Kane stood at the end of the dock waiting for them, an apprehensive scowl on his normally cheerful face. They had barely bumped against the wooden structure before he was climbing over the side. Magna giggled when he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face against her neck.

“It’s not funny,” he muttered, pressing a hot kiss to her neck.

“What is wrong?” she asked, pulling back far enough to gaze up at him.

Kane shot a heated look at Gabe. “I was afraid you wouldn’t come back,” he reluctantly admitted. “When Gabe said you had gone for a swim… I just… You have me twisted in a knot.”

Hell, he could hardly think straight. He knew he probably sounded like a pouty little boy, but he didn’t care. His arms tightened around her before he pulled back to look at her in concern.

“Your shoulder …,” he started to say.

Magna smiled up at him with glowing eyes. “It is completely healed,” she said.

Kane’s gaze softened, and he brushed a strand of her hair back from her face. His finger ran down her cheek to her neck, pausing on the thin line he felt there, the doctor in him curious about the physical differences between her and a human.

“Touch me,” she whispered, seeming to understand his curiosity. “You will not hurt me.”

Kane glanced at where Gabe had stopped to watch them. He could see in his friend’s face that Gabe understood he needed this time with Magna. Returning his gaze to Magna’s neck, he deftly followed along the long thin line. The ‘scales’ were really just a slightly different texture of skin in a mixture of blues. From a distance, it looked like a delicate tattoo.

“How do you breathe underwater and above ground?” he asked.

Magna opened her mouth to respond, then closed it and frowned at something behind him. Turning, he watched as Ross Galloway stepped off the path and onto the dock. He instinctively pulled Magna closer to his body at the same time as Gabe hissed a warning.

The three of them watched as Ross walked closer. The hair on the back of Kane’s neck stood up when Ross’s eyes locked on Magna. He swallowed down the desire to push her behind himself. Instead, Kane turned to face the other man as he came to a stop next to the boat.

“Ross,” Kane said, tipping his head in greeting.

Ross returned his nod before his eyes swept over the back of the boat, pausing on the tattered remains of the net before sliding away. He returned his attention back to Magna before Gabe moved to block his view.

“What do you want?” Gabe asked bluntly.

Ross chuckled and nodded his head to the net. “I came to see if you were able to free the calf that was caught,” he said with a shrug.

“Since when have you ever given a damn about the environment?” Gabe demanded, folding his arms across his chest.

“Since I found my net missing,” Ross replied with an easy grin. “I thought it was still in the shed. It looks like someone borrowed it. I was hoping you had been able to retrieve the one wrapped around the calf. I’d like to take a look at it and see if it is mine.”

Kane watched the suspicious look cross Gabe’s face, but there wasn’t a lot his friend could say. His arm curled around Magna’s waist and he decided that it was a good time to excuse the two of them. Gabe could handle Ross on his own.

“If you’ll excuse us, I know Magna is probably starving,” Kane said, standing to one side as Ross climbed over the side.

“Magna? An unusual name for an unusual woman,” Ross observed, stopping in front of her. “The whales were pretty cool. Did you get to see the calf?”

Magna gave Ross a tight smile and nodded. “Yes. The calf was afraid, but his mother was there to calm him. He learned a valuable lesson and has promised to use care in the future.”

“He promised?” Ross repeated with a raised eyebrow.

Kane’s arm tightened, and he pulled Magna around Ross. He climbed up on one of the lockers and stepped up onto the dock before reaching down to offer Magna his hand. He almost came unglued when Ross wrapped his hand around Magna’s upper arm as she stepped up onto the locker.

“Nice tattoos. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any like them before,” Ross commented, staring at Magna’s neck.

“I’m sure you haven’t,” she said, pulling her arm free and reaching for Kane’s hand.

Kane glanced at Gabe over Magna’s head as he helped her up onto the dock. He saw the fury in Gabe’s eyes, but he also saw the unease. Something wasn’t right.

“I’ll meet you up at the house,” Kane told Gabe. “Have a good evening, Ross.”

Ross didn’t turn back around to Gabe until Kane and Magna walked down the dock and left his sight as they climbed the stairs leading up to the house, but when he did, the fury and suspicion in Gabe’s eyes were hard to miss.

“Nice looking woman,” he commented casually. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her around here before.”

Gabe’s jaw tightened. “That’s because she’s not from this area,” he retorted, before jerking his head toward the net. “Is it your net or not? The tag that’s supposed to be on it is gone.”

Ross walked over and touched the net with the toe of his boot. He could see some of the old patches he had done on it. It was the one he had cut loose the other morning. His mind wasn’t on the net, though, it was on the woman. She was definitely the one he had seen underwater.

“Whoever stole it likely wouldn’t have kept the tag on it,” he replied with a wry grin. “It’s hard to tell, but it looks like it is mine. I was going to file a police report, but figured it wouldn’t do any good, then I thought I’d better check with you first.”

“I’ll have to report it,” Gabe said, folding his arms across his chest again. “You might want to go ahead and file that report, otherwise you’ll be looking at a hefty fine.”

Ross shook his head. “I don’t think it is necessary to report it. No harm done, after all,” he said, locking eyes with Gabe in a silent battle of wills.

“It’s my job,” Gabe stated.

Ross scowled. The last thing he wanted was the hassle of paperwork. A slow smile curved his lips as it occurred to him that Gabe would want it even less.

“Strange that neither Nathan nor I saw Magna on your boat when we pulled up,” he commented, looking back at Gabe.

“She was there,” Gabe stated in a cool voice.

“Not a lot of places to hide and your bridge is pretty open,” Ross observed with a shrug.

“She wasn’t hiding and she was there,” Gabe repeated, not budging.

Ross rubbed his jaw and nodded. “If you say so,” he said, turning to climb back off the boat. He paused after he was safely on the dock and glanced back at Gabe. “It’s strange, I thought I saw something when I was diving. I guess I’ll have to put that in the report if you insist on filing one.”

The shuttered look in Gabe’s eyes told him that he had hit a sensitive nerve. Triumph filled him when Gabe glanced down at the net. Ross waited, knowing that the other man was wondering how much he knew, or thought he knew.

“I guess no harm was done,” Gabe finally said with a shrug. “Just don’t let it happen again.”

“I won’t,” Ross promised. “Perhaps I’ll see Magna around town. I hope you have a good evening.”

Ross turned away and walked down the dock when Gabe didn’t reply. Earlier, he had debated if he should come and confront Gabe or not. Now, he was glad he had. He had looked at the video on the camera. There had been something there, but it had been fuzzy, just a blur and a faint outline before the damn battery had died. This visit had given him concrete proof that he had seen a woman, Magna, and that she wasn’t your typical female – a fact that Gabe and Kane were trying to hide.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he climbed along the uneven path that cut through the trees up to the road. It was a bit more difficult hike than using the stairs, but for once he enjoyed the exercise.

He returned to his truck and climbed in. The house was barely visible through the trees on the side of the mountain. Pulling out a cigarette, he placed it between his lips and lit it with the lighter from the console next to him. Drawing in a deep breath, he slowly released a series of smoke rings. Now, he just needed to figure out a way to profit from his knowledge.