by Melissa Good
“I wasn’t,” Kerry admitted with a wry note in her voice. “It was like a dream I never knew I had coming true.” She lifted Dar’s hand to her lips and kissed it. “I never looked back.”
“I know.” Dar felt a huge wave of exhaustion beginning to settle over her. “Lucky me.”
“Mm.” The blonde leaned her head against Dar’s shoulder. “I think you’re right about DeSalliers,” she said, gently changing the subject back. “I know it’s late, but I have to tell you this; I have to.”
Dar looked at her.
“I saw…someone. Down there. Under where you were,” Kerry expanded hesitantly. “I was terrified for a minute, and then you grabbed me.”
“Ah.”
They lay there together for a few minutes, deep in thought.
Kerry drew in a deeper breath at last and looked at Dar. “No one deserves to die,” she murmured. “But I can’t feel bad about it.”
“Except that he did get what he wanted,” Dar reminded her wryly.
“No, he didn’t.” Kerry reached over to her bedside table, picked something up and tossed it onto Dar’s chest. “Damned if I was going to let him get away with this.” She eased up onto her elbow and reached for her mug.
Dar stared at the laminated sheet laying on the center of her chest. “Son of a bitch.”
“Daughter of a bastard, actually,” Kerry corrected. “One of the things you and I don’t have in common.” She took a sip of her rum and swallowed it, then leaned against Dar. “So.”
“So,” Dar repeated, turning the sheet over in her fingers.
“Death is a high price to pay for stupidity,” Kerry said. “And Terrors of the High Seas 339
I...hate to have that on my conscience. Is there any way we can help them…the rest of them, I mean?” she asked in a serious tone.
Dar’s lips twitched. “I called the Coast Guard for them on the way in,” she admitted. “So yeah, I don’t give a damn that they sank, but I wasn’t about to disregard a maritime law I had drummed into me from the age of four.”
Kerry pulled herself up and gave Dar a kiss. She licked her lips as they parted and gazed into her lover’s eyes. “I feel…really strange about what we did tonight, Dar,” she said. “Part of me is freaking out, but part of me—”
“Liked fighting for the greater good?” Dar replied in a casual tone.
A little silence fell. Kerry dropped back against the pillows without taking her eyes off Dar. She inhaled sharply. “Greater good.” The words felt interesting in her mouth and she played with them a little, tasting their meaning. “Is that what we did?”
Dar shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s something my father used to talk about all the time—doing things for other people, or acting when it’s not in your best interests just because it’s the right thing to do.” She reached over and combed through Kerry’s disheveled hair with her fingers. “It’s what the folks in the military do, if you think about it.”
“Depending on who’s defining ‘right’ this year,” Kerry replied with a touch of wry skepticism. “But I know what you mean.” She put her arms around Dar. “Did you like doing that?”
Dar returned the embrace as they listened to the wind howl.
“I’m not very good at it,” she said. “I’d much rather take care of my own best interests than anyone else’s.”
Both eyebrows raised, Kerry leaned up on her elbow and looked at her partner. “Dar, that is such a lie,” she stated flatly.
“You put yourself on the line for me after we’d barely even met.”
Dar put a fingertip on Kerry’s nose. “That’s because you are my best interest.”
Wasn’t really much she could say to that. Kerry curled up next to Dar and shook her head. The wind was getting stronger outside, and she heard a loud bang as something hit the building. She put thoughts of the greater good out of her mind for the moment. “Are you scared?”
“Of the storm?”
Kerry shook her head. “Of what might happen. I mean…we were involved in a lot of not so legal things last night.”
“No,” Dar replied. “I’m not afraid.”
“Really?”
“Really.” Dar closed her eyes. “I’m too tired to be afraid.”
Kerry took the hint and pulled the covers up over Dar’s long frame, tucking them in around the two of them. She put her arms 340 Melissa Good around Dar and laid her head on her partner’s shoulder, feeling Dar’s muscles relax almost immediately despite the raging noise outside. The heartbeat under her ear evened out and slowed, and she concentrated on counting its rhythm.
They would weather the storm; they always had, a muzzy internal voice reminded her. Kerry thought about that, losing herself in the flicker of the nearby candle as the winds blew around them.
THE HOTEL WAS warm and clammy inside as Kerry ventured into the lobby. The power was still out, but the staff had risen to the challenge and put out a table full of relatively tasty-looking foods for the guests to pick through. Her eyes roamed the room, and stopped as she spotted Andrew seated on the porch, his hand curled around a cup. “Ah.” Kerry grabbed a muffin and walked out to join him. “Hi, Dad.”
Andrew looked up at her. “Morning, there, kumquat,” he greeted, as his eyes drifted past her shoulder. “Where’s mah kid?”
“Sleeping.” Kerry sat down and nibbled her muffin. “She was so tired last night, I thought it would be better if I let her get some rest while I scrounged breakfast for us.”
Andy nodded in agreement. “She done things to be tired from,”
he said. “She okay?”
“I think so.”
“Took them fellers up to the hospital. Looks like them bastards put a few cracks in Bud’s head, but the docs took a few x-rays and let them go on after that. Then Ah came back down here and bunked out with some of the marina folk,” Andrew volunteered.
“You could have come up to our room,” Kerry scolded. “We had plenty of space up there.”
“Nah.” Andrew took a swallow of whatever was in his mug.
“You two young ladies deserve your privacy.”
Kerry propped her chin up on her fist. “Dad, we were just sleeping.” She grinned at him. “I’m glad Bud’s going to be okay.”
“Yeap, me too.”
“Does he know it was you who pulled him out of the boat?”
“Yeap.”
Kerry studied his profile. “Not really happy about that, was he?”
“No, ma’am, he was not.” Andrew turned and looked at her.
“But how would you be knowing that all?” He set his cup down and studied his tablemate. “They say something to you?”
Kerry nodded. “Yes, and Dar told me a little,” she said. “I almost kicked Bud in the nuts a few times until he finally calmed down and stopped saying mean things.” Her fingers played with Terrors of the High Seas 341
the edge of the table. “What was up with that?”
A server came up to them with a pitcher and offered them a drink. Andrew held out his mug and they refilled it, then the server handed Kerry a cup as well.
“Thanks.” Kerry took a cautious sip, relieved to find somewhat tepid fruit juice. She sensed Andrew wasn’t comfortable discussing Bud with her, and decided not to push the subject. “I thought I saw cereal in there. Did you eat yet?”
“Ah did,” he told her. “Went down and checked out the boat.
Hull got banged up a bit, but nothing big. Should be fine to head back with.”
“Thank you,” Kerry said. “Did anyone say if DeSalliers’ boat was brought in?”
“No, ma’am.”
Kerry gazed quietly at him. After a moment, Andrew met her eyes. “Sorry if I butted in where I didn’t belong,” she told him.
Andrew’s expression softened and he blinked a few times.
“Wasn’t that, Kerry,” he answered. “Just somethin’ that burns my shorts, and Ah don’t like chatting about it.”
“Okay.” Kerry nodded.
“Are you flying back home?”
“Yeap,” Andy said. “Ah figure you two got things all squared away now. Got a flight back out tonight. They ain’t reopened the airport yet,” he informed her. “Still cleaning up. Storm wracked up some fuss, but not a whole lot outside the marina.”
Kerry studied the horizon, which was clear and cloud free. “It’s funny. I almost feel like last night was a dream,” she mused. “But I know it wasn’t.”
Andrew cocked his head in a listening attitude.
“I’m glad you came out here after us,” Kerry said. “Thanks.”
A smile tugged at the scarred face across from her. “S’what a father’s for, ain’t it?”
Kerry stared off past him, her eyes distant. “Only if you’re very lucky.” She exhaled, dusting the muffin crumbs off her fingers. “I’m going to grab something for me and Dar.” Pushing against the table, she stood up, suddenly wanting to be out of the sun and back with her partner. “Maybe we can find you for lunch?”
Andy got up and patted her on the shoulder. “Lemme give you a hand with your grub, kumquat,” he said. “We maybe need a chit chat, and Ah want to see mah kid.”
Kerry smiled, feeling the tension between them ease a little.
“Okay, Dad. It’s a deal.”
They went inside to the table, which didn’t have much in the way of plates. Andrew improvised by appropriating a basket of flowers, dumping the flowers, and standing helpfully behind Kerry as she filled it. They were halfway down the table when Kerry’s path was intercepted, and she looked up to see the police captain 342 Melissa Good politely blocking her. “Oh. Good morning,” she greeted with wary cordiality. “Guess you had a busy night.”
“Most certainly, yes, Ms. Stuart. That we did,” he replied with courtesy. “I am glad to see that you are safe. Is Ms. Roberts safe, as well?”
“Very much so, yes,” Kerry told him, noticing his eyes flicking over her shoulder. “Oh, I’m sorry. This is my father-in-law, Andrew Roberts. Dad, this is Captain Alalau, of the St. Thomas police.”
Andrew issued a moderately cordial greeting. “’Lo.”
Alalau gave him a brief nod. “Sir.” He turned his attention back to Kerry. “Might I ask, Ms. Stuart, if you and your friend Ms.
Roberts could find a moment to chat with me later on today?
Perhaps over lunch?”
Uh oh. Kerry didn’t think they were in trouble. She figured criminals weren’t invited to lunch, even in the Virgin Islands but given all that had happened so far, one never knew. “Um…sure,”
she agreed cautiously. “I’m sure that would be no problem at all.”
“Excellent.” The captain smiled and bobbed his head at her.
“Please, enjoy your breakfast. Unfortunately, the power will most likely be out for the rest of the day, but we are working on restoring it.” “Thanks.” Kerry watched him walk off. “Hm.”
“Nice feller,” Andrew drawled.
“Very nice.” Kerry sighed, dumping a last few items into their basket and snagging a Thermos of juice. “C’mon. Let’s go wake Dar up and tell her the social agenda’s changed.”
They left the increasingly crowded lobby behind them.
THE CELL PHONE buzzed near her head and Dar jerked out of a deep sleep, reaching for it blindly in the darkened room. “Buh.”
She captured the instrument and opened it, her head pounding as her body tried to wake itself. “Yeah?”
“Dar!”
Alastair’s voice was so normal, it almost hurt. “Morning, Alastair.”
“Are you okay?”
Dar opened an eye and rolled it around, taking in her surroundings. “Yeah, I’m fine. It was just a damn storm.”
“Storm? What the hell are you talking about? I got a call last night saying you got held up or something,” Alastair said, his voice audibly upset. “What the hell is going on out there, Dar?”
Where do I start? Dar cleared her throat. “Hang on and let my brain boot,” she told him. “I was sleeping.”
A momentary silence preceded his exclamation of surprise. “At ten a.m.? Good heavens. Let me get my diary.”
Terrors of the High Seas 343
“I am supposed to be on vacation,” Dar said in a peeved tone.
“In case that slipped your mind.” She rubbed her eyes and tried to shake some sense into herself. “First off, I didn’t get held up.”
“Well, that’s sounds like a good thing.”
“My hotel room got broken into.”
“That’s terrible!”
“But they didn’t take anything, so the inn just moved us to a bigger room.”
“Well, that’s not so bad,” Alastair said. “Jesus, Dar, you had me worried. I’ve got a lot of company resources sitting out there in the islands at the moment.” He cleared his throat. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded… Well, hell’s bells, I don’t know what it sounded like.”
Should I tell him about the rest? “We ran into a couple of snags out here, matter of fact.” Dar admitted. “There was some trouble out on the water.”
“Uh oh,” her boss said. “Maybe that’s what he was talking about. Your man Mark sounded half nuts.”
“Mark? What the hell is he calling you for? Does he think he’s my mother all of a sudden?” Dar snapped.
“No, she called me last time,” Alastair answered benignly.
“Apparently Mark picked up something on a police record, and wasn’t happy about it.”
“So he called you??”
”Well,” Alastair cleared his throat, “he’s a direct report to Kerry. Who is a direct report to you. And you’re a direct report to me. Who else would he have gone to?”
Bah. Mother hens. Dar scowled as she gazed up at the ceiling.
“Well, we ran into a couple of my father’s old buddies and had to help them out of a jam. That, and the storm is currently making my life miserable,” she said. “Everything okay there?”
“Here?” Alastair’s voice dripped with surprised innocence.
“Oh, sure. Right as rain, Dar. No problems here.”
Uh huh. Can’t wait to see my inbox. Dar stared at her phone, then sighed. “Great. Guess I’ll talk to you next week when I get back in the office then, huh?”
“Sure, sure. You two having a good time otherwise?” Alastair asked. “Getting some rest and relaxation?”
“Well,” Dar’s ears picked up the sound of footsteps approaching, “right now I’m flat on my back, and you woke me at ten. What does that tell you?”
“Good to hear, Dar. Good to hear. You take it easy, and try to keep out of trouble for the rest of your trip, hmm?”
“I’ll try,” Dar said. “Talk to you later.” She folded the phone and set it aside as the door opened, admitting Kerry and the unmistakable bulk of her father. She felt mildly embarrassed at 344 Melissa Good being caught in bed. “Ah…hi.”
“Morning, sleepyhead,” Kerry teased as she closed the door, then set down the basket. “I figured you might be up by now.”
“Only by the grace of Alastair,” Dar admitted. “Mark told him we were having problems.”
Kerry stopped and stared at her. “What?”
“Yeah. Hundred bazillion dollar corporation being run by two nanny worrywarts.” Dar laid her arm across her eyes, wincing at the dull headache. “Hi, Dad.”
“Hey there, Dardar.” Andrew crouched down by the bed and patted her arm. “You doin’ all right?”
“Mmpfh,” Dar grunted. “Any chance of getting some fresh air in here?”
Kerry walked to the windows and opened the blinds. A portion of the wooden covering had been apparently been removed by the groundskeepers earlier that morning, and light flooded in. She unlatched the windows and pulled them open, rewarded when a gust of air puffed back her hair. “How’s that?”
“Better.” Dar still had her eyes closed. “What’s going on outside?”
“No power, grumpy tourists, muggy weather, and the police want to
have lunch with us.”
Dar’s eyes popped open and she hitched herself up onto her elbows. “Us?”
“Us,” Kerry confirmed.
“Bck.” Dar laid down and pulled the covers up over her head.
“Yeah,” Kerry agreed ruefully. “That about covers it.”
Chapter
Twenty-eight
THE BOAT ROCKED gently under Kerry as she jumped on board the Dixie. Dar was still on the dock, examining the mild damage the hull had taken, and Kerry dropped into one of the chairs on the stern to wait for her. The sun was out and the air was clearing of its moisture, the light breeze idly lifting strands of her hair. She leaned back and looked around the marina, wincing at the small boats tossed up onto the seawall and the debris floating in the water.
The marina itself had taken little damage; its concrete docks had weathered the storm quite nicely, and provided protection to most of the boats sheltered inside it. Many of the boat owners were there checking out their crafts, and around the shore, crews were removing downed limbs and other debris.
Kerry felt oddly itchy. She’d realized on the walk down to the boat that she wanted, more than anything, to be gone from the island and away from the chaos their vacation had become.
“Um, hello?”
Kerry looked up, to find Bob’s unwelcome form standing on the dock. “Oh. Hello, there.”
Bob stuck his hands in his pockets. “I…um…” He cleared his throat. “Can we talk?”
“Do we have to?” Kerry refused to budge from her deck chair, forcing him to crane his neck to address her. “I think you said pretty much everything you needed to last night.”
He edged around closer to her. “Listen, I was just way out of my league, you know?”
“We weren’t?” Kerry rolled her head around to look at him.
“Getting involved with you almost got us and our friends killed.”
Bob shrugged uncomfortably. “I didn’t think it was that serious. I didn’t think he’d go…nuts like that.” He leaned on a pylon. “I’m sorry.”
Kerry got up and went to the side rail, facing him. “What really sucked was you wanting that paper back…before we got Bud.”
Bob looked down at the dock. “You don’t understand,” he 346 Melissa Good muttered. “It’s like a hatchet he holds over all of them…especially Tanya. I was only thinking about her.”