3. Indiana
Forcing myself not to panic, I watched the underneath of the boat carve through the water and stop right alongside Rhino.
Was it the water police?
Or Border Force?
A nosy fucker trying to get the jump on my fortune?
Dragging my air hose behind me, I maintained my depth below the surface and swam like I had a white pointer on my ass.
As I aimed for Rhino’s hull, brutal memories from my mother’s death flooded my mind, and my chest squeezed. She was murdered twenty-two years ago, and although I’d only been eleven years old, I could still recall every detail.
Shoving those soul-crushing memories away, I forced my brain to focus. Not concentrating while I was still twelve feet below the surface was a bad idea.
As I smoothly kicked my fins, I mentally mapped out what that boat could see of Rhino from its position. Gradually rising higher and hoping they wouldn’t notice my bubbles, I adjusted my direction to give them a wide berth and aimed for the opposite side of Rhino.
I waited until I was directly beneath the rubber dinghy secured to the portside deck, which would be hidden from view of the other boat, before I surfaced. Over the noise of the air compressor at the stern, voices drifted to me, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. I removed the breather from my lips and lifted the metal detector onto the deck.
Hoping that Dad and the visitor would think I was still in the water, I draped my air hose over a hook so the bubbles continued to flow into the water. I removed my fins and carefully placed my net bag onto the deck so I didn’t break the china plate. While still in the water, I removed my wetsuit and then pushed the cumbersome material onto the deck.
Keeping my head low, I hauled myself up next to the dinghy, and using the bulky crane base for cover, I dashed to the back wall of the hut. The voices became more distinct, but I still couldn’t understand the conversation between Dad and the other man.
While I hoped the unwanted guest was just an innocent fisherman, for some reason, my gut told me otherwise. I’d learned to listen to my intuition a long time ago, and nearly every single time, I was right.
I couldn’t reach my gun without them seeing me, so I searched for another weapon. Several knives were in the drawers beneath the sink, but they were useless unless I was in close contact.
The flare gun!
I crept along the wall, opened the safety equipment box, and pulled out the flare gun. I pushed a flare into the barrel and tucked another one into the bikini string across my hip.
With my heart pounding, I kept the gun concealed against my thigh as I rounded the corner of the hut, aiming for the voices.
The other man laughed, and I jerked to a stop.
Son of a bitch! That’s Kane Devlin! What the hell is he doing here?
Clutching the flare gun against my thigh, I strode out of the hut and crossed through the bridge to Rhino’s other side.
“Dad!” I marched toward him with rage coursing through me. He knew how much I hated Kane fucking Devlin.
Dad spun to me, and his wide eyes confirmed he knew he was in trouble.
I marched to the rear deck and jabbed the stop button on the compressor. The ensuing silence was deafening.
“What the hell’s going on?” Storming back to Dad’s side, I glared at the bastard on the other boat who had taught me just how ruthless humans could be.
Kane put one foot on his boat’s siding.
“Hi, Indiana,” he drawled, his voice drifting to me over the lap of waves slapping Rhino’s side.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I shouted across the distance.
“You’re looking good.” He dodged my question. It was one of his traits that used to piss me off.
“Cut the crap, Kane.” I spat his name like he was a bad curse. “What do you want?”
His sandy blond hair tousled in the breeze and shimmered in the golden sun above. “I was just in the area.”
“Bullshit. I thought you were in Europe.”
“I was. But I’m back.” He was as casual as a shark circling prey, yet he looked like a million dollars. His boat did, too. That vessel was a massive upgrade from his previous one.
“Did you steal that boat?”
Kane swept his arms wide. “This is all mine, baby.”
“Don’t call me, baby.”
“Indiana Smith.” He chuckled. “Still breaking my balls, I see.”
“Fuck off, Kane.”
He drove his hand through his hair, and his blue shirt parted, revealing his sculptured torso beneath. I hated that I noticed.
“Dad!” I spoke through clenched teeth, lowering my voice so Kane couldn’t hear me. “What’s he doing here?”
“I don’t know?” Dad shook his head so fast I knew he was lying.
“What did you tell him?” I eyeballed my father, and as he stepped back, his shoulders sagged. “You told him about Siren’s Lure, didn’t you?”
“No.” Dad’s eyes grew enormous.
“Fucking hell, Dad. Why?”
“I didn’t. I swear.”
“Really? He just happened to show up now? When I found something.”
“You found it?” Dad’s eyes lit up.
“Shush! We need to get rid of him.” I glared across the distance. “What do you want, Kane?”
His grin reached his sharp blue eyes that had broken through my defenses a decade ago. “Old Smithy told me you were onto something.”
I growled at Dad, and he stepped back.
“So I thought I’d swing by and see if I could help.” Kane flashed a spectacular smile.
“I don’t need your help.” I did need to fight the urge to prove that I was extremely capable of finding shipwrecks without him.
“But I have all the best equipment.” He pointed at the shiny crane boom fixed to the back of his fancy boat.
“I don’t need your equipment, and I don’t need you. Now piss off before I make you.”
He cocked his head in his signature move that used to drive me crazy. “Did you find something down there, Indiana?”
I lifted the flare gun. “I said piss off.”
He raised his hands. “What’re you going to do? Shoot me?”
“I’m asking you to leave.” Water dripped from my long hair and down my back as I took aim.
“Come on.” His voice softened, and I heard the Kane who had whispered promises to me in the dark. But his promises proved to be as fleeting as the waves. “We could team up, Indy.”
“I’m not your ‘Indy’ anymore.” I aimed at his crane boom and pulled the trigger. The flare ricochetted off the hardened steel and exploded into a million red sparks.
“Jesus Christ,” Kane yelled. “You crazy bitch.”
“What the fuck, Indiana!” Dad cried.
“Shut up, Dad. This is your fault.”
“Now I know you’re onto something,” Kane yelled. “I thought Old Smithy was talking bullshit.”
“It’s just a hunch,” I yelled.
“Oh, I love your hunches.”
I pushed the second flare into the barrel of the gun.
“Hey,” he yelled across the distance. “Don’t you dare.”
“Leave now, or the next flare goes into that porthole.” I aimed for the open window below his deck that revealed wood-paneled walls and a large bed with fancy blue linen.
“Obviously, whatever you found is worth fighting for.” Kane’s eyes filled with a ruthless hunger that I’d seen many times. “Unless you’ve lodged claim rights, then I’m not going anywhere.”
A growl marched up my throat. “Son of a?—”
“Indiana!” Dad slapped my arm, and the gun kicked in my hand.
Time seemed to slow as a bright, searing orb arced across the distance between the two boats and embedded into the heart of the cushions on the curved seating nook behind Kane. Nothing happened. Then a small explosion blew two cushions off the sofa and the white fabric caught fire.
“Jesus Christ!” Kane sprinted in the opposite direction to the fire.
Flames created a tiny hiss, and I cringed as they increased to a loud crackle and raced across the length of the custom-made seating as if they were soaked in alcohol.
“Bloody hell, Indiana,” Dad said. “You sure know how to cause chaos.”
“Not helpful, Dad.”
Flames licked up from the cushions, feeding on the expensive, flammable material much quicker than I thought possible.
“Where did Kane go?” Dad asked.
“Don’t know, but he better hurry up.”
Kane’s shirt flapped at his sides as he sprinted back with a fire extinguisher in his arms.
A horn blasted ahead of us, and I jumped. Shielding the sun with my hand, I peered across the shimmering water. My blood ran cold. An inflatable patrol boat was bearing down on us.
“Fucking hell. It’s Border Force.” My stomach sank. “They must have seen my first flare.”
“Now you’re in trouble, Indiana!” Kane shouted as he blasted the flames with his fire extinguisher. “And it’s your own fucking fault.”
As smoke wafted over him, he shook his head at me like I was a naughty little girl.
“Screw you, Kane!”
I clenched my fists. Fury raced through me. My stupid actions could get me arrested . . . again.
Oh, Jesus! If I’m taken away, my GPS tracker will practically give Kane a giant X to mark the spot where the wreck site could be.
Fuck that. And fuck him.
I shoved the flare gun into Dad’s hands. “Get rid of that.”
I sprinted away.
“Where are you going?” Dad hollered.
“Just delay them. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Goddammit, woman.” Dad’s words were barely audible over my pulse thumping in my ears.
Skidding to a stop at the rubber dinghy, I wrapped the precious plate in my dripping wetsuit, carefully folded it, and placed the bundle against the side wall. The folded wetsuit was in plain view, so hopefully, nobody would get curious about it.
I sprinted to my equipment cupboard at the stern and pulled out my underwater scooter. After dragging the scooter down to the edge of the rear dive deck, I returned to the equipment cupboard, grabbed my scuba kit, grateful that I always had at least one ready, and hooked up to a full tank. I filled the buoyancy vest with air and tossed the kit overboard.
I glanced toward Rhino’s front bow. Border Force was fifty yards away.
Snatching my mask off the hook, I sprinted down to the deck, grabbed my fins, and dove overboard. Under the water, I pulled on my fins, then swam to my dive kit, pulled it on, put the regulator in my mouth, and tested the air. Keeping below the edge of the deck, I reached up, and as a shout rang across Rhino’s main deck, I pulled the scooter overboard.
I dumped the air from the buoyancy vest. As I sank below the surface, I turned on my scooter.
The scooter powered through the water. Clutching the handles, I steered it away from the boats so they couldn’t see me. I started the timer on my dive watch. I didn’t plan to be underwater for long, but it was better to be cautious than be dead.
Once I was far enough away, I turned the scooter in the direction of my GPS. I had a rotten feeling that I wouldn’t get to search for Siren’s Lure again today. For months and months, I’ve been monitoring the weather for perfect conditions to dive this site.
But Kane Fucking Devlin was the storm I hadn’t counted on.
I hadn’t seen him for nearly ten years.
His return was fucking annoying, but now that he assumed I was onto something, his return was also dangerous. He had better equipment than me. That boat of his was probably forty years younger than Rhino. If we were racing to find those bottles of Penfolds wine, he would win hands down.
My only option was to beat him to the fortune.
I had the scooter at full throttle, and if I was near the surface, I would create my own swell. Forty feet from the boxy GPS hovering in the water, I aimed the scooter downward, heading for the anchor.
I clamped my jaw so hard it was a wonder I didn’t bite through my mouthpiece. Near the sandy bottom, I set the scooter to hover six feet off the sharp coral branches. As the cool water tugged at my body, my mind was all over the place as I wrestled the GPS anchor free.
On one hand, I could be overreacting, and the rest of my day would continue as I planned.
On the other hand, Kane could make my life hell.
He’d done it once before. The bastard would do it again.
The anchor released, and I tumbled sideways, crashing into a staghorn coral that clawed my bare back.
Focus, Indiana!
Back on my scooter, I headed up for the GPS, retracting the anchor line as I went. If the GPS hadn’t cost me so much money, I would set it adrift, but I needed it. With the anchor fully wound into the GPS, I held it between my knees and hit maximum power on the scooter, returning to Rhino.
At the rear dive deck, I breached the surface.
Two border force officers were waiting for me.
“Hi, Whisper.” I forced a grin. “Hi, Jeff.”
“Indiana, get out of the water.” Jeff’s tone was loaded with authority.
I pushed the scooter toward the deck. “Can you give me a hand?”
As Jeff and Whisper lifted the scooter onboard, I shoved the GPS into a recess at the back of Rhino which had housed towing equipment many moons ago and hooked the anchor onto a bracket beneath the waterline. Praying that they would stay there until we could retrieve it, I removed my dive vest and tank and rolled them up onto the deck.
“You’re in deep shit,” Whisper said as she dragged my equipment back from the edge.
“It was an accident,” I said as I climbed the ladder. “You know I wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
“Accident, my ass,” Jeff said. “You knew what you were doing.”
“I was trying to warn Kane to piss off. I didn’t mean to shoot the flare at him.”
Whisper glared at me. “You leave us no choice, Indiana. We need to take you in.”
“Ah, come on, Whisper, please,” I said.
“I’m sorry.” Whisper’s tone softened, but her expression remained stern. “I have orders from Ryder to arrest you.”
“Ryder! What the hell? He knows I wouldn’t do that on purpose.”
“You fired a flare gun without cause,” Jeff said.
“Without cause! That bastard was hassling me!”
“Indiana, we need to do this. It’s up to you which way.” Jeff flicked the handcuffs attached to his belt.
I raised my eyebrows. “You want to handcuff me, big boy?”
“If we need to,” Jeff said.
“No, we’re not.” Whisper scowled at Jeff. “Indiana’s going to come with us calmly, aren’t you?”
“No, I’m not. What about my rights? Huh? That bastard was harassing me. He’s a lying thief and?—”
“Turn around.” Jeff shoved my shoulder.
“Hey! Don’t touch me.” I clenched my jaw.
Whisper grabbed my arm and yanked it up behind my back.
“Stop it,” she hissed in my ear.
“Whisper, come on. Listen, I found something.” I tried to look at her over my shoulder.
Jeff snapped the cold steel of a handcuff over my free wrist.
“What the fuck?” I tried to yank my arms free.
“Indiana Smith,” Jeff said in my ear, “I’m placing you under arrest for reckless endangerment, arson, and resisting arrest.”
“Resisting arrest. No. This is bullshit!”
Whisper’s gaze filled with regret. “Come on.”
She nudged me forward.
The handcuffs dug into my wrists as I climbed the stairs, but my humiliation hurt much more when I saw Kane’s smug grin.
“You bastard,” I yelled. “You’re going to rot in hell.”
“I didn’t do anything, Indiana. This is all on you and your damn anger.”
“Shut up, asshole!” I fought against the stupid handcuffs.
Dad marched toward me with both anger and worry in his gaze.
“Don’t leave him alone here, Dad.”
His jaw dropped, and his expression sank even more.
“What?” I barked.
“They’re taking Rhino back to Rosebud.”
“What? Why?” I spun to Whisper.
“Your father failed the alcohol test. We can’t let him drive or leave him alone on Rhino.”
Dad looked like he was about to crumble into a heap. He was already overloaded with guilt. If Kane found Siren’s Lure while we were away, his guilt may tip him into uncharted territory that he wouldn’t claw back from.
“What the hell!” I yelled. “We’re at anchor. Dad’s not going anywhere. He can sleep it off here.”
“And until the alcohol is out of his system, we need to make sure he’s safe. I’ll take Rhino to Rosebud,” Jeff said.
“No! This is bullshit.” I spun to Whisper. “Please, don’t.”
“Come on, Indiana, you know I have to do this.” Whisper nudged me forward. At the hatch to our cabins below, she stopped. “I’m going to give you two minutes to get some dry clothes on. Don’t make me regret that decision.”
She undid my cuffs.
I rolled my eyes at her. “You don’t need to do this.”
“Trust me, I wish I didn’t have to.” She scowled at me like I’d really pissed her off.
Groaning, I climbed down the ladder. As I strode to my cabin, my mind raced over how I could get myself out of this mess, but even once I was dressed, I couldn’t find a solution. If Whisper and Jeff hadn’t turned up, I probably could have convinced Kane to let it go. But with Border Force involved, I was fucked.
With Jeff and Whisper flanking me, I was forced to walk to the side where their rubber boat was tethered. Whisper helped me climb into the Border Force boat.
She sighed. “Why do you always have to push things too far?”
“Me? Why didn’t Kane just piss off when I asked him nicely?”
Whisper moved to the back of the boat and sat facing me. “Listen, I’ll help you as much as I can, but there’s only so much I can do.”
She started the engine, signaling the end to my pleading.
As we pulled away, I shared my gaze between Dad’s grim expression and Kane’s smug grin.
As my boat vanished behind me, a wave of icy panic froze my insides.
This was my third arrest.
I may not be able to talk my way out of this one.