Under the Surface

by Kira Sinclair

  But that leap of faith was a hard one to take. Especially for a man who’d been disappointed and was used to protecting himself at all costs.

  Brian’s words rang through his ears once again. “She’s using you. She’ll be gone as soon as she gets what she wants.”

  Really, that was his biggest fear. He’d watched his father deal with the devastation of being left. He’d felt the same pain himself, as a child, and never wanted to experience it again.

  Not even having a front-row seat to his father and stepmother falling in love and making a life together could erase those harsh lessons.

  By dating women who only wanted a physical relationship, he’d avoided risking his heart.

  He was starting to think Loralei would be worth risking everything.

  But it was early days. He’d met her less than a week ago.

  Even as something deep inside was telling him to trust his gut and take the leap, his brain was asking what would happen when one of them found the Chimera?

  He didn’t know the answer. And that scared the shit out of him.

  The single thing that had consumed his life for the past decade could conceivably take away any hope of a future with the woman lying next to him.

  He didn’t want to give up either of them—Loralei or the Chimera.

  Surely there was a way to have both. He simply hadn’t figured it out yet.

  Unable to stay still any longer, but unwilling to wake Loralei, Jackson crawled from the bed.

  He was in the middle of throwing on some clothes when a soft sound chimed through the room. Jackson walked over to the dresser, intending to silence Loralei’s phone so it wouldn’t wake her.

  But when he saw the screen, he froze.

  A text preview lit up the locked screen of her phone. The message was accompanied by a screenshot of a document currently locked inside a safe at his apartment. Of course, a copy sat on his laptop.

  According to this document, the Chimera was actually owned by a conglomerate of plantation owners with property scattered across the Caribbean—the modern islands of Turks and Caicos, St. John’s, the Bahamas. The official paperwork was apparently lost at some point. This appears to be a private copy held by one of those plantation owners. Yes, along with the other information you sent, I’d say your supposition that the Chimera could be located off the coast of Rum Cay might be correct.

  Anger bubbled beneath his skin like poison. He felt it eating away at him, but couldn’t stop the spread of it through his guts, muscles and brain.

  Brian had been right.

  The only way Loralei could have obtained this document was by snooping through the information on his computer.

  When the hell had she done it? From the moment they’d come on board he’d been careful not to leave the machine unlocked...except for the night he’d thought her asleep. Marcus had said he needed to talk for a few minutes so he’d walked up on deck and left his laptop running. Dammit! He knew better, but had gotten complacent.

  Jackson let out a few choice curse words.

  He turned, stared at the woman sleeping peacefully in his bed. Her dark hair was spread out across his pillow. Her face buried beneath the sheets.

  He wanted to hurt her just as much as the pain currently searing through his chest hurt him.

  Not physically. He wasn’t that kind of man.

  For the second time in his life he tasted the bitterness of being used and cast aside. Because that’s what she’d planned, right? To get what she needed, by any means necessary, and then leave.

  But Jackson wasn’t a child anymore, and he had no intention of letting this woman walk away unscathed.

  Gripping her phone in his hand, Jackson rounded the bed. He wasn’t gentle when he woke her, jerking back the covers and sticking the phone in her face.

  “What the hell is this?”

  * * *

  A LOW GROWL started Loralei awake. She heard the words, but it took several minutes for her brain to process them.

  “What is what?” she croaked.

  Jackson’s voice, heavy with anger, registered long before the words on the screen he’d shoved into her face.

  That was her phone.

  With a text message on the screen.

  From her friend Deborah.

  She’d sent the screenshot yesterday.

  Everything kicked in at once and Loralei’s body shot straight up. Her gaze collided with Jackson’s blazing blue eyes.

  He was irate.

  “I...” She tried to read the text. Exactly how much did he know? But before she could pull in more than a few words he was yanking the thing away again.

  “Why do you have a copy of a document I own? One I made damn sure was secure with only one copy residing on my hard drive.”

  Loralei licked her lips. Guilt had made them dry. “It was up on your laptop.”

  “So you thought you’d take a picture of it and send it to a friend for analysis?”

  She went to stand up only to realize that beneath the puddled sheets she was naked. This was not a conversation she wanted to have in the nude.

  But she also didn’t want to cower on the bed while Jackson stared down at her like some angry Greek god.

  Grasping the edges of the sheet, she yanked, wrapping it around her body as she rose.

  “I didn’t go into that room intending to snoop, Jackson.”

  “So you had good intentions for wandering into my office in the middle of the night while everyone thought you were asleep?”

  She’d been startled awake and swamped by guilt, but now her own temper was making an appearance.

  “Yes, I did. And I resent that you’d imply otherwise.”

  Jackson flashed her phone screen. “This suggests I have every right to imply whatever the hell I want. What part of this did you think was okay, Loralei?”

  “What part of invading my privacy by looking at my phone did you think was okay, Jackson?”

  Jackson’s eyes glittered, narrowing to tiny, dangerous slits. But Loralei was too upset to notice the warning he was giving her. Not that she would have heeded it even if she had.

  “You really are just like your father, aren’t you?” he growled. “Did you sabotage your ship just so you could gain access to the Amphitrite? Was Brian right—did you sleep with me to get your hands on my data?”

  His words hurt, lancing through her with piercing accuracy. Was that truly what he thought of her? After she’d opened herself up to him last night, against her better judgment.

  She didn’t dwell on the pain, though, using anger to push it—and him—away.

  She planted her forearm in the middle of his chest and shoved. “Absolutely, ace. Because that’s the only thing you’re good for.”

  All she wanted was to get out of here and away from him before she made a bigger idiot of herself. She’d known this had to end at some point, but knowing it and being prepared were apparently two different things.

  Jackson’s expression shut down, going completely blank. It was eerie to watch a mask slip over him, hiding everything. Until that moment she hadn’t realize just how open he’d actually been with her.

  She wasn’t looking at Jackson Duchane, treasure hunter and dive master. Now, she was staring at Jackson Duchane, lethal soldier.

  “What other information is she talking about?”

  “What?”

  “Your friend. She said along with the other information you sent. What was it?”

  Loralei stared at him, her brain spinning.

  “It’s the least you owe me, Loralei. You took my information and used it. She mentioned Rum Cay.”

  She swallowed. Torn between what her conscience was telling her to do and what she knew was right for Lancaster Diving and her crew.

  He had the information he needed, although he might not realize it. So what was the harm in elaborating on how she’d found it?

  If nothing else, it would assuage her guilt. He wasn’t wrong. She had used his research, eve
n if it alone wouldn’t have been enough. Separately, they’d found important pieces, but they were useless without each other.

  “I took the historical data from the hurricane and plugged it into modern tracking software. It provided a slightly altered path for the storm than the one you’d been using. That, along with the information that the Chimera had been purchased by a group of wealthy businessmen, one with a plantation on Rum Cay...”

  They’d thought all along the Chimera had been off course, but in reality she possibly had been on a secret mission, which only led credence to the idea there’d been gold onboard when she’d sunk.

  Jackson’s gaze flickered, but the mask didn’t drop.

  So now they both had the same information. And as soon as the tug and replacement ship arrived later that day it would be a race to see who could get to the Chimera first.

  17

  THE TUGBOAT FINALLY arrived late that morning, accompanied by the ship Loralei had rented to replace the Emily.

  It was difficult for Jackson to watch Loralei’s crew gather what little they’d brought with them. It was more difficult to stay in the background rather than directing the men who would take the listing ship back to port.

  Loralei strode around his ship, purposely ignoring him and the situation that had driven them apart, apparently eager to get away from him as quickly as possible.

  It shouldn’t have hurt, but it did. She was the one who’d betrayed him. Used him.

  Meanwhile, Brian spent the time tossing smirks in his direction.

  It didn’t help when Jackson discovered the Emily didn’t have the emergency towing procedure legally required for ships of that size. It was such a small, easy thing that James and Brian could have taken care of, but they hadn’t.

  There was no excuse for ignoring safety procedures. Jackson clenched his fists, thinking of what other things might have been overlooked on the Emily. He was angry with Loralei, but the thought of her being in danger still felt like a punch to his gut.

  Jackson watched as the team attached lines and prepared both the Emily and the tug for departure. It was a slow, painstaking process. The ship might be stable, but there was still the real potential for something to go wrong. The situation was precarious and would be until the Emily was back in port where the damage could be repaired.

  She was an older ship, but she was still useful and worth saving.

  Words sprung to Jackson’s lips when Loralei climbed into a launch headed for the Emily. He stopped himself halfway across the deck, ready to yank her out of the boat.

  Impulse had him wanting her safely on board his ship and not on her own sloping deck. But he didn’t have the right to stop her, not anymore. In that moment, it was difficult to remember how pissed off he was.

  She was a grown woman and could handle herself.

  Damn, he was messed up. And she’d left him that way.

  The moment Loralei’s crew departed the Amphitrite, Jackson tried to push everything out of his head except what he had to do in order to find the Chimera.

  Loralei and her crew would have to spend precious time transferring their equipment from the Emily to their new ship. Jackson had taken that opportunity to get back on track.

  Finding the Chimera was what was important. Nothing else.

  Certainly not Loralei Lancaster.

  Rum Cay, the island Loralei’s friend had suggested was the likely resting place for the Chimera, was several hours away.

  Jackson spent the time checking and rechecking his gear. He ordered everyone on the crew to do the same and ignored their grumbles since maintaining equipment for immediate use was standard operating procedure.

  Even as restlessness rode his shoulders, Jackson realized his reaction was unusual. Typically during the long hours waiting for a mission to begin, he was the guy sitting calmly in the corner while Knox paced and Asher engaged in mindless movement.

  He tried to convince himself he was merely excited over being so close to finding the Chimera. But he knew it was so much more, and Loralei was at the center of his unease.

  When they finally arrived, he didn’t waste any time ordering his team into the water. They had a slight lead and he wanted to take advantage of it.

  Donning his gear and getting the team together helped him focus, but the moment he was beneath the water...all bets were off.

  The peaceful quiet pressed in. Normally, it was what he liked best about diving, the chance to clear his head and simply be. But that didn’t quite work today.

  Marcus tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. Until that moment, Jackson hadn’t been aware that he’d been staring off into the distance. Shaking his head, he refocused.

  He and his team spent the next hour searching for any sign of the Chimera. The divers worked together, covering as much ground as possible in a standard grid pattern as they moved across the sea floor.

  A flutter of motion in the distance caught Jackson’s eye. One of his guys was waving frantically, swimming furiously to get his attention.

  Excitement bubbled up inside his chest as Rick pointed in the direction of an outcropping of rocks about fifty feet away. They’d been avoiding the area because sonar had indicated a major drop-off and the team wasn’t prepared to take on those depths today. Especially not without exploring the rest of the surrounding area first.

  Following behind Marcus, Jackson headed toward the drop-off, glancing at his equipment to check his air supply. Another forty minutes or so and they’d all need to head up for a break and to change out tanks.

  Jackson was mentally shuffling the team, rotating some of the less experienced divers onto the ship and moving the handful of guys he’d left on deck into the water when he rounded the outcropping and nearly slammed into Rick.

  Right in front of him sat the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. What had to be the Chimera.

  The entire wreck was murky, the water slightly cloudy and dim, most sunlight blocked by the rocky outcropping.

  About ten yards down, she rested on a ledge, the edge of the ship balanced precariously over a yawning hole.

  If Jackson had to guess, he’d say tossed about in the storm, she’d probably hit the rocks that rose up close to the surface and sunk. The huge hole he could see in the hull supported his theory, but he’d have to get a closer look to know for sure if the damage had caused her to sink or if the hole was the result of hitting the sea floor.

  Jackson treaded water and stared. His chest tightened.

  This moment should have been the best of his life. The culmination of years working hard, fighting for every speck of information and every extra penny to support the search. Generations of Duchanes had listened to the story of the Chimera, but he was here, looking at her with his own eyes.

  Yet he wasn’t elated. Something was missing. No, someone.

  He wanted to share this moment with Loralei instead of the men floating around him pounding each other on the back.

  But that wasn’t an option.

  Gritting his teeth around the soft plastic of the regulator, Jackson headed for the Chimera. He’d given up everything for her, he at least wanted a closer look. He still had a little time before he had to head back to the surface.

  Signaling for several of the men to stay behind, he motioned Marcus forward with him. Cautiously, they approached the ship.

  She was gorgeous. Eerie. He couldn’t help but feel a shiver run up his spine knowing people had lost their lives right here. This was their resting place, and as much as he wanted to recover what the hurricane had stolen, he wanted to preserve their memory, as well.

  The ship was tipped onto its side. Fish swam in and out of the structure, the entire surface covered with barnacles and sea life, crusted over by time, salt and sand.

  He wanted a good look at the hold—to know whether or not her belly held a fortune in gold. But he wasn’t stupid enough to go that far before checking the structural integrity of the wreck.

  Surely a few feet inside w
ouldn’t hurt, though.

  He swam through an opening. It was darker, colder in the shadows cast by what was left of the thick wooden hull. The space he’d entered was small. A cabin maybe? He’d need to study the schematics again to know for sure. With the ship tipped on her side, it was difficult to orient himself.

  Spinning around, he took in the sea anemones and plant life that clung to the cracks between the boards. A jagged hole had been ripped in one wall. Before or after impact? It was hard to tell since time and sea water had ravaged the splintered edges.

  Something glinted off to his left. At first Jackson thought it was only a fish as eager as he was to explore.

  But then it came again, a faint beam of light catching on something metal.

  Jackson’s heart leapt, adrenaline and excitement mingling together.

  Kicking out, he headed for whatever had caught his eye, forcing himself through another hole, probably a narrow doorway, and into another room. It was tiny, debris scattered everywhere. He couldn’t tell what most of the broken pieces were, covered with grime and corroded by layers of salt water.

  Drifting down, he hovered just above the floor, searching through the debris, and nearly yelled out when he uncovered a perfectly formed circle of metal dotted with dull humps that could be gem stones beneath the filth.

  Jackson spun around and smacked straight into the far wall of the room. The entire structure shuddered, giving a deep groan that made fear roll through his belly, obliterating the elation.

  Without stopping to think, he kicked out for the doorway on the opposite side. When he’d come in the room had seemed miniscule, right now it might as well have been as vast as the Sahara. Silt and sand started raining down from the cracks in the wall, making the water cloudy and obstructing his vision.

  The Chimera let out another protesting sound, a cracking whine. Something slammed into Jackson’s shoulder, knocking him back against the wall. Luckily, it held. But when the pain and dust cleared, he realized several of the beams had collapsed around him, trapping him inside the tiny room.

  * * *

  LORALEI ORDERED THE crew to drop anchor about twenty yards from the Amphitrite.