Hot, Wet, Smooth, and Hard (Craving Cove Book 1)

by Blue,Marina

  Kelp. It was just kelp.

  He may’ve been on the ocean floor, but his spirits were much lower than that. Knox looked around. The holes he’d blasted into the ground were already filling up. Already closing. He sighed through his mask, sending a stream of bubbles upwards. It was all a bust. All the excitement, the hope, the longing… All of it… For nothing.

  Just like with Melody.

  Knox slung the blower over his shoulder and prepared for the ascent. Then he remembered what Gunner said. So he reached down and grabbed the slim, green tendril of kelp. At least he wouldn’t return empty handed. But when he tore it free, he froze.

  The kelp didn’t feel slimy. And there was nothing vegetal about it. Knox looked closer. It wasn’t a plant.

  It was cotton…

  Sinking to his knees, Knox dug with both hands. He got down one foot quickly. Then another foot. And as he clawed, he hit something hard. It was wood.

  Unslinging the blower, Knox fired into the gaping maw he’d gouged in the sand, and turned it on high. Seconds later the hole was cleared. And inside was a plank of green wood. It was the hull of a ship. And on it, two words were carved. Even underwater, with barely any light, and literally the pressures of the world’s oceans weighing him down, Knox read the two words.

  The Grouse.

  He’d finally found it.

  Knox smiled.

  But then a muted crash came from above. He looked up. The surface of the ocean was wild. White surf churned with fearsome resolve. And his ship was being tossed left and right like it was a toy.

  Without a second glance he shot upwards like a torpedo. From below, the inky surface was flashing brightly here and there. It was like watching a fireworks display in deep space. The contrast was striking. But also terrifying.

  It meant that somehow, both frightening and impossible, a storm had manifested. And it was right on top of them.

  When Knox crested the waves he saw he was right. The Sea Snake pitched back and forth. Waves, like an avalanche of water, crashed over her bow. It looked like the ocean swallowed the ship, then spit it back up.

  “Get on your life vests!” Gunner was yelling. “We’re abandoning ship!”

  “In what?” one of the men yelled back. “All we have is a rowboat!”

  Gunner grabbed the young man. “Kane! You listen here. This ship’s going down. And when it does, you won’t be on it, so get that life preserver on now!”

  The rain poured down Kane’s face. “Yes sir!” then he ran back into the hold.

  Gunner followed him. And didn’t see Knox surface.

  Knox grabbed the side of his ship with one hand, and pulled himself up. Then he threw a leg into the boat, and pulled himself onto the deck.

  Thunder exploded above. Then lighting cut the sky in a jagged line. The rain came down like needles, slashing him from the side.

  Knox, soaked and slick, got to his feet. Just as the boat was hit by another mountainous wave. The Sea Snake pitched hard to the side. Knox didn’t have time to grab a line to steady himself.

  But even though he was near naked, Knox kept his hard body upright and rode his lady without a trace of uncertainty. He gave the ship a quick glance. Gunner was right. It was going down. The waves around him were rising and falling like wet mountains over the deck, and the bow was dipping too low. Knox knew immediately that her hull was damaged. There was water in her. She was sinking, and the sea was crushing her in its mighty jaws.

  But that didn’t matter. What did matter, were the men. They were going to be without a means to float shortly. Which meant he, Gunner, and the two crewmen who were his charge, would die fearful and ugly, twisted beneath the waves.

  Unless Knox could save them. But he only had one oxygen tank, and a single, small lifeboat that wouldn’t stay afloat in the storm. It looked hopeless.

  And that’s when Knox had an idea.

  He ran over the slick deck with sure feet to the staircase that led down to the hold. As he opened the door another thunderclap shook the heavens. And then, like a pit viper, lightening ripped from the clouds above. It cut through the wind, the rain, and the gale force winds, to strike the command center of the Sea Snake. The small room exploded. Shards of glass, sparks, and burning wood flew into the air as the lightening licked the vessel.

  Knox jerked his head to the side, but never moved his feet. He stood there. Watching the fire impossibly grow, even as his vessel prepared to sink.

  Then he charged down the stairs, into the dry hold.

  Gunner was there with the two other men, Scudder and Kane. “We got to go now!” Gunner yelled. “Tighten those life preservers!”

  “We’re ready,” Kane yelled. “What now, captain?”

  Gunner yelled, “I’m not the captain!”

  “The captain’s dead,” Scudder cried. “You’re in charge.”

  “No!” Knox’s voice was so powerful it outdid the raging storm above. “I’m alive. So are you. And we’re all going to stay that way. Every last one of us.”

  The men froze, staring at their leader.

  Gunner broke the silence. “Knox, thank God.”

  “Don’t thank him yet, we still got a lot of work to do.” He looked around the galley. The three men were soaked. And terrified. Their faces, frozen in fear. But they all had on yellow lifejackets. “Each of you, go outside and leap off this boat. Do it now. I’ll be out shortly, and we’ll get to safety.”

  Kane shook his head. “Better to stay with the boat. If we go out there, and jump in, we’ll drown.”

  Knox lunged at the man, and backhanded his face. “Shut up, Kane. You’re not in command. I am. And I promise you…”

  The young man stared away.

  Knox shook him. “Look at me! I promise that you’re going to die an old man, warm and dry in bed.” Knox looked around. “I promise you all. Now get out there, and jump. I’ll save us in a second.”

  There was a pause as the men searched for their courage.

  Gunner helped them find it. “Get your scurvy cocks into the briny deep before I kick your asses until your noses bleed. Move it!”

  The two men charged forward, and disappeared thought the door.

  Then Gunner turned to his friend. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

  “We got to get out. The boat’s on fire.”

  Gunner's jaw fell open. Then this wolfish smile appeared. “You’ve got to be kidding… The ship’s taking on water while it’s on fire?”

  “Yeah, it’s bad luck everywhere. But if we move fast, we might be able to make it.”

  “Got it.” And with that, Gunner charged out of the hold.

  Knox grabbed a lifejacket. Then followed him out.

  The wind was screaming louder than before. And it howled past him at nearly a hundred miles per hour. The storm wasn’t a full-fledged hurricane. But it would be soon.

  Knox looked to his left. Over the port bow, floating twenty yards out, were his men. He couldn’t see their faces, but their bright yellow vests were just barely visible. And just far enough away. To the right, the flames that consumed his boat had grown ever higher, fed by the wind.

  He ran to the wooden lifeboat in the center of the deck. It was small, and couldn’t hold all four men, but if Knox’s plan worked, it would save their lives.

  With strength Hercules would envy, he grabbed it with both hands and pitched it into the sea. It landed upside down, and floated there.

  Knox sprinted away from the raging fire behind him, and towards the edge of the Sea Snake. But as he neared it, the boat tipped upwards. Knox slid back, towards the fire. But he dug in. His thick thighs strained, and his taught calves tensed, and Knox ran up the wooden incline with every bit of strength he had. He got to the edge in seconds, and dove head first through the driving gale. As he rode the wind towards the sea, the flames behind him found the boat’s gas tank, and the vessel exploded into a yellow and red fireball.

  Chapter 38

  The car that drove Melody bac
k wasn’t nearly fast enough for her taste. The man behind the wheel was incredibly cautious, and never once went above the speed limit. And when they arrived at the tunnel to Craving Cove, almost four hours later, it was well past midnight. As they cleared the tunnel, and came out of the other side of the mountain, Melody couldn’t see a thing.

  Not a single light shone below. The valley was as black as the night sky.

  She strained to see what had happened. But in the cloudy night there was only darkness.

  Her car pulled over. She looked up front. “Excuse me, why are you stopping?”

  “Look, there’s no way down.” The chauffeur pointed ahead at a massive log blocking the road. “I can’t drive around that, unless you want to go straight down the side of the mountain.”

  Melody looked down. “No thank you. Once a night’s enough for me.”

  He said, “So what do you want to do?”

  “What else?” she said, and opened her door. “I’ll do it myself.” Melody, still in her sequined dress, walked to the tree. It was a huge, old growth beast that hadn’t been an acorn in over two centuries. And here it was, felled like nothing. She turned around, and hopped up onto it, like she was sitting sidesaddle on a horse. Then, keeping her knees together, she lifted her legs up, spun around, and threw her feet over the bark. Then she slid off, landing softly on the other side.

  After that, the road was relatively clear, so she walked the rest of the way down. And as she did the clouds above parted, the moon came out, and just as she arrived on Ocean Way, everything became visible.

  And Melody gasped.

  There were no signs of life. The streets were empty of everything except litter, broken glass, and wreckage. Shop windows were shattered. She walked past The Perfect Sundae. It was still standing, but badly damaged.

  On the street, Melody saw its bicycle. The bright pink paint was smudged with black mud, and the basket was shredded. But the tires were fine, and the chain looked intact. So Melody picked it up, got onto the saddle, and pointed the front wheel towards the Coeur de Mer. But before she could move an inch her heart stopped.

  The lights were off. All of them.

  That meant there was no power in the cove, so the machines helping to keep Pearl alive wouldn’t be on…

  Melody raced to the hospital in minutes.

  Its lights weren’t on, and almost a hundred people were huddled by the entrance. They were speaking softly to one another, crying, and hugging.

  Melody dropped the bike and ran towards the steps. But behind her someone called out, “Melody!”

  She stopped and looked back.

  It was Rick. He was standing on the curb holding a bloody cloth to his head.

  Melody ran to him. “Rick, are you ok? What happened?”

  “A hurricane came in. Hard and fast. It wasn’t big, but it made landfall like an avalanche. Most of the town’s badly damaged, but everything on the beachfront’s gone. The pier, the boardwalk... Everything.”

  “Is anyone dead?” Melody asked.

  “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  “Where’s Knox?”

  Rick stared at the ground.

  Melody grabbed his arms and shook. “Where’s Knox, Rick?”

  “I don’t know. After you didn’t show up he took his boat out on the water.”

  Melody covered her mouth and gasped, “No!”

  “Yeah.” Rick sighed. “You know, I thought when you returned to the cove we might have a fighting chance, even with everything that’s happened. But now… We’ll never bounce back from this. Never.”

  Melody said, “I’m sorry but that’s not important right now.”

  Rick’s eyes were wild as he grabbed Melody’s hand. “Don’t you get it? Knox… Everything… It’s all gone! Even if we had the money to make it perfect, we’d still lose this whole season. We needed this. And now, we’ll have to go into debt just to rebuild something that isn’t worth saving. This town is dead!”

  Melody shook his hand free. “Shut up, Rick! Knox is missing, my aunt is hurt… We’ve got more important things to focus on!”

  Rick stepped forward. He had a madness about him. “Listen to me. This is what’s important. Go home. Call Coldwater, and sell your aunt’s place.”

  “But I can’t, it’s-”

  “Melody, I’m trying to help you here. They’ve got most of the mortgages here, and pretty soon every single person is going to sell to them. Which means the prices will drop quickly, so the sooner you do it, the more you’ll get. Wait too long, and their offer will be so low you’ll have nothing. Do it now, and you have some leverage. It’s what I’m going to do.”

  Melody’s head was spinning. “Really?”

  Rick shook his head ruefully. “Yeah. Of course. My place is destroyed. What other choice do I have?” Then he turned, and walked away. And Melody hadn’t noticed before, but he was only wearing one shoe.

  Shaking that conversation away, she turned towards the entrance. Dozens of people flanked it. Most of them were as dazed as Rick. Some were worse. But they all seemed alive, and nobody was too hurt. Melody ran past them and into the hospital.

  The waiting room was filled with people. Nobody looked her way. The lights were a dull red. And Melody sighed. That meant there was an emergency generator. So Pearl was ok. Probably. Melody walked towards her room feeling a little optimistic. The lemon smell was still present, and she moved through it with purpose. But as she turned down the hall where Pearl's room was, she stopped.

  Because standing there, halfway down it, was Sparrow.

  The tattooed kid was standing in his black leather jacket. And of course he was untouched. He wore a look of indifference, as if being inside a clinic like this, with people like these, was somehow beneath him. Caring, it was too uncool. And he was texting on his phone, engrossed in the message.

  Melody ducked into the nurse’s station. A woman said, “Can I help you?” It was the doctor that told her about Pearl.

  Melody said, “No, I’m fine.”

  “That’s good to hear, but why are you in the nurse’s station?”

  “I’m hiding.”

  The doctor peered around the corner. Then said, “From who? Sparrow? I don’t blame you, that kid gives me the creeps.”

  Melody grabbed the doctor’s arm. “You know him?”

  “Of course. I patched up his cheek the other night.”

  Ice water ran through Melody’s veins. “But the sheriff… Didn’t he call looking for him?”

  “Of course. Sparrow is Jerry’s nephew.”

  As that news washed over Melody she froze. Sparrow and Jerry were related? That meant that the sheriff had been aware of who was behind the attacks the whole time. He wasn’t keeping them quiet to protect the town, he was protecting his family. And their interests. Only one thing made sense.

  Coldwater.

  They were funding Sparrow’s crime spree, and paying his uncle to look the other way, so that the town would fold, and they could own it all. But why did they want it so badly?

  As the thoughts ran through her mind, Sparrow came walking by.

  Melody spun around, and hid her face.

  Sparrow, oblivious to her presence, kept walking and left the hospital without incident.

  Meanwhile, Melody had to flex every muscle to keep from shaking.

  “Are you ok?” the doctor asked.

  Melody steadied herself. “Yes. I’m fine. Thanks. I have to go visit Pearl.” And with that, she walked down the hall, and slipped into her room.

  Her aunt was under a thick blanket. Melody walked over, but then paused. The machine on the left that monitored her heartbeat was silent.

  Pearl was dead.

  Melody couldn’t believe it. Everyone was gone. She collapsed on the chair in the corner, dropped her head into both hands, and wept. Tears flowed freely from her eyes as the sobs racked her body. Her chest heaved as emotions crashed against each other. Anger. Terror. Rage. At the loss of Knox. At her failure with Pea
rl. At the men destroying her hometown. And finally, William’s games with their life’s savings. It all spun around in a whirlpool so fast that Melody had no idea exactly what she was feeling.

  But she did know two things.

  Tragedy followed her everywhere. And it couldn’t get any worse.

  But as she continued to cry, a sweet, familiar voice said, “Cheer up, kiddo. It can’t be all that bad.”

  Chapter 39

  Melody looked up from her hands.

  Pearl was sitting upright. And she was smiling. “It was just a little hurricane. And hurricane’s are like life: Tough. But crying won’t help.”

  Melody jumped up and threw her arms around Pearl’s neck. “You’re alive!”

  “Ugh.” The squeeze knocked some wind out her. “When was I dead?”

  “I don’t know. Your machine-”

  “Oh, that thing?” Pearl said, motioning towards it. “After I woke up they unplugged it to save energy.”

  Melody smiled, and buried her face in Pearl's hair. That scent of jasmine and bergamot was there again. And it made Melody feel a lot better. “I’m so glad you’re awake.”

  Pearl wrapped her arms around the younger woman. “Me too. I heard I was in a coma, but then the wind started. I’ll tell you, there’s nothing like a hurricane to knock you right out of a deep slumber.”

  “So you woke up mid-hurricane?”

  “Yep. That bitch blew in hard and fast, hit land, and then dissipated. But not after ripping the cove in two, I hear.”

  “Forget about that, did you see the man who did this to you? Can you identify him?”

  Pearl shook her head. “No. And I don’t remember much. Someone crashed through the back door when I was upstairs, and came charging in screaming bloody murder. Then I woke up here. The doctors told me I’d had a mild stroke and, you know… That a hurricane had made landfall.”

  Melody calmed down some. She knew it was Sparrow, but couldn’t prove it. Then she remembered Knox, and asked, “Do you know if anyone died?”

  “There have been no deaths reported. Fortunately most of the town was at Rick’s waiting to hear you sing, and when the warning came they got to the cellar and waited it out in safety. The others all went to ground in their homes.”