6. Chapter 6
6
Chapter 6
Sean
Sean backed his salvage boat and trailer into Bob’s Underwater Salvage building, and Wolfe, his unit’s Special Reconnaissance Scout, shut the hanger door behind him. Wolfe was a couple inches shorter than Sean’s six foot three inches, but he had Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine thing going on with a quiff haircut with tight sides—thanks to Ryker who insisted they all stay well-groomed. Out of everyone in the group, Wolfe was the hardest to read emotionally, he was practically a vacuum seal of emotions, and right now, Sean wished he could poke a hole in the side of him and release the pressure.
Cicadas chirped loudly outside, their voices echoing throughout his warehouse. As Sean unhooked his Jeep, Knox and Gray jumped in the boat to unload gear, giving Sean a moment of reprieve from the needling the two had given him over being hosed down with soda water like a dog on the beach.
Thirty-six hours of pure torture.
Thirty-six hours of knowing Blue lived nearby and that she was upset with him. He shook his head, trying to clear it of non-pertinent thoughts. He had work to do. People were counting on him.
He headed to the passenger side of his vehicle and pulled out the laptop used for streaming the sonar images and the footage from the underwater camera he’d been wearing. He cradled the device to his chest, knowing full well it might hold evidence of the Isladorian treasure they hunted.
The door to the building flew open, clanging when metal met metal. Sean spun toward it in a flash, the rest the guys following suit—though Wolfe had been faster to face the apparent threat than all of them.
“Bonasera.” Ryker strolled in hand-in-hand with his new wife, Grace. Grace’s blond hair was in a hundred tiny braids like she’d had it when she’d first come to Diamond Cove months ago.
“Ryker,” Wolfe acknowledged him and went back to work.
Blue had braids in her short hair on one side of her head close to the scalp. It’d looked edgy. Cool. It stood out. Like her outfit. That bright, curve-hugging masterpiece he’d barely gotten a look at before she’d spritzed him.
“Watch out for Bluebell!” Ryker called out, pointing at Sean’s boat.
The clang of metal tank hitting metal siding, had Knox cursing from on board.
Sean nearly dropped his laptop, scrambling to grab hold of it just before it hit the concrete floor. He clutched it to his bare chest, letting the cool side reassure him he hadn’t broken it, then scanned the room for the woman in question. Blue was here?
Wolfe shot him a knowing glance that made Sean’s hackles rise. Instead of talking, Wolfe paid attention. He read people. And right now, Sean felt more like an open book than ever. He wasn’t clumsy. Not ever.
“You okay?” Wolfe said almost under his breath. Sean appreciated that Wolfe hadn’t called attention to the fact that he’d almost chucked his laptop.
“Tripped,” Sean muttered.
Wolfe gave him a wary look, as he took two diving tanks from Knox with a look of indignation.
Ryker pointed to the side of his boat. “Where I’m from, we take better care of our boats than that.”
“We didn’t touch her.” Knox threw his hands up.
Her. His boat . Bluebell. Sean purchased this boat six years ago along with Bob’s Underwater Salvage and without really thinking about it, that’s what he called her. Bluebell . It’d just seemed so natural at the time. Blue always wanted to feel free and being out on that boat was about as freeing as a man could get—aside from actually being in the water. He wished he could go for a swim right now.
Ryker narrowed his eyes at the side of the boat inspecting for damage.
“Hey, Ryker.” Gray wound up some loose cable, securing it. “We were starting to think you’d gone MIA.”
“Too good to hang out with your friends anymore?” Knox prodded as he leaped over the side of Bluebell with their packs of swim gear.
“Too smart.” Wolfe grinned.
Ryker lifted Grace’s hand and kissed the back of it. “Too in love.”
Grace gave him an adoring look and rolled her eyes. “Sorry, boys. I didn’t mean to over-occupy his time.”
“You’re a sight for sore eyes, Grace.” Knox shot a glare in Sean’s direction. “It’s good to see someone smiling around this place.”
Gray nodded. “Especially after thirty-six hours of grumpy.” He pointed at Sean.
“We didn’t know you had grumpy in you,” Knox admitted.
“Sean? Grumpy?” Grace asked. “Are you sure you’re not confusing him with Gray?” She pointed one manicured finger in his direction.
Gray winked at her. “We’re sure. He was intolerable all night.”
Sean rolled his eyes, and still holding tight to the laptop, headed around the boat. “You mean when I was helping you install siding on your new house?”
“Yep. Then,” Gray said.
“And this morning when we were going over the grid,” Knox pointed to the workbench off to the side of Sean’s office where they’d laid out their map—the one with the grid they’d been slowly going over in their attempt to find the Rey Del Mar . “He didn’t even smile once.”
Sean furrowed his brow. That couldn’t be true. His natural resting face was happy. Always. He shook off the thought as he made his way over to the workbench. “I’ll remember you didn’t like my attitude next time you ask for help.”
That shut them up right quick. This time he did grin.
“Aw, he’s smiling,” Grace said. “I knew there had to be some kind of misunderstanding.”
Wolfe leaned against the bench and jutted his chin in Gray’s direction. “We’re just used to Gray being the grumpy one.”
“Thank you,” Gray said, but there wasn’t much snark to it. Gray was the grumpy one. There was no denying it.
“Why did you call me away from my love nest?” Ryker asked. He tucked Grace into his side and nuzzled her neck, making her giggle.
“Stop!” She shoved him, not at all hard enough in Sean’s opinion, and created some distance. Ryker tugged gently and she went right back to him, running her finger over his jaw. Ugh! Stupid, happy, in love newlyweds.
Sean set the laptop down and plugged it into the large flat screen he had hanging in the corner. “You’ll be glad you made time for us.”
Ryker perked up. “You found something?” He did not release Grace, though he did pause the goo-goo eyes.
“We might have,” Knox confirmed.
The group gathered around the table as Sean queued up their recording. Video of the ocean came into view as Sean dove in creating a million bubbles and started to submerge—going from the clearer water closer to the surface until the water became darker and darker requiring artificial light.
The group collectively held their breath as three hundred feet down the hull of a ship came into view through the murky, deep blue waters.
Ryker sucked in a breath and leaned closer to the screen. “That is her. Si? Is it?” His finger traced a gash in the side of the ship.
Knox chuckled. “I thought you guys took better care of your boats.”
Wolfe whacked Knox with the back of his hand on his shoulder, and Knox flinched.
The video went around the side of the ship, past a reef below the wreck where colorful fish swam in and out until it reached the side, the light from Sean’s headlamp lighting up the name of the ship.
Rey Del Mar .
Sean grinned and hit pause. “I knew it.” He’d had a hard time seeing underwater when they’d gone down as it was getting dark, and he’d only seen the ship for a moment before he’d gotten an alert that his tank was almost out of air and he had to head back.
No one spoke. The group glanced around as palpable energy filled the warehouse, practically vibrating the room with it.
“Were the royal jewels there?” Ryker asked, green eyes wide.
Knox snickered like he was twelve years old, and Wolfe grinned under his perfectly sculpted beard at Ryker’s unfortunate turn of phrase.
“I had to turn back before I could explore,” Sean said.
“Yes, but now you know where it is.” Grace grabbed Ryker’s arm tight, a huge smile crossing her face. “Isn’t that great?”
Ryker nodded. His Adam’s apple bobbed. He leaned down and spoke in rapid Italian. Grace replied in the same language. Finding the jewels could mean a lot of things for the two of them. Technically, Grace was a princess of Isola de la Famiglia because she married a prince. However, Ryker was thought dead, not only by his home country but by the world. Their peaceful lives in Diamond Cove could be turned upside down—or, they may have to stay put and stay undercover the rest of their lives. Sean turned, blocking them slightly from the rest of the group to give them privacy.
“When are Mack and Liam back?” Wolfe asked.
All of the guys were Navy SEALs but not all of them had worked in underwater recovery when off duty—Ryker was never allowed to dive because of his royal status, Aaron ran an alligator rescue, Gray and Knox co-owned a construction company and Wolfe did . . . well, no one was quite sure what Wolfe did, actually. So while their experience diving for the Navy would come in handy, only Mack and Liam had the necessary experience to help Sean. They’d need them back before they could start any serious recovery mission.
“A week,” Gray said.
“What are they doing to them at Mayport?” Knox asked. Mayport was the Navy base they reported to.
“Same thing they did to you, and me, and Wolfe,” Gray said. “Ask a million questions.”
The metal door on the opposite side of his office squeaked open, and instantly everyone was on alert. Knox, Gray, and Sean immediately reached for their concealed carries.
“What, what is it?” Grace tried to peer around the Jeep.
Ryker stepped in front of her.
“Hello?” an oh-so-sweet, feminine voice called out and Sean’s knees nearly buckled.
Blue came around the corner of the boat, her chin-length hair hung in soft waves, and she still had those braids on the right side of her head. She wore a brown lacy skirt that was see-through from the middle of her thighs on down her long legs, and a cream top with a print of a coral-colored VW on it that said “Road Trippin.’” She’d tied it in a knot at her back, making it hug her figure. She also had on calf-high motorcycle boots with buckles up the sides. Her gaze found his and locked, and his heart nearly lifted out of his chest.
She was the best thing Sean’d ever seen. His knees might not be weak anymore, but he was pretty sure he was drooling. He wiped at the side of his mouth just in case. And also, painfully aware of the fact that he still hadn’t put a shirt on. Goose bumps prickled over his skin as the damp air in the factory seemed to cool ten degrees.
Both Knox and Wolfe stood tall, alpha males aware of a female in their territory. Gray stayed where he was leaning against the work table with his arms crossed. His stupid arms looked huge when he did that.
A huge smile crossed Knox’s face, and for maybe the first time, Sean wanted to punch it off. “Hey there pretty lady, can we help you?”
Blue dragged her gaze off Sean to Knox and smiled. Not the smile she used to give Sean right before he kissed her. Which was good news for Knox.
“Bluebell?” Grace side-stepped Ryker and went straight for Blue, her arms out for a hug.
Blue’s face lit up. “Grace, what are you doing here?”
The women embraced.
“Visiting our friends,” Grace said, signaling around to the guys. “How about you?”
She pointed to Sean. “Looking for Sean. I ran into him yesterday, and wanted to catch up.”
The guys all shot glances in Sean’s direction. Logically, Sean knew if Blue was here it was because she was looking for him, but he honestly couldn’t fathom why she’d want to after her reaction to seeing him yesterday. At the questioning looks from the guys, he made a I-have-no-idea-what’s-going-on face and shrugged as the women continued talking.
“Now we know why he’s been cranky,” Gray mumbled.
Crap.
“I love your boots,” Grace pointed to Blue’s footwear. “You sell those at Leather and Lace?”
“I got them online actually,” Blue said. “I can send you the info if you’d like?”
“Yes, please!” Grace scrubbed her hands together excitedly. “I see you decided to put your braids back in after all?” Grace lifted the end of one of Blue’s braids.
Blue shrugged a dainty shoulder. “Easier to deal with for now.”
“Your name’s Bluebell?” Knox asked, and everyone whipped their gazes in his direction. A stupid smile was spreading over his face again. If he said one more word, Sean was going to pummel him.
“Like Sean’s amata barca ?” Ryker tossed in, signaling to the boat.
Grace tipped her head back and laughed. “Beloved boat is right!” She cupped her hand as if whispering a secret though she spoke loud enough for everyone to hear, “I caught him whispering sweet nothings to her a month ago.”
The guys snickered.
Blue looked where Knox pointed, her indigo eyes widening as she stared at her name across the side of the craft.
Double crap!
Ryker came up behind Grace, resting one hand on her hip as he extended his free hand to Blue. “I am Ryker Rockefeller. Nice to meet you.”
Blue blinked. “Ryker?” She glanced at Grace, then back to Ryker again. “Grace and Ryker Rockefeller ?”
“That’s us.” Grace grinned, but Blue seemed stunned.
Stunned enough that it pulled Sean right out of his murderous thoughts about how he’d make Ryker pay. And Knox. And whoever else wanted to make this situation even more awkward. Heck, he was ready to take on the world if it’d ease this tension building.
Ryker glanced pointedly at Sean. “So, this is your woman? She’s very beautiful. You are a lucky man, si?”
“Way to go Sean.” Grace winked.
Sean’s whole body heated, though he wasn’t sure if it was from thinking of Blue as his or because he couldn’t stand by and let the misunderstanding continue. “She’s not my woman—”
“That’s not what your boat says.” Gray gave an uncharacteristic grin, and Knox held his fist out for a bump.
“You’re all dead to me,” Sean glared.
“I’m not,” Blue said, calling attention her way. She wandered into the building a little farther, glancing around. “At least not anymore.”
“So you were at some point?” Knox clarified.
“Until he found the real love of his life: the Navy.” She peeked into his office, her nose wrinkling slightly, and he cringed remembering the pizza box he tossed in his office trash yesterday.
That wasn’t how it went down at all and Sean wasn’t going to let her statement stand as if it were fact. His body tensed. “You mean until you stopped taking my calls?”
The room stilled like the half-second before a bomb went off, the whole world was silent and time slowed down.
Blue faced him. “Calls?” she gritted out through clenched teeth. “What calls?”
“Oh boy,” Grace muttered under her breath.
Ryker clapped his hands in the air that echoed through the warehouse. “Come, we are leaving. Knox, Gray, Wolfe. We go.”
The men scrambled to finish up what had to be done so they could get out of there. Ryker stepped up to Sean and lowered his voice. “I told you that one day you would come to me for romantic advice. We are friends and I will not make you beg.”
Sean rolled his eyes. “You’re too good to me.”
Ryker wasn’t deterred by his sarcasm. His green eyes practically glowed with royal intelligence born from generations of kingship and probably wooing women. “There is a time when a man should hold onto his pride and a time when he should throw it on the ground and stomp on it.” He looked Sean in the eyes. “Now is the time for the latter.”
Ryker took Grace by the hand and kissed the back of it. “We should leave them, amore.”
Grace cupped his cheek. “You’re so cute when you get all informative and stuff.”
Ryker leaned in, “I will gladly inform you all evening, my dear.”
Grace shoved his shoulder and giggled. They headed for the door, in a princely clip.
“No, guys. You can stay,” he told his team. They ignored him. He grabbed Knox’s arm, in a last-ditch effort to avoid being alone with Blue, and whispered. “Stay.”
Knox’s blue eyes glowed with amusement. “Dude, you’re kidding. You must be kidding. You have a hot woman here to see you, who you named your stinking boat after, and you want me to stay? Forget it.”
“It’s not like that,” Sean said.
Knox pried Sean’s hand off. “I’m doing this for your own good,” he said and left, giving Blue a little salute on his way. “Gorgeous.”
Blue came around Sean’s workbench and stared at the papers he had laid out as Sean watched the door close behind Knox. “I like your friends.” She propped herself up on the workbench and crossed her legs, making the brown lace slip to the side, showing a healthy amount of spectacular, tanned thigh.
“They’re jerks and traitors,” he grumbled. They’d left him with a femme fatale and they knew it.
“Grace’s husband’s name is Ryker Rockefeller?” She ran a finger down the side of a wrench that sat on the table, and Sean could practically feel the caress.
Taking a fortifying breath, he faced her. This had to stop. “What are you doing here? Want to finish what you started with the carbonated water.”
She laughed and glanced down at his bare chest. “Dousing someone isn’t as fun when they’re not wearing clothes.”
He suddenly felt like he was naked from head to toe, and folded his arms over his chest—it made his pecks look bigger. His face burst into flames of wave after wave of heat. “Excuse me.” He marched past her into his office and grabbed a hoodie he left hanging over the back of his chair. From out his office window, he watched her readjust her skirt. She glanced up and caught his eye. He gulped.
She blushed and glanced down, and for the first time since she arrived, he didn’t feel like he was the only one off balance. He shored himself up, straightened his spine, and headed back out. Her gaze followed his fingers as he zipped up the hoodie, giving him a feeling of deep satisfaction.
“I see you haven’t lost your underwear model physique.” She smiled.
“Yeah, the Navy’s been good for me.” Okay, so he hadn’t really needed to throw that in her face, especially after her one-true-love comment, but it’d just popped out.
For a split second, Sean thought he’d seen hurt in her eyes, but it was gone too quickly to be sure. She squared her shoulders and smiled. “I’m glad.” She pointed at the image of the shipwreck, and its name across the side. “What’s this?”
Crap. If anyone other than Blue had come in, he’d have immediately shut the screen off—but he hadn’t thought of that. Only how glad he was to see her. Turning it off would only draw more attention to it now.
“Just a job.” He leaned against the workbench and folded his arms over his chest mimicking Knox’s strong posture from before. “How did you find me?”
With a little grin, she tilted to one side, pulled a paper from a pocket in her skirt, and showed him the image of the team on the cover of the Diamond Cove Times. Hopefully, this whole thank-your-local-marine thing would blow over fast. Their mission didn’t need the scrutiny, plus Gray hadn’t stopped grumbling about everyone calling him a marine since yesterday.
They thought Sean had been grumpy because of Blue? He’d also been grumpy because of Gray’s incessant whining. He’d only managed to get him to stop by proposing a revenge plan they’d carried out last night.
The two of them had gathered a bunch of extra nuts and bolts, found Titan Green’s boats, and scattered them over the deck. Next time he took his boats out, he and his team would be stopping every five minutes to check the engine for loose pieces. Ha!
“Looks like you and your team are local celebrities.” She glanced at the article and furrowed her brow. “I’m surprised they got your military branch wrong though.”
Sean couldn’t take the suspense anymore. “For the record, carbonation stings way more than salt water. What are you doing here, Blue?” For the third time.
She cringed. “Yeah, sorry about that. I was . . . surprised. I really didn’t think I’d ever see you again, so to have you come into my store . . .”
He nodded. Seeing her had been a shock for him as well. But the truth was, it shouldn’t have been. She chose to end it, and it had been years. The old hurt growled in his heart. “Did you need something?”
A lump rose and fell in her delicate throat. “I heard about Amelia. I know she meant the world to you. I guess, I just wanted to extend my condolences. See if you’re all right?”
Ah, okay. Yeah, this made sense. Finally. “It’s always hard losing people you care about. Nonna was a force of nature. But we all knew it was coming sooner than later. It’s hard, but I’ll be okay.” He would be.
Their original SEAL unit had had twenty-three men, but two of them had died in an ambush attack a few years back. They’d been so young and had families. Those losses had been ones he’d had a hard time dealing with. Unexpected. Unplanned. Unforeseen. But they’d also prepared him to deal with death later on. With Nonna, the situation was different. He felt lucky for the time he’d gotten to spend with her and had many treasured memories—a few bad ones too, but the good outdid the bad by far.
“I wish I could’ve said goodbye to her.” Blue stared at her boots, and worried at her bottom lip with her teeth.
He reached up and gently pulled at that soft skin of her lip with his thumb until she released it with a gasp. He dropped his hand. Looked like old habits died hard. “She would’ve liked that.”
Resting a hand on his arm, Blue said. “Thank you, Sean.”
“It’s good to see you, Blue,” he said, meaning it. It was a good thing she was engaged, really, because Sean had way too many things on his plate right now as it was. Responsibilities. Promises to keep. People, like Ryker and everyone in his country, he couldn’t let down. There was just no time in his schedule for a personal life. He swallowed hard against the lump trying to suffocate him.
“You too.”