“But you have permits, right?” Quinn asked.
“We do. Permits won’t stop thieves from trying to take advantage of the situation.”
“You seem really worried,” Rowan noted. “It won’t get dangerous, will it?”
“I certainly hope not,” Nick replied. “I’m not ruling anything out. Still, though, as fascinating as the dive is, I would like to talk about you. I want to know how you’ve found life onboard The Bounding Storm … and I would like to know how you guys decided to start dating. Something tells me that’s going to be a fascinating story.”
Quinn chuckled. “I think that depends on who you ask. Everyone we know thinks we’re boring.”
“I doubt very much that’s the truth.”
Quinn wasn’t about to be deterred. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
16
Sixteen
“How are you feeling?”
Quinn put his hand to Rowan’s back as they hit the hallway and turned toward the main dining room the next morning.
They’d stayed up late into the night talking to Nick, going for ice cream after dinner and indulging in a few stories from Rowan’s childhood that appealed to Quinn because she rarely offered up good memories with her mother and father. Everything for Rowan turned bad with death and disappearance, and it was almost as if she didn’t remember the good times. Quinn was glad to see that Nick could bring out her laughter, which almost sounded childlike because it was so light.
It was nearly midnight before they returned to the ship and parted ways. Quinn’s hope for private time in the high-rollers’ Jacuzzi was shoved off for another night, but he was fine with it because Rowan seemed so happy when they climbed into bed together.
She remained happy the next morning, and Quinn was grateful to see the smile on her face when she looked to him.
“I feel good. I have a bit of a sugar hangover from the ice cream, but I’m sure that will fade when I get some real food into me.”
“I’m looking forward to real food, too.” Quinn’s fingers were flat on the small of Rowan’s back as they walked. “While I was glad for some privacy, that wasn’t the best meal I’ve ever had.”
“The scallops were kind of rubbery.”
“I’m pretty sure the steak wasn’t beef.”
Rowan snorted, the sound warming Quinn. “Well, thank you for sitting through the meal. I know it was hard for you. If you would’ve gotten food poisoning on top of everything else, I would’ve felt guilty.”
“You have no reason to feel guilty.” Quinn meant it. “Ro, I wanted to be there with you. I wouldn’t have it any other way. In fact, I feel a little guilty because I wasn’t with you when you found out. I can’t help but think I should have been there.”
“There’s no way you could have known. Beating yourself up over it does no one any good. I wasn’t lying when I said I was glad to face Nick on my own, at least at the first. I was also really glad you were there for dinner because I was so nervous I thought I might pass out.”
“I never would’ve noticed,” Quinn teased, pressing a kiss to the tender spot behind her ear. “Still, I’m glad you got a chance to sit down with him. Despite what he did, he doesn’t seem like a bad guy.”
“Before you showed up yesterday, he said something that kind of stuck with me,” Rowan admitted. “He said that the longer he stayed away, the easier it was to come up with excuses. Then, when it came time to come back, he’d left it so long he couldn’t bring himself to right certain wrongs and he spent all of his time wallowing in fear and regret.”
“Did he use the word ‘wallow’?”
“I might’ve added that.”
“Yeah, that’s totally a chick word.” Quinn smirked as he held open the dining room door so Rowan could squeeze in ahead of him. “Still, I get what he’s saying. That doesn’t mean what he did is okay.”
“He doesn’t think it’s okay.”
“He doesn’t, which is the only reason I haven’t popped him in the face.”
Quinn followed Rowan to the buffet line, watching with a mixture of baffled amusement and disbelief as she piled enough food on her plate to feed three people. “Hungry?”
“I’m starving,” Rowan admitted. “Dinner last night was bad and I was so nervous I’m not sure I could’ve eaten more than I did anyway. Plus, the added sugar from those huge cones we got made me a bit jittery.”
Quinn chuckled. “Well, you should be able to balance your blood sugar on that. Pancakes, eggs, French toast, hash browns, corned beef hash, bacon, and sausage? I think you’re going to take the world’s longest nap this afternoon after eating all that.”
“I’m hungry. Sue me.”
“Hey, I’m happy to see it.” Quinn added much smaller portions to his plate as he trailed her through the line. “Speaking of Nick, have you decided if you’re going to tell anyone who he really is?”
Rowan shook her head. “I think it’s too soon. I don’t want to deal with it. People don’t understand what happened with my father. Heck, I don’t understand what happened with my father. Trying to explain this to other people seems … well … let’s just say I don’t want to be one of those annoying women who shares every single facet of her life with virtual strangers at the hair salon.”
“I’m not sure I know exactly what that means, but I get your drift,” Quinn said. “What do you plan to do today? Are you going to spend time with Nick?”
Rowan nodded. “We’re having breakfast with him.”
Quinn stilled. “We are?”
Rowan gestured toward a corner table with her shoulder. Nick was already seated and sipping coffee. “He asked last night when you were throwing away the wrappers from the ice cream cones. I agreed. Now I’m starting to think I probably should’ve run it by you first.”
Quinn immediately started shaking his head. “No. It’s fine. I want you to spend as much time with him as you’re comfortable with as long as he’s on the ship. It’s not as if he’s going to be here forever.”
“No,” Rowan agreed. “He lives in Florida, though. I asked specifically where and he said Miami. When we’re docked, that’s not too far from us.”
Quinn practically read her mind. “And we can set up meals with him whenever you want. In fact … now that I know he’s not a demented pervert … you can probably do stuff with him alone if you want, too.”
Rowan snickered. “Thank you so much for your permission.”
Quinn refused to be baited into an argument due to her tone. “You’re welcome.”
The duo cut their way across the dining room, largely ignoring the bulk of the workers who were excitedly talking about the previous day’s finds. By the time they joined Nick, the older man’s face was practically swallowed by a huge smile.
“I see you still have the same appetite you had as a kid,” Nick noted, staring at Rowan’s plate. “Are you really going to eat all of that?”
Rowan shrugged. “I’m hungry.”
“You certainly didn’t eat much last night,” Nick said, smiling as Quinn took the spot across from him. “How was the rest of your evening?”
“Quiet,” Quinn replied. “We went straight to bed.”
“Oh, no!” Rowan’s hand flew to her mouth. “We missed your Jacuzzi trip again. I completely forgot.”
Quinn chuckled dryly. “I’ll try not to take it personally. It’s fine, though. We have plenty of time to hit the Jacuzzi. You were so exhausted when we got back you were already snoring by the time I finished brushing my teeth.”
Rowan balked. “I don’t snore.”
“Then you must have been doing a very impressive impersonation of someone who does snore.”
Rowan turned to Nick for support. “I don’t snore.”
“Your father used to snore like a freight train,” Nick said. “I know because we shared a room for what felt like forever. If you do snore, I’m sure you come by it honestly.”
Rowan was appalled. “I don’t snore.” She viciously stabbed her fork into
a sausage link. “I don’t.”
Quinn took pity on her. “They were lovely and delicate female snores, Ro. It sounded more like angels singing than snoring.”
Rowan rolled her eyes as Nick loudly guffawed.
“Oh, you’re just placating me,” Rowan complained.
“You’re still cute when you sleep.” Quinn squeezed her shoulder before turning his attention to Nick. Under normal circumstances, he would be embarrassed to talk about sleeping in the same bed with a woman when her uncle was present. Since Nick was sort of a new uncle, Quinn refused to be uncomfortable and instead met the man’s steady gaze with a half-smile. “What’s the plan for today?”
“I heard you were going diving with Andrea’s team again,” Nick said. “That’s what she told me over our planning session this morning.”
“You’ve already had a planning session?” Rowan was impressed as she chewed her pancakes. “All we’ve done is get up and shower.”
“Yes, well, we need to talk about what was discovered yesterday and there’s been some discussion of gridding the search area,” Nick explained. “The thing is, because the wreck has been there for so long, we’re looking at a couple of scenarios.”
“Like what?” Rowan sipped her tomato juice.
“How come you’re not this interested when I talk about shipwrecks?” Quinn teased.
“I am as long as you’re shirtless,” Rowan fired back. “I’m honestly interested in what’s going on. I want to hear … no matter which one of you explains things.”
“I think I’ll leave it to Nick this morning so I can watch you stuff your face,” Quinn said as he used his napkin to dab at the corner of Rowan’s mouth. “If I steal one of your bacon slices, are you going to go all growly and smack me around?”
“You wish.”
Quinn snatched some bacon and turned his eyes to Nick. “We’re listening. She just needs to eat while she’s doing it.”
Nick chuckled, amusement evident. “I like how happy you two are. It lightens the weight on my shoulders. I can’t tell you how much. Anyway, as for The Conqueror, we have no idea if that’s where the ship actually went down. That makes things more difficult.”
“I thought you found the ship, though.”
“We found certain things,” Nick hedged. “We found some cannons, although we’ve been unable to drag those up yet and only one looks to be in salvageable shape. In fact, I’m taking the submersible down myself this afternoon so I can get a better look at what we’re dealing with.”
“A sub?” Rowan perked up.
“A submersible,” Nick corrected. “It’s much smaller than a sub. We don’t have to go really deep, so the submersible is fine … and you don’t have to get wet to enjoy the view. It’s big enough to fit five or six people comfortably, although there will be nowhere near that number today.”
“Well, that sounds fun. Go back to what you were saying about not knowing exactly where The Conqueror went down. How could the cannons be here and not the ship?”
“I can take that,” Quinn offered, not waiting for a response. “There are several scenarios here, Ro. The first is that The Conqueror went down during a storm and broke apart at sea. That means the cannons could’ve landed one place, the internal furnishings another, and the gold hold even another.”
“You see, if the ship broke apart, the two halves could be miles apart,” Quinn added.
“Another scenario is that The Conqueror went down farther out and the tide moved the wreckage throughout the years,” Quinn said. “Underwater currents are strong – especially in this area – and you would be surprised how quickly tides could change the landscape.”
“How so?” Rowan asked.
“Say the ship only moved fifty to a hundred feet each year underwater,” Nick offered. “That wouldn’t look like much to the naked eye and is entirely possible. Now do the math. If the ship moved a hundred feet a year and it’s been more than two hundred years … .”
“I see what you’re saying.” Rowan switched to her scrambled eggs. “The Conqueror could’ve gone down much farther out and then migrated closer.”
“Yes. Like I said, the tides are strong.”
Rowan turned her inquisitive eyes to Quinn. “Is that what you think happened?”
“I honestly don’t know,” Quinn replied. “I didn’t see any of the cannons yesterday. That was Anthony. He was excited when we hit the dock, but I didn’t hang around too long because I wanted to check on you.”
“We want to find a way to bring at least one of them up,” Nick said. “That’s why I’m going down in the submersible. Anthony recommended I see it with my own eyes, because it’s not an easy task.”
“All of this is above my paygrade,” Rowan noted. “You said last night, though, that there are multiple factions interested in finding The Conqueror’s haul. Is that because of the gold that was supposedly on board?”
“The Conqueror was mostly filled with soldiers and weapons,” Nick clarified. “There was some money, although what that money was for remains a mystery.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Some people thought the money was meant as a payoff to the American colonists,” Quinn explained. “The money was to be used for goods, services, and soldier payments.”
“Other people believe the money was for bribes to British officers,” Nick added. “The entire thing was all very … mixed up. I guess that’s the right way to put it. No one really knew why the money was on board.”
“But it’s important because it’s worth so much now, right?” Rowan pressed. “Whoever finds the money – whether it be coins or gold – is looking at a windfall, aren’t they?”
“In theory,” Nick answered. “There is still some debate about who gets what. I’m more interested in the history than anything else, but I would like to see the coins and gold myself. That’s obviously the big draw for my employers.”
“So what’s the problem?” Rowan asked. “You said they found coins yesterday.”
“They did.” Nick bobbed his head. “The fact that the coins are strewn around means we’re probably not going to find everything in one spot. That complicates matters.”
Rowan turned to Quinn. “Do you know what he’s saying?”
“Obviously the hope was to find a big pile of coins sitting out in the middle of the ocean just waiting to be claimed,” Quinn said. “If they’re strewn about, the operation is going to take a lot longer than a week.”
“Oh.” Things clicked into place for Rowan. “If you don’t find more soon, then we’ll leave you here and you’ll continue on with a different group … and a different plan.”
“Kind of,” Nick hedged. “I don’t have to stay here. I can and will go back to Florida within about a week or so. You don’t have to worry about us not seeing each other right away, so don’t fret about that.”
Rowan was sheepish. “Was I that obvious?”
Quinn snickered. “I thought it was cute.”
“You supposedly think the snoring is cute, too.”
“I stand by my earlier statement.”
“A longer dive simply means more headaches,” Nick explained. “The longer things drag out, the more likely that there will be infighting regarding the find. It would be easier – for me, at least – if we found more items … and fast.”
“And you’re going diving again?” Rowan asked Quinn.
“I was going to but wanted to talk to you first. If you don’t want me to … .”
“I think you should go. This isn’t something you’re going to be able to do a second time. You should enjoy it while you can.”
Quinn spared a glance for Nick. “I’m not comfortable leaving you alone for the entire day, Ro. Not again.”
“She won’t be alone,” Nick said. “In fact, I was going to bring it up earlier, but we got sidetracked. I think what I have to offer will be a nice compromise, though.”
“And what’s that?” Quinn asked, interested despite himself.
“I have a submersible,” Nick reminded him. “Rowan can come down with me. That way she’ll be able to see what we’re looking at, see the things you see, and be perfectly safe at the same time.”
Rowan straightened her shoulders. “Seriously?”
Nick chuckled. “I don’t see why not.”
Rowan looked to Quinn. “What do you think?”
“I actually like the idea a great deal,” Quinn replied after a beat. “It’s not so deep it’s dangerous. You’ll be safe inside the submersible and won’t have to worry about the tide or anything. I’ll be close and know where you are. I also won’t have to describe everything I’ve been seeing. Trust me. It loses something in the telling.”
“And I can really go with you?” Rowan was wide-eyed and excited, her breakfast all but forgotten.
“I’m the boss,” Nick said. “Of course you can go.”
“Well … yippee.” Rowan speared another sausage link, this time with excitement rather than embarrassment. “My day is looking up.”
Quinn and Nick exchanged amused glances.
“I was thinking the same thing,” Quinn said. “It’s going to be an exciting day for all of us.”
17
Seventeen
“What’s going on?”
Rowan and Quinn met a group of divers – including Andrea and Anthony – at the front of the ship before heading toward the dock. It was obvious something had happened, although what was anybody’s guess.
“One of our divers is missing,” Anthony replied, making an annoyed face.
Quinn’s eyebrow winged up. “Missing? When was the last time anyone saw him? Wait … is it a him?”
Anthony nodded. “Stuart Dombrowski. He was at that bar on the island last night, the one with the … um … specialized dancers.” His cheeks colored as he spared a glance for an approaching Nick. “I saw him there myself right around midnight and told him to come back to the ship and get some sleep. He said he was going to, but apparently he didn’t.”
Quinn gave him a quick rundown before focusing on Anthony. “Are you sure he didn’t come back?”
“We checked his room. We thought maybe he was up here, but obviously not.”
“Could something have happened to him?” Nick was calm. “I mean … could he have fallen in with the wrong sorts at the bar last night? You said there were dancers. What kind of dancers?”
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