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Hollis looked back down at the map and the large search area, eyes narrowed in determination.
Dylan Ford was her absolute last resort, she decided, and headed outside.
The sun glinted off the fiery strands of her hair as Hollis stood on the dive platform at the back of the boat, a wreath of flowers in her hands. She knelt down above the spot where her Dad died and felt her heart constrict.
“I’m going to find it, Dad. For you,” she said in a soft voice and lowered the flowers into the water.
A wave caught the wreath and Hollis watched it float away. “On to the next adventure,” she whispered, trying to ignore the sting of tears behind her eyes.
Suddenly, the roar of a motor broke through her thoughts and she glanced up to see an approaching boat. The motor cut and theFortune & Glorycruised up. Hollis gritted her teeth as Dylan appeared, propping a hip against the railing.
“Just the Doll I was lookin’ for...” he drawled. His crooked smile put her on instant alert and she narrowed her eyes, crossed her arms. Suspicion raised her hackles.
“Really?”
“I heard you have some information. About the 13th ship.”
Stunned, Hollis struggled to hide her surprise.How the hell does he know I have information about the 13thship? How the bloody hell?She stood up, brushed the back of her shorts off and tried to play it cool. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He shook his dark head, knew this wasn’t going to be easy. Not with her. And, not when she didn’t trust him. His gaze followed her hands as they brushed nonexistent dirt off the back of her perfectly curved ass then moved down her long, tanned legs.Damn. She was perfect.
Dylan refocused, released a breath he didn’t even realize he’d been holding and said, “Look, I have a proposition for you.” His voice sounded far too husky and he cleared his throat.
“I’m not interested.”
“You need to salvage a ship in deep water, right?” When she didn’t reply, he continued, “Well, I’ve got the equipment to do that.”
“I’m not interested in your equipment,” she snapped. The second the poor choice of words left her mouth, she silently cursed herself. Of course, he smiled. That stupid, annoying, crookedly-charming smile. Last night, he had displayed a glimmer of humanity. But, now he was back to his usual arrogant self and she wanted to punch him.
Or, kiss him?a small voice asked.
“Are you sure about that?”
His lazy tone infused her with anger, but she returned his smile with one of her own. “You know it would never work between us, Dylan. Sorry.” Then, she turned and headed back inside leaving Dylan to stand there and contemplate her cool dismissal.
God, she hated him. Looking all tan and tall and competent with his stupid high-tech equipment.
She should just steal it like he stole from the salvage company. Hollis huffed back a frustrated sound and slammed the cabin door behind her.
Screw Dylan Ford. She would figure this all out without his help. She still had another option. Or, so she hoped.
Later that afternoon, Diamond and Hollis sat on his back porch that faced the neighborhood canals with glasses of iced tea sweating on the table, as they studied the map of the Florida coastline.
“It could be anywhere,” Diamond said. “And, that’s if it wasn’t a mistranslation or the fevered dream of some Frenchman.” He opened a box and pulled out a thin, brown Cuban cigar.
Hollis watched him light it, draw in the smoke and savor the ever-changing hints of almond, wood, spice, caramel and cappuccino. When the distinctive odor reached her nostrils, she breathed deeply and felt like her Dad was right there with them. “My Dad used to smoke those.”
“A Cohiba Lanceros.” He smiled. “We encouraged each other’s bad habits.”
For a moment, Hollis didn’t say anything, but finally her curiosity made her ask the one question she had always wondered. “What really happened between you two?”
“The falling out, you mean?” She nodded and he took another puff of the cigar, contemplating his words carefully. “Well, one day Chaz said, ‘On to the next adventure’...and that didn’t include me.”
“But, you were partners.”
He raised a brow, rolled the cigar between his thumb and index finger. “That’s the real trick with taking on a partner. You can’t always trust them and, if you aren’t careful, they may leave you high and dry.”
Hollis frowned. She didn’t like to think that her Dad was anything but perfect and fair. But, it seemed like Diamond felt he had been cheated. And, she guessed, in a way, he had been.
