by L. A. Fiore
The vessels pulled up on either side of The Mooring. Noah was right in the front, his expression blank, his eyes cold. Then he saw me and that mask slipped. Rage, the likes of which I had never seen, burned in his eyes. This was Noah, the cold-blooded, ruthless killer and I was fucking thrilled to see him.
As soon as they were close enough, they jumped decks. I think Decker and his crew were in a bit of shock because no one made a move as Noah prowled to one of the crew, grabbed his head, and with a quick twist broke his neck.
Then all hell broke loose.
I untied Zoe’s hands and we moved to the upper deck; it seemed the safest choice.
“Holy shit.” I pointed. “Hawk and his crew are here.”
We watched spellbound as both Noah and Hawk’s crews moved like a plague dropping bodies as they relentlessly pushed forward toward Zoe and me.
“Willow!” Noah’s warning had me turning to see Decker. He had a gun.
“Get up.” He looked like a rat on a sinking ship.
“You’ll never get away.”
“I will with you.” He grabbed me and pressed the gun to my back.
“Back off or I’ll kill her,” he shouted to anyone who got close.
I’m not sure what came over me, but Decker had been a friend. I loved him, Zoe had loved him, and it had all been a lie. I glanced at Zoe then Noah. He knew what I was about to do and looked livid. I reared my head back hard, right into Decker’s nose and when he jerked back I turned and nailed him in the balls. The gun fell from his hands as he dropped to his knees. Zoe dove for it. I thought she was kicking it out of the way, instead she lifted it and leveled it at him.
“Zoe. What are you doing?”
“Look at me,” she demanded of Decker.
His head lifted, blood running down his face.
“Why?”
“Why?” he snarled. “Why not?”
This had nothing to do with getting back at my parents. Harry may have convinced himself of that, convinced Decker too, but this was about money. He was always without it and he found a way to have a never ending supply of it. “Whose idea was it to sink those yachts?” I asked.
Decker didn’t answer, but it was clear it had been Harry.
“How is sinking those yachts about payback to my parents?”
“He needed money.”
“He needed your algorithm. You said he had an application for it.” It was then I remembered the conversation between Noah and Hawk and how the equipment went haywire on the missing yachts. “It was your algorithm that messed up the equipment on those yachts, wasn’t it? You sank the yachts you salvaged. You killed the passengers. Harry may have been cheated out of the life he should have had, I don’t doubt my parents stole that from him, but what you’ve been doing is nothing short of murder. And now this? My parents are out of the picture. They have nothing to do with Isabella. You know that and still here we are. This isn’t about getting back at my parents anymore. This is about greed. Harry’s greed and your greed.”
“Were you really going to let them kill us just now?” Zoe asked, her eyes wet with tears.
His response was devoid of any emotion. “Yes.”
Zoe had said once the twins were charming but she suspected they could be just as ruthless. Decker used his charm to pull us in and all the while it was a ruthless heart that beat in his chest. We had just been a means to an end.
She tried to pull the trigger, Noah’s finger stopped it. “You don’t want that on your conscience.”
Then he turned to Decker. “Get up.”
Decker just stared, hatred coming off him in waves.
“Come on. You wanted to see whose was bigger, now is your chance.”
Decker lunged, grabbing Noah around the waist and pushing him back. Noah clasped his hands together and pounded on Decker’s back. Noah was slammed into the side of the boat, the air forced from his lungs and Decker used those few seconds to punch Noah in the face, his head jerking back hard. Every time Decker’s fists connected with Noah’s body, my heart jumped. I felt every hit. I thought Noah was getting slaughtered and then I saw the smile. Decker saw it too. He hesitated, confused by Noah’s odd behavior. Then it became very clear. Noah had been toying with him. He moved, like a tank, forcing Decker to retreat, all the while nailing him with punch after punch in the face, the chest, the abs. He didn’t look human; he looked like a robot—a cold, calculating and unrelenting robot. Noah pummeled him so hard and so ferociously that Decker fell to his knees and still the hits kept coming. It seemed like Noah was getting out a lifetime’s worth of rage, all directed at Decker. I knew what punch it was that ended Decker’s life. A solid hit to the chin that whipped his head back so hard I heard the snap. His body didn’t immediately drop to the deck. He lingered upright for a few seconds, lifeless, before he fell backward onto the marred white fiberglass.
Noah was at my side in a heartbeat as he yanked me close. “Your ass will be red when I’m done with you,” Noah growled in my ear and I realized he was shaking. Before I could tease him, he threaded his fingers through my hair and kissed me.
He ended it before I would have liked, but when he turned to Zoe and pulled her to him, offering comfort in a rough kind of way, my heart just melted. Her arms went around him and he held her for as long as she needed. And I knew in that moment I would follow that man to the end of the world.
“Tiggs, get them to shore. Tex, Flynn, take care of the boat and bodies. You’ll find your way home?”
“You know it,” Flynn replied then got to work.
I had been thinking about us sailing off into the sunset, so his comment jerked me from my fantasy. “What?”
“Harry.” It was all he said, but I understood. It was on my tongue to ask him not to hurt him, but Harry had left us. He had walked away knowing Decker intended to kill us. So instead of pleading for the life of a man I had once loved like family, I took Zoe’s hand.
“Happy hunting.”
He kissed me hard on the mouth and then strolled back toward his ship.
“Hey, Noah. I like your flag.”
He looked back at me from over his shoulder and winked. Then he was gone.
“Where is home, Tiggs? I thought the ship was home.”
“It is, but when we want to crash on land we hang at Miguel’s in San Juan.”
Good to know.
“Come, let’s get you back on land,” Tiggs urged as he reached for Zoe’s hand. “You okay?”
“I am.”
“You got a little pirate in you woman. I like it.”
It was little, but Zoe definitely smiled.
WILLOW
Granddad’s hold on me was fierce. “Thank goodness you and Zoe are okay. I can’t believe Harry would do this…and Decker…I knew Harry had issues, but I never thought him capable of murder.”
“I didn’t either. Not from either of them.” I looked down because Decker had been manipulated. His actions were not justifiable, but someone he cared about had manipulated him. “What if it is true about Mom and Dad stealing their success?”
His expression went cold. “I’ve made excuses for your father his whole life, but if the accusations are true I will do all that I can to see them brought to justice.”
“Mr. Tuttleman could help with that. His contacts are wickedly thorough,” I suggested.
Granddad looked dangerous when he said, “They are that.”
“Is he some kind of modern day Knights Templar?”
He didn’t answer with words, but his expression read loud and clear. He was. We would need to discuss that at some point.
“I’ll take Zoe home since I suspect there is somewhere you need to be.”
“Luciana.”
“Yes. You need to finish the story. They need to hear the ending.”
“Thank you. I would hate for Zoe to go home alone.”
“Maybe we’ll detour to San Francisco. Jack and I need to talk. It might be time for us to make a change.”
I
t hurt seeing the pain in his expression. “Because of Mom and Dad.”
“If the rumors are true, that backlash will fall on the museum. If Jack and I step down, we can spare the museum the hit.”
“They’re selfish.”
“That they are.”
“St. Croix doesn’t have a museum.”
His smile took up his whole face. “You don’t say.”
It had been a week since the horror on The Mooring and there had been no blowback, no bodies appearing, no cops showing up at the door. Thinking about Decker and Harry made me sad and so fucking angry. They had been friends, family, but it had all been orchestrated. Our entire relationship had been a lie. Maybe if I hadn’t been starved for company, I would have seen what lurked under the surface with Decker and Harry. What angered me the most was how Decker had treated Zoe. And to think I had encouraged her. It made me sick. But she would be fine and I would be there to make sure she was fine.
I moved through my room as I packed. Harry was dead. I knew this because his wallet arrived in the mail for me. There had been no note, but I knew it was from Noah. I had hoped Noah would have come to me personally, but other than that confirmation he remained elusive. For a second I thought to visit him in San Juan, but he was the one to leave. He had to be the one who came back.
I was looking over my notes as I packed. We had found her. Not the necklace, but we had found Isabella. I wondered how long it would take for that to sink in. It really had been a hell of an adventure. I wouldn’t allow the Decker chapter to taint it. I noticed my scribble...the shop owner. I had wanted to visit him, wanted to ask if he would clarify what he meant about the journal being in his family. I finished packing and arranged to have all of my bags shipped home. All but one. A few changes of clothes and the items I wanted to give to Luciana, then I hailed a cab and headed back to where it had all begun.
The shop looked exactly like I remembered. It smelled the same too. I had thought there was a chance it would be closed or had changed hands, but it was still the same man behind the counter. The bell jingled as I entered. He looked up; his glasses sliding down his nose. I saw recognition in his friendly gaze before he said, “Hello.”
There were significantly less books and I was happy to see he was selling his beloved possessions. “Hi. I don’t know if you remember me. I was here a long time ago. A friend bought me this.” I pulled out the journal.
His eyes lit up. “Oh yes. I remember.” He looked up. “May I?”
“Please.”
He flipped the pages. “So you’ve read it.”
“I didn’t just read it. I absorbed it, lived it, and breathed it. I researched them, Alejandro and Isabella.”
“You did?”
“Yes. And we went in search of her.”
His eyes were twinkling. “The necklace.”
“That was part of it, but I wanted their story. We had the ending, but how did they get there?”
“This sounds like a discussion best had with tea. One minute.” He hurried to the door, locked it and flipped the sign. “Come. I’ve a little reading room back here.”
It was small, filled with books, two chairs and a table. It was perfect. We sat with tea in china cups. “I’m Willow.”
“Carlos. Did you find her?”
“We found the ship. And we brought so many wonderful things up. My granddad owns a museum and he is working on finding a home for the collection. I have pictures of the treasures as well as photos of the actual ship.”
“Underwater images?”
I pulled them from my purse and handed them over. His hands shook as he took his time looking at each one.
“Her father was behind the ship sinking. Those cannon balls carry the mark of his ironworks company.”
He didn’t seem surprised by the news.
“I also found the last living direct descendant of Isabella’s. I’m on my way to see her next.”
His eyes grew bright. “What is she like?”
“Lovely. The family historian and Alejandro and Isabella are her favorite couple.”
“And the necklace?”
“We didn’t find it. I think maybe that’s a good thing. It’s with Alejandro. But I did want to ask you about a name in the journal that I couldn’t find any information on. Do you know who Felix is? You mentioned the journal had been in your family and it is so well preserved, but the Isabella sank so if the journal had washed up on shore, the pages would have been ruined. Do you mind me asking how it came to be in your family’s possession?”
He settled back in his chair. “Felix is my great, great several times grandfather. And he was given the journal by Alejandro Ramos.”
A tingling started from my head and moved slowly down my body.
“Felix was a crew member on the Isabella. An apprentice to the smithy. He was onboard that fateful day. He was only a boy of ten, so he didn’t understand at the time the events nor did he appreciate subtle things like expressions. When he was an older man and had more life experience to draw on, he recalled that day very differently. He knew the look he had seen on his captain’s face had been one of hopelessness, regret and despair. But at ten, his captain had thrust a parcel on him, told him to keep it safe, and practically tossed him on the skiff. He was a distance away when he heard the cannon fire. He watched as the Isabella floundered, saw as she lost her battle and sank. It wasn’t a fair fight. Alejandro’s crew never fired one shot. He knew it was his father-in-law and even knowing the man had come to kill him, he didn’t fire on him because he was the father of the woman he loved more than life.”
I wiped at my eyes and couldn’t help draw some parallels to Noah.
“And the journal was in the parcel.”
“Yes. There was one other item.”
My heart stopped because I knew. I knew. “The necklace.”
“Felix could have sold that necklace and made himself a very wealthy man. He could have changed the course of his family that would have been felt even today. But he didn’t. He kept his promise and maybe in part he did because it was his father who had crafted it.”
“Juan Lopez was Felix’s father?”
He smiled. “You have done your research.”
“I didn’t know how Alejandro even knew of Juan.”
Felix was originally from Campeche, but his father, Juan, paid his way to San Juan Bautista where it was known ships from Europe came to do trade in the hopes of his son getting a job. Ten is young now, but back in his day he was considered at working age.”
“His father was killed after the necklace was made.”
“Yes. The belief was it was Isabella’s father. But we’ve never proved that. When Felix landed in Cancun, he had no one to go home to in Campeche, so he made his home here. He married, he had children and he kept watch over the precious gift given into his care, a responsibility every generation since has happily and humbly accepted.”
“I would have liked to have known him.”
“You love them too. I can see it in your eyes. It isn’t just a story for you, is it?”
“No. Noah, the man who gave me that journal, he reminds me very much of Alejandro. A self-made man. Noah has known truly horrible periods in his life and it has forged him into a man who can be hard and ruthless but under that there is a wealth of so much goodness.”
“What would you do with the necklace if you had it?”
“I would take it to Luciana, Isabella’s descendant, to give her closure. And then I would give it to Noah because what it meant to Alejandro, the symbol of his love for Isabella, that’s what it means to me.”
“I’m the last of Felix’s family. There will be no guardian after I’m gone. It’s time she found a home.”
I reached for his hand. What a remarkable man. “Your family, you...not many would do what you have. Alejandro couldn’t have picked a better guardian than Felix. Do you have a passport?”
“I do.”
“Luciana lives in Spain. Would you like to join me
when I visit her?”
“I would like that very much.”
“I know she will too.”
“I’ll tell you where the necklace is,” he offered.
I smiled and squeezed his hand. “I already know.”
The cenote looked just the same. I stared up at the star pattern made in the limestone and took a moment to appreciate that Alejandro had at one time stood here, where Felix had stood. It was late. The cenote was empty. I jumped into the water, grabbed the snorkel I had purchased earlier and a flashlight and started the search. It took me over three hours before I pulled the parcel from its hiding spot.
I waited until I returned to my room. I gently unwrapped the fabric that had been replaced over the years since it was in remarkably good condition. My heart was pounding and tears were rolling down my cheeks when I finally uncovered her. Delicate platinum wire wrapped around nuggets of uncut diamonds, some as large as plums, which gradually grew smaller the higher up the neck the stones were. There were even small uncut stones worked into the chain. Maybe I was being fanciful, but the stones felt warm to the touch and there was an inner light, as if she pulsed with life. What was without a doubt, she was the most magnificent necklace I had ever seen. I held it close as emotions too strong to contain poured from me. Tears welled up and over my lids as I moved to the balcony and wished on a star that Alejandro and Isabella were finally together.
Luciana held the necklace, her old fingers curled gently around the stones. Camilla sat, pouring over the pictures. Carlos sat next to me.
“I can’t believe you found her,” Camilla whispered.
“I think I might have had a little help.” And I did. I was beginning to think Alejandro and Isabella had been with me, guiding me. And maybe that was silliness, but I still believed it.
“And Felix. Because of him, your family and you, I am holding the necklace meant for Isabella, a necklace she never saw. Thank you.” Luciana had learned English in the years since we last met. It helped that we communicated often over the years. Though my mastery of Spanish was not as astounding as hers of English.