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For the first time, Dylan noticed a few ragtag crew hanging out on the boat’s deck. And, all of them were armed with a gun.
But, Hollis was too angry to notice. She stood up on the waverunner and pointed at Tony, her voice steel. “Stay away from Lia. And, stay away from here.”
“What’re you gonna do, Hollis? Go tell my Dad? Go-the-fuck-ahead.”
“I have the salvage rights to work the Santa Lucia. If you so much as put one foot in this water…” she threatened and the crew behind Tony laughed at her feistiness.
Tony lifted a small, brown cigar to his lips and lit it. The great part about all this was now he knew the location of the wreck. He didn’t need Hollis anymore.
“I’ll notify my lawyer and-”
As the pungent smoke hit her nose, Hollis abruptly stopped speaking. At the same moment, Dylan gave her thigh a warning squeeze.
“Let’s go,” Dylan murmured under his breath.
Hollis slowly sat down, reining her temper back. Tony’s eyes narrowed in suspicion at her sudden change in attitude.
Dylan reached up and around Hollis, taking hold of the handles on the waverunner.
“My offer still stands, Dylan,” Tony said. “Think about it.”
“Stay away from us,” Dylan said. “Or, you’ll regret it.”
As Dylan turned the waverunner back toward his boat, Tony puffed away on the Cuban cigar, a snarky smile on his face.
“Sorry about your Dad, Hollis,” Tony called out.
But, his tone was far from sympathetic. Hollis bit back a comment and glared at him. As they drove away, Hollis mulled over Tony’s words to Dylan.
“What offer?” she asked. “What's he talking about?”
“He approached me about partnering up,” Dylan admitted. “Said he came into some interesting information about the 13th ship.”
Hollis didn’t comment. Just bit the inside of her cheek as they approached theFortune & Glory. Tony had said his offer to Dylan still stood. Hollis felt her gut twist.
No, you can trust Dylan.
But, the reasonable part of her mind reminded herself that he had screwed her over once before.
“That sonofabitch tried to kill us in Cuba.”
Hollis closed her eyes and sighed. She felt conflicted. “I think it’s time to pay Diamond a visit tonight.”
Hollis and Dylan salvaged for the rest of the afternoon, until the sun began to set. Then, later that evening, they sat on the couch in Diamond's living room. The coral encrusted chest soaked in a tank of solution on the coffee table in front of them.
Diamond paced back and forth, studying the pieces of eight in his hand. He shook his head in disbelief and sifted the coins from one hand to another. “I’ll be damned,” he said in a low voice, almost to himself. “I can’t believe she exists.”
A mistiness filled his eyes and he swiped a hand over them. Diamond handed the coins back to Dylan who tucked them into his jacket pocket.
“I have to admit, I’m jealous,” Diamond said. “You have the find of the century on your hands.”
“And your son is watching our every move,” Dylan added.
“Do you think he’s capable of hurting anyone?” Hollis asked.
Diamond pressed a palm against his forehead. “Oh, God, what did he do now?”
“We don’t know for sure, but…”
