by J. K Harper
The only positive memory Gabi had about her short-lived marriage was that during it, her mother had stopped badgering her about finding a husband.
"For crying out loud," she muttered to Mateo, grabbing her notes and a bottle of water to stuff into her bag before she left the room to go meet Shane at the other end of the building so they could walk down to the dock together. "Will this ever stop?" Carefully, she tucked the gold nugget into the tiny little pocket that was part of the design of the swim tank she'd donned today to wear under her wetsuit. Its job for her done, she meant to return it to the shipwreck today.
Her brother's answering groan came down the line. Being two years younger than Gabi and the baby of the family, he was still, in his mid-20s, more than old enough to be married in their mother's eyes. She also pushed any remotely eligible girls in his face every chance she could. He hadn't quite gotten around to telling their parents that he was gay, and had known so since he was seven years old. Gabi knew that one day his dodging the matter would finally blow up in his face, but for now she and the rest of their siblings covered for him as best they could.
Their old-fashioned Catholic mama and her acquiescent husband were forces to be reckoned with. Terrifying, hurricane-like forces when they were crossed. Gabi had been able to play the enraged, temporarily man-hating ex-wife card for some time now, even though that hadn't really worked in her favor as far as her mother was concerned anyway. In her devout mother's eyes, you never got divorced. Not even when the asshole you'd married turned out to be the biggest cheating jerk in the world.
"Nah, she'll never stop till hell freezes over," Mateo said, sounding resigned. Gabi could practically see his shrugging shoulders. "But anyway, she wanted to make sure I checked in with you about it. I'll be out of town the next couple of days, and I know you leave to dive early. How's it going, by the way? Find anything good yet?"
As Gabi left the room and started walking down the hallway of the small bungalow unit the university maintained as employee housing for the lab personnel, she felt the slight twinge of guilt. Damn. Lately, she felt like she was fudging the truth to everyone she knew and cared about. But the crew couldn't tell a single soul about the shipwreck discovery just yet. Not yet. No one could know about it.
Which didn't at all explain how UTEI somehow already knew. The whole thing was getting messy. She didn't like it a bit.
“No," she said, superstitiously crossing her fingers behind her back as the guilt flogged her a little harder. She was definitely still Catholic in that way at least. "Yeah, tell mama I'll be there on Sunday. But I swear, Matty, if he's an ugly old guy like the last one, I'm gonna disown mama's matchmaking ass this time."
Mateo's laughter spilled into her ears as she left the building. “I'll tell her she'd better find you a stud who will be faithful all the rest of his days if she ever wants to see her dreams for you come true again.”
“Guys like that don't exist,” she replied with some acidity. The memories still hurt, despite having happened long ago. Catching sight of Shane, she waved to him. “I have to go. See you Sunday. Give abuelita a kiss from me, okay?”
“Of course,” her brother answered seriously. All the grandkids in the family loved their grandmother with fierce, protective adoration. “Don't worry about her, Gabs. We'll figure out something.” His voice sounded certain, though an undercurrent of fear wavered beneath it.
Gabi said good-bye and ended the call, doing her best to ignore the thudding of her own guilty unease. She was doing something. She could only hope it was the right thing.
7
Kai stood at the very edge of the long balcony that extended from his house over the ocean. The dawn was already stunning and clear, promising to remain so throughout the day. The ocean called to him, its pull as strong and undeniable as ever. The watery expanse covering nearly three quarters of the globe had been a more sheltering place to him than anything else his entire life. Despite that, as he prepared to dive in he felt mingled curiosity, hope, and a disturbing thread of confusion that irritated him to no end.
Last evening's unfortunately interrupted encounter with Gabi had left him restless and aching most of the night. He still longed to taste her sweet lips, even as he longed to figure out what the hell she was up to.
At this very moment, however, he also longed to hold the sparkling treasures of his hoard in his dragon claws. To feel their power course throughout him. Re-energizing and strengthening him. It was a revitalization he should be able to feel naturally. But the death spell that kept him from literally holding his gold was slowly yet surely eroding his vitality.
With images of Gabi's sexy, smiling face and the alluring sparkle of his gold and jewels trapped beneath the sea dancing together in a weird mingling throughout his mind, Kai dove off the balcony, entering the water in a clean slice. He kicked out and downward for a few strokes before allowing his dragon shape to flow over him. Reveling as always in the freedom of this form, he did a couple of whirling spins in the water just for fun before shooting off with unerring accuracy straight toward the shipwreck.
Sunlight sparkled off the surface of the water, sending its beams down to light his way as he swam faster than any ship could go on the surface. While he didn't need the sun's light to guide him, he enjoyed it anyway.
When the Santa Maria finally loomed up before him, the comfort of her listing bulk and the sure sense that his gold was there both eased and encouraged him. Maybe, just maybe, he could finally scoop up his hoard, luxuriate in the feel of his full power, and take it all to another safe location. One that he could finally access.
One that the death spell could no longer touch.
Emboldened by absurd hope, Kai dove straight toward the ship, his large silvery claws extending as he aimed for the large hole in her side, through which some of his hoard was easily accessible.
Twenty feet.
Ten feet.
Five feet.
Slam.
Pain cracked through Kai's enormous body as he seemed to crash into an unyielding invisible wall. He catapulted off of it, bubbles and silt exploding everywhere, obscuring his vision as he somersaulted helplessly through the water.
Away from his gold. Still unable to touch it.
He loosed a raging bellow that thundered and echoed beneath the sea, one that mimicked both the physical pain from crashing against the shields of the death spell as well as the renewed rage and loss that accompanied him every time he realized yet again that he could not touch his gold.
His mate, the one to whom he had pledged devotion and knew he had it in return, had in her last agonizing moments set a spell upon their mingled hoard that now prevented him from accessing the very thing he needed in order to live the long, full life of a dragon shifter.
The devastating sense of betrayal and confusion that always arose when he thought about it loomed over him. What felt like spikes of angry, blazing hot fire stabbed into his chest. He unleashed another bellow, this one tinged by something sharp and ugly that threatened his very being. His very soul.
His heart.
No. That veered far too close to the place he had no desire to explore. Kai let the rage sweep over him instead, finally finding his balance again and streaking away from the ship. He raced into the deep, sunless depths of the ocean to find the buoyancy he craved. The silence, the blankness that was far more desirable than the heated agony that seemed ready to shatter him every time he contemplated the horrible history of the death spell.
He had to be able to touch his gold again. He had to be able to feel like himself again.
The only answer was to go to the tantalizing mystery that was Gabi Santos, and figure out how it was that while she had managed to breach the walls of the death spell, he himself still could not.
A slow smile spread his mouth open, showing his huge, sharp teeth to any small creatures who dared to swim near a water dragon. He knew exactly how to get the raven-haired spitfire to himself today. If he played his cards right, he'd
also be able to kiss the gorgeous woman again as well. Satisfied by both those appealing thoughts, he swam hard back toward shore.
* * *
"You don't seem very tired this morning, sunshine." Shane elbowed Gabi as they walked through the quiet early light toward the boat dock. "I thought for sure you'd be draggin' ass after a night with Mr. Gorgeous-and-Loaded."
Gabi rolled her eyes and tried to keep things light. "Hey, I'm like the Energizer Bunny. I just keep going and going."
Her words had the desired effect of making Shane laugh and steer the conversation to his own conquest from the night before. She just didn't feel like telling him she hadn't actually gotten down with Kai. For some reason, the practically chaste but still incredibly promising kiss they had shared in the bar seemed too precious a thing to talk about with anyone else.
What on earth was wrong with her? Gabi always liked to be the life of the party. Land a guy, reel him in, and release him after having some fun. But last night—last night, as promising as it had seemed, and as much as she had genuinely enjoyed her brief time in Kai's company, was nothing like her usual modus operandi. Yes, she'd wanted to play with him. Yet she also really wanted to see him again, and not just because he'd been a missed opportunity.
When they arrived at the dock, the rest of the crew was already aboard the research vessel, readying it to go out. Everson, however, waited on the dock for Shane and Gabi. "Hey, kiddo," he greeted her, his strange tone immediately telling her something was going on. "Sorry, but you're going to have to stay on shore today. Word from above."
Gabi stared at him. "What? Whose word?"
Shane glanced from Gabi to Everson before quietly slipping off to the ship with a sympathetic half wave at Gabi. Everson shook his dark, shiny bald head, spreading his hands out in front of him in a “who the hell knows” gesture. "Remember the environmental task force? The ones from the Marine Institute here on the island? Apparently they have some questions about our standards practices. What we filled out on our compliance forms.” His tone turned more irritated. “They want to meet with someone on our team today to go over what we've been doing so far. You were requested by name, Gabs."
The sunny brightness of the day was like an extra slap in the face as Gabi contemplated spending it indoors instead of beneath the waves. Not to mention, she thought with an additional lurch of alarm, as her hand automatically went to the front of her swimsuit top beneath her light wrap, her plan to return the gold nugget.
And get the coordinates for the UTEI group.
Feeling sick, she frowned as she contemplated any potential standards her own team might have missed. The Ancients Quest team followed all the environmental requirements with stringent accuracy. She knew as well as Everson that there was nothing to question. "I don't get it," she said, shaking her head. Her dander started to rise. "First of all, we got checked off on all of that before we were even allowed to think about searching for 'ancient indigenous remnants' off the coast of the island." Her tone turned a little sarcastic as she mentioned the team's cover story. The cover story wasn't precisely a lie. It was in fact something the team had researched. But that specific project had ended six months ago. At least they could all speak intelligently about it to anyone who might come across them out here and idly question what they were doing.
They just hadn't specifically mentioned on their compliance forms that they also sought the Santa Maria.
"Why would someone ask for me?” Gabi restlessly moved from foot to foot, agitated at not being able to get on the boat with the others. “You're the team leader. Shouldn't they want to talk to you?"
Everson shrugged as he touched her shoulder in an apologetic gesture. "That's what one would think. I tried to argue that point, but I was shot down. Apparently the chairman of the board at the Institute somehow knows you, and wants to speak to you directly.” His lips twisted downward as he gave her a sympathetic look. “Gabi, I'm sorry. But you know how important this is. We can't raise anyone's suspicions. You're land bound for the day. I promise we'll try not to make any more big discoveries without you, kiddo."
Gabi sighed as she longingly looked at the research vessel with the bustle of the rest of the crew on it. She knew perfectly well that they would make more discoveries today. Considering it would be only the second day down at the wreck, it was almost assured they would. "You know I want you guys to find all the cool stuff," she said somewhat grudgingly. Even to her own ears, her voice sounded a bit whiny. Shaking her head, she added, "Sorry. I sound like a spoiled little kid. All right, I'm heading back in. But," she added, frowning again, "isn't it kind of weird that they got ahold of you so early in the morning? Who's even awake over there yet? Maybe we did miss something." Her voice jigged slightly as her thoughts turned more edgy. If they really had messed up their environmental standards somehow, it could affect the rest of the dive.
Everson shook his head, already jogging toward the research vessel as Liesl waved to him that they were ready to go. "I don't know, Gabs. The department assistant called me about ten minutes ago. She said the chairman is there now. So you need to get over there and spend the day going over the environmental regulations with him. Sorry," he called again over his shoulder as he boarded the boat.
Gabi stood on the dock, thoughts in turmoil as she watched the research vessel head out into the bright sunny day, toward the century's most amazing discovery that she wasn't able to be part of today. Pushing down the desire to curse like an uncivilized little brat, she took a deep breath, turned around, and slowly started walking to the island's Coastal Marine Institute.
Whoever the hell its board chairman was, she would kill him with kindness.
Gabi felt obstinate enough to go straight to the Institute dressed as she was—basically, in her swimsuit ready for her dive—but of course she first went back to her room at the housing unit to change into something more appropriate for an office day. And for meeting with someone who potentially could throw a massive kink into their wreck salvage.
When she walked though the glass doors of the Marine Institute, she couldn't help a slight smile. She really loved this place. She'd been coming here since she was a little girl, fascinated by the occasional tours offered to the public that showed how the Institute rescued and cared for injured marine mammals, and released back into the ocean the ones that they could. Her grandmother had been the one to introduce her to the Institute she was very young, taking Gabi and her siblings across on the ferry for a day trip. That trip had sealed her fate of eventually becoming an underwater archaeologist. No one in her family had believed her at the time when she'd said she knew what she wanted to be when she grew up. Except, of course, abuela.
Gabi still remembered staring at the Institute's display that showed a diver, a guy of course, surrounded by beautiful and happy underwater ocean life as he explained what he did. Of course, it was a voice recording in the display, because the diver was just a mannequin in a dive suit. But it was a real-life underwater diver who was speaking on the recorded tape. The one tiny display among many in the museum that mentioned how archaeologists sometimes found remnants of ancient human life on the ocean floor, such as shipwrecks, fascinated Gabi more than anything else in the world. She was one of the very few who actually lived out her childhood dream.
As she crossed the floor toward the reception desk, she smiled at the sleepy-looking young woman sitting there. "I've never been here this early, either," Gabi said as the woman stifled a yawn. "But apparently the chairman of the board is here and wants to speak to me to make sure that we're upholding our permit agreements for our dive? I'm with California University."
The woman nodded, apologetically covering her mouth. "Oh, excuse me. It is a little early,” she said, managing to smile. "He's waiting for you in the boardroom upstairs. Elevator's down the hallway, second floor. You'll see it. It's kind of hard to miss."
With those cryptic words, the woman waved Gabi toward the sole elevator down the hall. Feeling suddenly bemuse
d, Gabi followed her directions. The elevator stopped on the second floor. When she stepped out, she couldn't help her gasp.
Floor-to-ceiling windows lined what was basically a giant open room. An enormous mural on the north wall depicted a scene of underwater life painted by the hand of the man she instantly recognized as the world's most popular marine life artist. The windows looked out on the ocean, which beckoned with tiny breeze-tossed whitecaps in the early sunlight that illuminated everything.
A dark-haired man stood at the far end, dressed in a short-sleeved top, casual pants, and trendy black water sandals of the sort that surfers and lifeguards wore. His hands were clasped behind his back as he stared out over the ocean. Without turning around, he said, "Amazing, isn't it? My parents designed it themselves when the Institute was started. They felt that no one would want to work here if they were trapped in stuffy offices. So they brought the outside in, to remind anyone who ever met in this room that part of their duty was to help protect the fragile, incredible life out there in that ocean."
From his very first words, Gabi's mouth had been opening even as the blood suddenly seemed to thump in her head and race throughout her body. Everything in her tingled as the dark, liquid tones of his incredibly deep voice caressed her every nerve ending.