. And Mal was right. She could cook and seemed proud of her accomplishment.
Night after night of this, of this woman, how much better would that be than night after night of campfires and a cold sleeping bag?
“I was going to come back,” he said.
She looked up from her plate. “What?”
“I was going to get this ship raised, and I was going to come back to you. That’s why I didn’t sign the papers.”
She put her silverware down very carefully. “You were going to come back to Pensacola?” Her voice was guarded.
“Pensacola, Austin.” He waved his fork. “Wherever you were.”
“Adrian—”
He kept talking, hearing the doubt, the question in her tone. “I had to do this first. I had to end on a bang, but you were with me all the time, in my heart. I named the Miss M for you. Once I was done, I was going to quit and come home to you.”
“After three years without a word?” She pushed to her feet and walked to the railing, her arms crossed tightly. “Why are you telling me this?”
He put down his fork and leaned back. “Because I don’t think you believed me when I told you I loved you.”
She lifted a trembling hand to hold her windblown hair away from her face. “Oh, I believed you. I just—if you loved me—no. It’s an old fight.”
“If I loved you more than I loved my job.” He came up behind her, stood close but didn’t touch her.
“It doesn’t matter anymore.” She turned to him. “I said I love you. I want the past to stay there, all right?” She put her palm on his cheek and rose to kiss him softly, an invitation to take it further.
So he moved away. “If we don’t fix it, we might break it again.”
She shook her head. “I can’t think about that now. Everything else hurts too much. I can’t go back there. Please, Adrian, let’s just move forward.”
If only it was that easy.
Mallory stood in the stateroom doorway wearing one of his T-shirts, the SCUBA one that proclaimed him a Sex Crazed Underwater Bad Ass. She’d bought it for him years ago. He’d always liked it better on her, the way the thin fabric clung to her curves and just hit the tops of her thighs. God, he loved her legs, long and smooth, loved skimming his hands over them. He sat forward on the bed and beckoned. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and approached, her hips rolling seductively, a playful light in her eyes. Oh, good. He liked that kind of sex. He surged off the bed to stand in front of her.
Her breath hitched, her eyes flicking to his lips, but she didn’t move away as he lowered his mouth to hers. Her taste was hot and salty, so he dived in, cupping her head in his hands. She leaned into his kiss and slid her tongue over his lower lip. With a groan, he took her calves in his hands, parting her legs for his body, hooking them around his hips. She curled her hands around the back of his head as he scooted her back on the mattress.
Shifting her hips, she brought him into the cradle of her own, digging her heels into the backs of his thighs, and his already inflamed desire decimated his self-control. Ticklish, she flinched when he slipped his hands under her shirt, and he smiled against her mouth before he covered her breast with his palm.
She wore one of those insubstantial lacy things that she never used to wear, and he circled her nipple. Gasping, she arched into his touch. He fumbled for the hem of her shirt, bunched it up under her arms, and broke the kiss to look down at her. Damn, she was gorgeous.
She wriggled the rest of the way out of her shirt, the movement causing interesting sensations where their hips met. Sensations he wanted to explore further. But she was moving, her legs tightening about him as she tried to sit up, sliding her hands over his bare chest, her fingers exploring the grooves of muscle, moving so lightly he had to grit his teeth against the pleasure. As she touched him, she held his gaze, as if looking away would break the spell. Okay. So he wouldn’t look away, either, even as she leaned in for another kiss.
He linked his arms behind her hips and dragged her closer, positioning her heat right over his erection. He reached down the back of her panties, squeezed, and she rolled against him. Oh, man. Much more of that and he wouldn’t last long.
Okay, maybe one more time. He ground his teeth and broke eye contact to slip his hand between them, finding her center of pleasure easily, with the practice of a thousand times. He caught her head with his free hand and dipped his mouth to her throat. As his teeth scraped the sensitive skin above her collarbone, she pressed against him and exploded.
That was all he could take. His hunger for her devoured the last of his selflessness.
“Adrian.” His name came out a throaty growl as she reached for him.
The blood pounded in his ears. Now. Now. Now. He reached under her arms and lifted her over him, straddling him, her hair falling between them, stroking his already sensitized skin, feeding his need.
And then he was inside her, driving into her, his hands splayed on her hips, holding her as he nuzzled the line of her throat.
Not good enough. He couldn’t get deep enough. He tumbled her onto her back and hooked her legs around his elbows. Her cry broke through his desire-maddened haze. She looked so pale against the dark comforter, and he could see the marks his stubble and teeth left on her skin.
Damn, not again. He would not leave bruises on her again.
“Did I hurt you?” he rasped, struggling for control, for sanity, which hovered just out of reach.
She shook her head, her eyes a little frantic. With shaking hands, he smoothed her hair back, holding still inside her when every instinct told him to take her. He lowered his head to kiss her softly, ignoring her attempts to make the kiss more erotic. With his body buried in hers, he gave her a courting kiss, gentle, exploring.
She eased beneath him, opening to him, wrapping her arms around him, sliding her hands over him in the rhythm of the kiss.
It was the sexiest damn thing he’d ever felt in his life.
He started to move, slowly, easing in and out of her in a pace he’d never attempted and now he regretted the lack. He could feel so much more this way.
She started trembling beneath him, violently, and tossed her head back. He continued the excruciating pace until he drew a keening sound from her, felt the flutter of her muscles around him. He dragged it out as long as he could before they both tumbled into pleasure.
Adrian’s movements were jerky as he checked his gear, his jaw locked. They’d anchored over the wreckage of The Mysterious Miss M and prepared to dive, to look for some sign of Toney and the others. Fear bubbled in Mallory’s own throat. She didn’t want to be the one to discover the bodies, but worse, she didn’t want Adrian to find his brother, not like this.
But she couldn’t ask him to wait. She leaned over to inspect the gauges on his tanks and squeezed his shoulder. He grimaced, turned her to give her own gauges a once-over, then tucked the regulator between clenched teeth and tumbled over the side of the boat.
For the first time since she’d dived this trip, the water didn’t calm her. In fact, the deeper she swam, the tighter her stomach knotted. Ahead of her, Adrian’s strokes were strong and sure. Determined.
Prayers she thought she’d forgotten how to say bubbled up in her mind. “Please don’t let them be down here. Please don’t let us find them. Please let them be safe somewhere.”
But as they approached the wreckage, she had to wonder where they could be, and how they could have gotten anywhere without the boat or truck.
God, the boat was a mess, her red and white hull splintered, the pieces scattered in some places, piled in others. Adrian swam toward a pile, began lifting pieces, pushing them aside. Mallory watched before she followed. If he found something, she wanted to be there for him.
Together they worked, flipping pieces aside that were heavier than they looked. Mallory found herself holding her breath with each piece of debris, so scared of what they’d find under it. She chanced a glimpse at Adrian, saw only the grimness in his eyes. He didn’t even glance in her direction.
Shutting her out again, only this time she was grateful.
In the end they found nothing, though they left no debris unturned. Adrian silently stripped off his gear once they reached the deck. Mallory didn’t say anything but waited for him to speak, willed him to cut the tension. But he only stowed his gear and turned into the cabin. When she followed, she saw he had his head in the refrigerator. He pulled out a carton of ice cream and tossed it on the table so it wobbled on its rim, then settled. He opened a drawer with more force than necessary and pulled out a spoon.
He was going to eat ice cream? He couldn’t find his brother so he was going to indulge in chocolate. Okay, she wasn’t going to wait for him to go first.
“What are you doing?”
“Celebrating.” But nothing in his demeanor, his voice, his expression, seemed the least bit joyful. “My brother is not on the bottom of the ocean, at least not here. So we need to celebrate. Grab a spoon.” He motioned with his spoon toward the drawer but didn’t look at her.
“Adrian.”
He scooped a bite of ice cream into his mouth and shook his head. “Don’t say it.”
“What?”
“That it’s too soon to celebrate, that we still don’t have any answers, that, Jesus, for all we know, they’re in pieces down there.”
“Adrian!”
He scooped another spoonful, held it over the container and glared at her. “What? You want me to be positive? Where can they be? They’re either dead or taken. I don’t know what else to do.” He jammed the spoon into the ice cream and stepped away from it, his hands on his hips, his head down. “I don’t know what else to do.”
“They’re safe. They have to be. They’re somewhere looking for us. They’ll realize we’re here and come back.”
He didn’t look at her. “I wish I could be that hopeful.”
She walked up behind him, wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her cheek between his shoulder blades. “I’ll hold out hope for all of us.”
Adrian’s expression was grim, even as he tucked into his eggs and bacon the next morning. His mind was already on the ship below. He’d barely looked at her this morning. Okay, well, since they got out of bed, because he’d been very, very attentive when she’d woken up, almost reverent.
She knew him well enough to know he was going to make a decision that would piss her off.
“I want you to stay on the boat when I dive.”
She stiffened at his decision, but made every effort to keep calm. “You can’t excavate by yourself.”
“I can’t risk you.”
She folded her arms on the table. “Really. What do you think you can get done down there without me?”
He blew out a frustrated breath. “It’s a safety issue, not a reflection on your abilities, Mallory.”
She lifted a brow. “You stay and I’ll go down.”
“Ah.” He wagged a finger at her. “I was here first.”
“But it would make more sense for you to stay. You’re stronger. If anything happens while I’m diving, it will be easier for you to bring me up than for me to bring you up.”
He rubbed the side of his hand over his upper lip, his gaze steady on hers. Was he considering it?
“Okay. We both go. That way I can keep an eye on you.”
She might have known he wouldn’t give up his chance to get in the water. Still, she had to clarify. “We just leave the boat unattended?”
“We secure her to the best of our abilities, lock up everything we can, lash her to the barge, anchor her and hope for the best. Either way is risky, Mallory. I wasn’t crazy about leaving you topside alone anyway.”
“The alternative is to wait for more divers to show up.”
He made a face. “Now’s not the time to bring in more people, not until we have some answers.”
“So you called Jeff already to hold off on the divers.”
“Before we left the city.” He tapped the tines of his fork against the plate.
“But you don’t want to wait to check the site.”
He sat forward, both arms on the table. “I can’t wait.”
“Then we go.” She stood, pushing her plate toward him. “I believe since I cooked, you do the dishes.”
After they cleaned up, they donned their new gear and dived. The site was in good shape. Relief damn near buoyed Adrian to the surface when they rolled back the rubber tarp to see the bronze masthead intact. They’d have to wait for Jeff’s divers to raise it once this was all done, but knowing it was still there, that it hadn’t gone missing, eased his mind. He glanced over at Mallory and saw the smile in her eyes behind her goggles.
They had discussed making the casket their priority over the next few days, so Mallory gave the lion’s head a gentle pat and swam down the belly of the boat to excavate a new area.
God, he loved her. He loved the graceful movement of her legs as she finned to stay in place, loved the concentration, the gentleness of her hands as she stroked away the sand. He loved that she’d stowed away to be with him, ignoring his own stubborn high-handedness. Yes, he’d thought he was right—he still wished she’d gone so he’d know she was safe, but he loved that she was with him.
He loved her. So he joined her.
The two of them, in their limited time, weren’t able to accomplish much, and the alarm on his watch went off too soon. Together they swam to the first decompression stop, and he twined his legs about hers, rubbed his heel against the back of her calf, letting her know what they’d be doing once they surfaced. Already he could sense the storm above them, stirring up the water. They could make love while the rain pounded. It’d be nice not to worry about a leaking tent.
The minute they reached the boat, he stripped off his mask, spat out his regulator and reached for her. Above them, clouds churned, obscuring the sun. Only the running lights of the boat illuminated them. She laughed and scrambled over the edge of the boat, where her laughter cut off abruptly, a dying echo over the ocean. Alarmed, Adrian heaved himself up and over the side.
“Good evening, Adrian.” Valentine Smoller sat at the small table, leaning back in the chair, his eyes narrowed. “It’s been a long time. Mallory, I’m surprised to see you here after all you told me about Adrian.” He looked from one to the other. “The reunion agrees with you.”