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“No, I’m not. I’ll have it back here in a couple of hours.” I looped his mooring line over the bollard.
“Don’t do this, Indiana!” His tone was laced with fury.
I squared my shoulders and met his gaze head-on, refusing to back down. “Relax. I’ll look after Devil’s Fortune like she was my own.”
“Bring it back now, or I’ll call the police.”
Damn it. “I’m just borrowing your boat. Don’t be so dramatic.”
“Dramatic!” he yelled over the increasing distance.
“Yeah. Take the day off. I’ll see you here this afternoon.” I saluted him and turned.
“Indiana! Come back, you bitch!”
I raced inside and taking position at the bridge, I ramped up the engines and guided the yacht toward open waters.
As I set a course for Pineapple Reef, the thrill of taking Kane’s boat coursed through my veins. But my excitement was short-lived. Kane wasn’t going to let me go so easily. He wanted the priceless bottles of wine that were on the Siren’s Lure shipwreck as much as I did.
My idea to steal his boat suddenly seemed futile. He knew where I was going. It was only a matter of time before he found a boat and chased after me.
The wind whipped through my hair as I glanced back at Rosebud Marina which had shrunk into the distance. Kane was probably already making calls and arranging for another vessel.
Around my neck was Mom’s golden locket, and I clutched it in my hand. It was the only asset I had left.
The last four weeks had been like no other time in my life. It was like my very existence had been stolen from me. I didn’t have a job or even a reason to wake up every day. I’d been living in Tyler’s tiny home, and as much as I was grateful to have a bed, the closed-in space seemed to be sucking out the final threads of my existence.
Tyler had been my anchor, grounding me each day and showing me that life did go on. Our nights together had been some of the most incredible nights of my life. He cooked me delicious meals, and we took long strolls along the nearby deserted beach. I’d had more conversations in four weeks than I’d had in my life. Tyler also seemed to understand me better than I did. He knew when I needed a hug, and he knew when I needed to be left alone.
But while he went to work every day, I was left trying to pick up the pieces of my life and figure out what I should do next.
When the guys from Border Force took us out to Rhino’s final resting place, Tyler had helped me salvage everything I wanted from my boat, which, it turned out, wasn’t much at all. Working side by side with him on Rhino’s wreck had been surreal. It was like he’d been in my life forever, and he knew what was important to me.
He is going to be pissed at me for this little stunt.
But I had to do this. I told myself I was doing this dive for Dad. Finding those Penfolds wines on Siren’s Lure had been the last treasure hunt Dad and I had done together. And that moment of triumph had been ripped from our fingers by Kane Fucking Devlin.
Taking Kane’s boat was justified.
But even as I raced to beat Kane to the potential fortune, I also doubted there was anything to find down there. Weeks ago, I had been banking on the fortune I would find on Siren’s Lure wreck to give me funds to keep Rhino afloat. Now I didn’t have a boat, but I did have a massive amount of money in my bank account, thanks to the insurance I’d somehow managed to continue to pay when Rhino was afloat.
I couldn’t believe how quickly the insurance payout had happened. I thought they would take months to investigate the attack on Rhino. Somebody was obviously looking out for me because the marine insurance assessor had approved my full claim within days of him scuba diving down to Rhino and seeing the bullet holes punched all over the place, the exploded engine remains, and the charred decking.
What amazed me the most was that I had no idea what to do with all that money.
I wasn’t even sure I wanted to continue with my salvage career. And just thinking like that nearly crushed me.
Part of my lack of drive was because Dad wasn’t with me anymore. I hadn’t realized how much I’d kept Rhino going just to keep him happy. Another aspect had been because salvaging had been what I’d always done. It was in my blood.
I had no idea what to do with myself now that my life was in tatters.
When the weather morphed into perfect conditions to dive for Siren’s Lure, it was like I was obsessed. Like I needed to prove I was still Indiana Smith, salvage expert/treasure hunter/independent woman.
My phone rang, and I reluctantly pulled it from my pocket. Tyler.
I pressed to answer.
“Hi, babe,” I said.
