Stolen Chances (21 page)

She braced both hands against his chest. “Thad, don’t.”

“There’s something you need to know, Maren.”

He slid his hands back into her hair and tipped her face up to his. And when her gaze locked on his, when she saw the tender look in his dark-as-night eyes, her heart beat furiously beneath her breast. “I was stupid to think this could be a fling and nothing more. What’s between us is so much stronger than that. I never stopped thinking about you. Never stopped dreaming about you. I want you back, Blondie.”

Her throat closed, and the world seemed to swirl around her. Of all the things she’d expected him to say, that wasn’t it.

She opened her mouth. Tried to find words. Couldn’t seem to make her voice work.

A slow smile spread across his lips, and he brushed his thumb over her cheek. “I know you’re still wary of me, and with good reason. I just want you to know I’m not leaving. When I thought I lost you in that storm, it brought everything into focus. You’re it for me, Maren. The one and only.”

Maren’s head was so light, she was afraid it might spin right off her body. Joy rippled through her limbs and brought her heart to life. And then she thought of Isabel. And Evan.

Her eyes slid closed on a wave of pain so intense, her knees nearly buckled. Isabel he might be able to forgive her for keeping secret, but not what she’d done with the man who’d killed his brother.

She eased out of his arms. “Thad—”

“No,” he said quickly. “Don’t say anything. Just…let it be. I don’t want anything from you right now. I just want you to know I’m not giving up on you. I’m never giving up on you.” He trailed his fingers over the locket resting just inside her blouse. “I can be patient until you realize I’m still your hero.”

A slow, cocky smile spread across his face, one filled with determination and…adoration. For her. But when he learned the truth…

Misery whipped through her, and that heart that had burst back to life at his words crumbled into a pile of ash in the bottom of her stomach.

He slid his fingers along hers. “Let’s walk back before they start to wonder what happened to us. You know Lisa’s going to come looking for you if you’re gone too long.”

She swallowed hard. Normal. She needed to act normal; otherwise, she’d give herself away. To Lisa, to Thad, to anyone who might be watching. “She’s too distracted by the Puerto Rican god in there to worry about you and me.”

“Maybe,” he said with a mesmerizing grin. “Maybe not. Either way, I don’t want to be on the receiving end of her wrath.” He gestured with his shoulder. “Come on.”

He wasn’t pushing her. He was giving her time to adjust to everything he’d just said. And that knowledge scared her more than anything.

Because it meant protecting her heart from him was no longer an option.

M
aren slapped the schedule on the table in the
Escapade
’s salon the next morning. “What the hell is this?”

Her father’s hand paused from the notes he was making, and he slipped off his glasses. When he didn’t immediately answer, only looked at the paper as if he’d never seen it before, her blood pressure jumped a notch.

She’d waited until Drummer and Lisa were in the water to confront him. So far the day had been a blur, getting their first dive up and going and avoiding Thad every chance she could, but when she’d seen the posted schedule, she’d almost come unglued.

Thad was monitoring the airlift from the deck, and Patrick’s grunts were scouting different cenotes on land. She and her father were alone for the moment, and because of that she didn’t care about hiding her temper.

“Looks like the boat schedule,” he said, slipping his glasses back on.

“I can see that. I’m not a moron. What the hell did you do with it?”

“Maren,” he sighed on an exasperated breath, “considering what you told me happened in that cenote, I thought you, of all people, would be happy I’m upping security on the boat.”

“I thought you didn’t believe me. You said Thad probably got hit by a flying piece of debris and that I’d misunderstood what that woman had been yelling at us.”

He frowned. “I didn’t say that. I simply said it was possible you misinterpreted her in the middle of the storm.”

He was seriously going to act like this had something to do with what she’d seen? He hadn’t cared then, and he didn’t care now. “This is horse shit.”

He shot her his head-honcho, I’m-the-boss look. “I realize you’re not happy about this, but I’ve decided we need two people on the boat each night for security reasons. Call me old-fashioned, but I’m not about to let you and Lisa stay out here alone together. If something happens, two women aren’t going to do a whole lot to deter an intruder.”

“So pair me up with Drummer, or one of your grunts, or yourself, for that matter. Or better yet, let Lisa and her husband stay out here. I’m sure they’d love some alone time.”

When he didn’t respond, just stared at her with a blank expression, her temper skyrocketed. “Nine years ago, you never would have let me spend a night alone on a boat with Thad Leighton, and now you’re forcing us together. What the hell do you think this is going to accomplish?”

“I’m not forcing you together.” He glanced out the window, obviously trying to keep his voice low so no one would hear them. “You work well together. There’s no sense breaking up the teams just because you’re uncomfortable being around him for extended periods of time.”

“You’re damn right I’m uncomfortable.” She pressed her fingers against her temple and tried to settle the fear raging in the center of her chest. She couldn’t be alone with Thad. Not after the things he’d said to her last night. She didn’t trust herself. She dropped her hands. “I see where you’re going with this, Patrick. You’re hoping I’ll spend time with him, relent, and tell him about Isabel. Well, it won’t happen.”

“Maren—”

“I can’t believe you.” She still didn’t understand his motives, but there was no way she was playing along. “I can’t believe you’d stoop to this.”

He rose and gently laid his hands on her shoulders. “Maren, your mother and I made some grave mistakes where you and Thad were concerned.”

“What are you talking about? Mother never met him.”

A somber expression crossed his features. “There’s more to it than that, and once you and Thad get around to talking about these things, you’ll understand. I made my fair share of mistakes where you were concerned as well, and I partly blame myself you find yourself in this situation now. I didn’t want you to see him all those years ago, because I was selfish.”

She grimaced and tried to pull away.

“No,” he went on, “it’s true. And I didn’t do all I could to find him after you called and told me you were pregnant. I-I should have done more. I can’t change any of that now, but I can help try and set it right.”

She couldn’t believe he was saying this after all this time. “I don’t want to set things right. I’m fine with the way things are.” She pulled out of his arms and stepped back. “You don’t have any idea what you’re doing, Patrick. It’s just going to make things worse.”

“Well, then. On this point we’ll just have to disagree. It won’t be a major stretch for us.” His face hardened. “The schedule stays. Tomorrow Lisa and Rafe will stay on the boat. The following night, Drummer and I. Your shift is tonight.”

Maren bit back a pithy retort and stalked out of the cabin. She didn’t for one minute believe this was his way of making amends. He’d had years to do that. There was no reason for him to want to do it now. He only wanted her to relent and tell Thad about Isabel.

Well, she wasn’t doing it. She’d do everything she could to keep that secret from him now.

H
ours later, screaming brought Maren’s head up.

She’d been working in the pilothouse, reviewing video they’d taken of the ocean floor, where she didn’t have to look at her father and where she didn’t have to be near Thad or make small talk with Drummer. Dropping her pencil against her notepad, she rushed through the door and looked across the deck, where an excited Lisa was pulling herself over the side of the boat.

“It was right there,” Lisa exclaimed, dropping her mask on the deck.

“What?” Maren asked, rushing up next to Drummer, who was helping Lisa upright.

“An anchor. Resting on the sand like a giant X. The storm must have shifted sediments around on the ocean floor. We didn’t even have to dig for it. The tip was sticking out between sections of coral.”

Rafe pulled himself up over the side of the boat and yanked off his mask. Breathing deeply, he sat on the edge, rested his hands on his hips, and said, “About two miles south of here. I couldn’t get a bead on size, but it’s definitely an anchor. With Spanish markings.”

A hot ball of fire formed in the middle of Maren’s belly. She looked to her father. Victory flashed in his eyes. Then her gaze slid to Thad. And his excited expression mirroring her own told her exactly what he wanted her to do next.

She rushed by Lisa. “I’ll get the gear ready.”

Thad darted for the pilothouse. “Two miles? That’s still outside territorial waters.”

Thirty minutes later, they were all grinning.

“Hot damn,” Lisa exclaimed. She turned and patted Rafe’s bare chest with both hands, then jumped up and down on her toes. “I told you, didn’t I?”

The sensors were going nuts. Maren’s excitement grew. There was definitely something down there. The depth finder was recording something big too.”

Thad was already suited up by the time Maren made her way out to the deck. “Grab your camera, Blondie.” He checked the video he was carrying. “Got your slate and pencil?”

Maren tapped her goodie bag. “All set.”

“Map the floor around the anchor,” her father told her. “I don’t want you disturbing the sediments too much.”

He didn’t need to tell her things she already knew. She looked toward Thad, who was pulling on his own mask. “Ready?”

He shot her a devastatingly handsome grin. “With you, Blondie? Always.”

She ignored the double meaning in his words and jumped into the ocean.

Water bubbled over her head. She checked her dive watch, waited for Thad to join her, then dove deep.

If she was at all apprehensive about diving after what had happened in that cenote, she didn’t feel it now. Exhilaration over finding the ship pushed aside any lingering fear.

She scanned the area, ignoring the dancing angelfish, the jelly swimming by, the coral and anemones on the ocean floor. They swam to the coordinates, taking care to record their depth and degrees. Thad was already shooting video. Maren snapped photos of the area.

When they reached the coordinates Lisa had given them, Maren’s heart rate jumped. Rusted iron, alive with underwater sea life, peeked from beneath the sand. It was just like it had been on the screen. She let her fingertips brush the surface, the cold, hard metal grazing her hand. A jolt of adrenaline shot through her at the realization she was touching history.

She scrambled for her slate, focused on a quick sketch, marking distance in degrees and recording every detail she could manage. When Thad banged his dive knife on his tanks to get her attention, she finally looked up.

He’d swum roughly fifty yards to the southwest. And from the look on his face, he’d found something. Something big.

He motioned for her to join him. Anticipation prickling her skin, she stowed her pencil and slate and kicked to reach him. And when she did, she almost lost her regulator when her mouth dropped open.

At least two cannons covered in sea life, riggings, mounds of sand that had to be the wood of the ship, rusted pieces of iron sticking out here and there. As she scanned the wreckage, a slow smile spread across her face.

The
Conquistador
. Leonard’s ship. It was real, and it was here.

“He lies. All men lie…”

Maren whipped around and looked behind her. Nothing. Just water and coral and sand. But the words were there. As loud as if someone had shouted them right behind her. A chill raced down her spine.

Thad stowed his camera and touched her arm. More off-kilter than she liked, she whipped back toward him. He gestured for her to surface.