Treasure Tides (The Coins) (7 page)

I-got-the-girl
look at Royce, he
turned back to Becki promising, “
And yours, I guarantee it
.”
“Take me away, Trev,” Becki whispered, her smile slipping just a
little.
He smiled wickedly, “Hop on, I mean in.
Let me make your dreams
come true doll face.”
Becki climbed in, forced a flirty laugh, and said, “I’m just dying for
someone to make my dreams come true.”

Royce watched as Becki drove away with the other man, leaving him
standing alone.
Just like you wanted, right?
If he were being honest, he felt
the separation to the pit of his stomach. It felt like something was being
ripped from his soul; an unfamiliar, and somewhat painful sensation.

“Oh shit, Dude, what’s she doing with
him
?” Sean asked as he
approached Royce.
“Hmmm? Oh, he’s a friend of hers evidently; she needed a ride back
to her car,” Royce responded, not fully engaged in the conversation. He
was busy wishing his life were different. In that moment, Royce wished
to be an ordinary guy, a banker maybe with an ordinary nine-to-five day
job. Who was he kidding? That would drive him nuts inside a month.
“I hope not,” Sean continued, his tone serious for once, “that’s one
deadly
friend.”
“Deadly
friend
,”
now that got Royce’s attention.
“Speak to me in
English
Sean; clear, concise sentences, starting
now
.”
Sean knew Royce meant business, which must mean that Royce must
be more involved with Becki than he was willing to admit. The kissing
episode in the park might have been Sean’s first clue, but now Royce was
going all “deadly-special-forces” on him. There was definitely something
brewing here.
“Do you need a definition of
NOW
?” Royce thundered.
“Well,” Sean quickly responded, “that was one Trevor Simmons –
Warlock Extraordinaire. He’s been on our radar for the past couple of
years. He was in Savannah around the time the coin collector turned up
dead.
Trevor has been keeping less-than-desirable company, as in
bloodsuckers
.
And, his bank account seems to have a steady flow of
deposits,
large
deposits.”
Royce felt his heart stop. How did Becki figure in with a warlock
who was likely a murderer and kept company with night walkers? What
did she know, and why was Trevor interested in her?
This changed
things, a whole plethora of things. Becki had no idea of the danger she
was in.
He had to find a way to protect her while keeping her at a
distance.
He had to be able to think clearly. He could never forgive
himself if he let something happen to Becki.
“Pin him,” Royce said, referring to a process of tagging an individual
so they could track their movements. The process involved scanning a
person’s aura to capture DNA traces, a technology recently developed by
ART. Sean, a geek with too much time on his hands, was somewhat of a
genius. The process had just been perfected, and they were beginning to
use it more and more.
“I may be able to grab a shimmer, but he wasn’t here very long,”
Sean cautioned as he grabbed a gadget out of his back pocket. Holding a
device that closely resembled a cell phone, he began punching buttons,
walking around in circles, and waiving the phone-like gadget frantically in
large circles.
“You have to get it, Sean. We need to find Trevor. I don’t know why
he’s here, but I suspect it has something to do with the coin. I do not
want Becki caught in the back-lash of this mess,” Royce said. He
stopped his pacing long enough to observe, “You look like an idiot
doing that,
and
you’re attracting attention.”
A family out for a stroll stopped short when they saw Sean waving his
arms around. The parents actually crossed to the other side of the street,
shepherding their children tightly together and forming a protective wall
between them and the “mad man”.
Giving them a nod, Royce just smiled.
The mother could be heard instructing the children to “stare straight
ahead and don’t look at them.”
“Tomorrow we’ll go to the aquarium, right Mom?” The oldest child
asked. “Hopefully, they screen people before they let them in there.”
“Sean, wrap it up,” Royce said tersely, feeling sweat gather in the
small of his back. It was quite warm out even with a slightly stronger
breeze than normal.
“I’ve got nothing, Boss; I’m not picking up even the slightest
shimmer of Trevor’s aura. I’m sorry,” Sean sighed. “We’ll have to set a
TRAP.”
The Techno Residual Aura Procurement device (TRAP) had been
developed as a DNA collection mechanism.
The advanced technology
allowed for nonintrusive collection of DNA by trapping residual aura. The
Aura was then decoded and transposed into DNA.
The resulting DNA
could be fed into Sean’s system and used to track or pin-point the subject.
“Where did Becki park? We might be able to snag something there
when he drops her off,” Sean said, putting the small black gadget back in
his pocket.
“Good call,” Royce agreed. “Did you have any luck picking up the
coin’s frequency?”
“No, but Joanna will be here tomorrow. I need her to pull the cloak
off if she can. We will need a few seconds with a clear view. If she can’t
do it alone, she is going to have to call in Tammy.”
Royce rolled his eyes, “That’s just what I need;
both
of them breathing
down my neck.”
“Just wanted to let you know; don’t shoot the messenger,” Sean
returned in an irritatingly chipper way.
Royce hoped Joanna could do what needed to be done.
He certainly
didn’t need Tammy and his father in the mix right now. Joanna got
mouthy when she was mad, while Tammy always cried big fat tears that
made you feel like a heel, even if you hadn’t done anything wrong. And just
for the record, he hadn’t-- done anything wrong that is. He didn’t ask to be
zapped, crated up, and dumped in the ocean for two years.
But that
wouldn’t matter to Tammy; she was protective, as fierce as a tiger if
someone messed with her cubs.
He hoped she would someday realized
that he was all grown up and quite able to take care of himself. Although,
when he thought about it further, this might not be the best time to make
that point.
“Let’s get back to the condo. We need to tap into City Surveillance
and see if we can find out where Trevor has taken Becki. I should have
known something wasn’t right. He was spouting off like a silver-tongued
devil, feeding her a line of shit a mile long,” Royce said, “and she was
eating it up.”
He muttered the last part under his breath. Sean heard, but wisely
pretended that he hadn’t.
“Sure thing, Boss; uh-- just so I’m clear, are we tracking Trevor or
Becki?”
Royce leveled a look at Sean that would have crumbled a lesser man,
“Don’t start this shit with me, Sean. I’m warning you, don’t start.”
Seeing the opening he had been waiting for, he threw caution to the
wind, took his life in his own hands, and went for it, “Royce you deserve
to be happy,” he said quietly. Since Royce didn’t come at him swinging,
Sean found the courage to continue, “Losing Tara was hard on all of us,
man, but, she wouldn’t want you to mourn for the rest of your life.
Tara requested the assignment, she accomplished her mission. You
and I both know if she hadn’t gotten that Tiara out, this world would be
an entirely different place.
It went down exactly the way she had
planned it, Royce.
Tara knew that she could only transport one object at a time. Her
telekinetic ability had weakened substantially.
She made the call, Royce;
she chose to send the Tiara rather than herself. It’s the call any of us
would have made.
Let her go man, and stop blaming yourself.
She
wouldn’t have wanted that.”
“I should have known she would take the mission; hell, I
did
know
she would take the mission,” Royce finally admitted to himself as well as
Sean. “We fought about it before I left for Rome; she promised to wait
for me. I was only gone three days. She was supposed to wait until I got
back so I could go with her.”
Royce scrubbed his face with both hands. It was hard to finally face
the truth.
“She knew she wouldn’t make it, Sean. We
all
knew going in alone
was too risky.”
“Look at her other option, Royce,” Sean said quietly. “It wasn’t
much of an option if you ask me.”
Tara would always hold a special place in his heart. Her death was
hard to handle, but Sean was right. It was time to let her go.
“I know,” Royce agreed, his heart still felt the pain of losing his wife,
but it was less intense than it had been in the past. “Tara didn’t want us
to watch her slowly fade away; she was too full of life to accept that
fate.”
It made no sense.
As many advances that had been made in
medicine and technology, the cure for cancer kept eluding everyone.
Tara’s tumor had been discovered during a routine physical. After
extensive testing, it had been deemed untreatable.
The doctors had
advised that she had two years at best before the cancer claimed her.
For the better part of a year, Tara had kept her illness a secret from
everyone including Royce.
“She loved you, Royce. Respect her sacrifice for what it was.
She
saved the Tiara,” Sean reminded. “Hell, she saved the world, and died
a hero… in
her
time and in
her
way.
What more could we ask for, any
of us?” Sean concluded quietly.
“I wished she had told me the truth sooner, but I guess it wouldn’t
have made things any easier.”
“Her time, her way,” Sean reiterated.
“You’re right; she got the golden ticket in the end, didn’t she? It’s
hard to let go, but I know it’s time.” Royce breathed deeply and felt
the tension and guilt of the past slip away on the ocean breeze.
“You know she would kick your ass right now,” Sean said referring to
the fact that Royce had just watched Becki drive away with the enemy.
Royce laughed outright, a big full laugh that had been missing for
several years.
“In a heartbeat,” Royce agreed. “Maybe I need my ass kicked.”
“Um, I think I can help you out with that. Let’s go find your girl,”
Sean clapped Royce on the back and walked ahead with a goofy
swagger.
“Don’t push it, Jones,” Royce growled.
Sean was right.
It was time to stop living in the past with regrets
and
what if’s.
It was time to start living in today, and enjoying life again.
As he and Sean walked back to Fort Sumter House, he thought
about the girl he had just let get away.
Let -- hell.
Pushed was more
accurate,
he admitted. She was out there riding around with a Warlock
who’s suspected of murder. And to think he had told himself he was
pushing her away because
his
life was too dangerous.
Go figure.
Royce walked down the oyster shell pathway through the gardens
enjoying a new feeling of freedom.
Unencumbered, he absorbed the
huge majestic Oak trees, garden rooms, statues, memorials, and even
families picnicking in the grass. He couldn’t keep from thinking of the
history represented by this park. The many people who passed through
for
pleasure,
those
who
had
served
during
war-time,
even
the
gentleman pirate who was rumored to be hanged from one of these
very trees.
Royce realized that time has a way of moving on.
He was finally
ready to move along with it. Living in the past wasn’t living. He would
learn from the past and focus on the future.

What a perfect antidote for a shitty day: loud music, wind blowing
through your hair, and an unhealthy amount of speed.
As Trevor raced
down Highway 17, wind blew through Becki’s hair and the radio blared.
She began to feel the stress, brought on by her latest encounter with
Royce, melt away. Trevor had arrived at the exact moment she needed
to be rescued. Royce had turned out to be first-class alright: a first-class
jerk
, a first-class
pain in her ass
, a first class-
kisser
. Becki leaned her head
back against the comfortable leather seat and attempted to push him out
of her mind. Royce was obviously not interested, and Becki had plenty
of offers anyway. Becki promised herself there would be no more tears
wasted on that first-class
idiot
.

She felt as if she had spent the entire day on an unending, emotional
roller-coaster. Royce sent mixed signals. She didn’t know what to think
or feel. He pushed her way, then pulled her close, and then pushed her
away again.

For someone who was supposedly in town tracking down art, he
acted like he was tracking down state secrets or something.
Becki
decided that when she got home, she would get on-line and do a little
investigating of her own; she loved a good mystery.

“Hey doll, where are you?” Trevor asked, catching her hand across
the console. He flashed a wicked grin and took a
wild
guess, “Imagining
all the delightfully wicked ways we could spend the afternoon?”

He raised her hand to his lips dropping a kiss on her knuckles, “You
want to buzz on up the coast and find a nice quiet stretch of beach? We
could skinny-dip. You could be my sea nymph.”

Becki squeezed his hand and pulled hers away to drag long strands of
flying hair out of her eyes.
“Trev, you
are
crazy,” Becki observed laughingly.
“Can’t blame a guy for trying,” he shrugged.
“Why’s a guy like you still single anyway? You’ve got the whole
package: great car, killer smile, charm and good looks.”
“Don’t stop, princess, keep it coming. I’m all ears,” he grinned and
pointedly dropped his gaze to his crotch, “well except for--”
Becki reached across to clamp her hand over his mouth, effectively
stopping whatever outrageous comment he had planned to make.
“OK,” he mumbled from beneath her hand, “too much information.”
Becki removed her hand and turned in her seat to face him.
“What is the down side, Trev?” she asked.
“No down side,” he bragged, “I’m the perfect male specimen.”
“Nobody’s perfect. Tell me something about the great Trevor
Simmons that would make me want to run and hide,” Becki teased,
resting her chin on her hands, elbows propped in the middle of console.
Her eyes danced as she pressed him for information. “Tell me all your
deep, dark secrets.”
Something unreadable flashed across his face, and then it was gone in
an instant.
“I’m bad to the bone, doll,” he shot back. “No secret about that.”
Becki sat back with a sigh, “Trevor, you are no fun.”
Flashing his bad-boy grin, he countered, “Oh, I’m as much fun as you
can handle. Let’s find some dinner, maybe take a walk on the beach, and
if you’re really good, I’ll take you home and show you my
art collection
,”
he finished with a broad wink.
“I’ve heard enough about
art collections
today to last a lifetime,” Becki
said as Trevor watched the sparkle diminish in her eyes.
“Sorry doll, didn’t know you had something against art,” Trevor
apologized.
“Oh, it’s not so much the art itself. I’m just in a bad mood.”
“Pissed at the guy you were all wrapped up with back there? Who is
he?” he asked suspecting he already knew the answer.
“Oh, just...it doesn’t matter. I’m so over it.”
Playing along, Trevor asked, “Do I need to beat him up for you?” He
didn’t really want to press her, but he needed to know. “Give me a name
and address; I’ll take care of him.”
“Just someone I met. I don’t have any idea what Royce’s address is
and truthfully don’t care.”
So her companion at the seawall
had
been Royce St. John.
Shit!
Trevor
would have to alert the others and then figure out how to keep Becki off the
radar. The coin must be nearby if ART was swarming the city.
“Go faster! Please Trevor,” she suddenly pleaded. “Make my heart
race.”
“Always happy to oblige, Darlin’,” he grinned as he punched the gas
pedal to send them flying.
“Ahhh, yessss,” Becki breathed as the wind whipped around her and
the scenery turned into a blur of color.
He blinked once, and a stealth-cloak settled over the car. No need to
risk getting pulled over. Fortunately, it was a quick and easy spell that
Becki couldn’t detect from inside the car.
“God, this is great,” Becki said with a laugh as they raced down the
open road.
Trevor swerved at the last minute to avoid a car that
suddenly pulled onto the road in front of them.
Swerving was not
necessary. They could have just driven right through the other vehicle
with another bit a magic, but where was the fun in that?
“Ahh!” Becki screamed and then turned toward Trevor laughing.
“Trev, you are a very bad boy. You’ll be the death of me.”
“Not a chance doll,” Trevor said in sudden seriousness as he slowed
the vehicle to a more reasonable speed.
Becki wrinkled her nose at him, “Kidding Trev, just kidding.”
Pulling her hair up to secure it in a pony-tail, she said regretfully, “I
have strict orders to be at my uncle’s house tonight. Can I have a rain
check for dinner and the beach?
I do have to admit that I would
sooo
rather walk on the beach tonight.
I love my family, but I’m not in the mood for a crowd tonight. Surf and
starlight sound like heaven.”
“I could kidnap you,” Trevor offered.
“My uncle and Landon would hunt you down,” she laughed. “We’ll
do it sometime soon. I promise.”
“I’ll sweep you off your feet yet, sugar. Just wait,” he threatened.
“You don’t have a big enough broom, Trev. These feet are firmly
planted,” Becki said lifting her leg to put one foot on the dashboard and
wiggle her painted toenails.
“Doll;” Trevor drawled, “my ‘broom’ is more than big enough. I’ll be
glad to demonstrate--anytime you say the word.”
Laughing Becki straightened in her seat and said regretfully, “You had
better take me back Trev, I still have to get ready. I haven’t seen the girls
for a few days, so I want to spend some time with them before dinner.
Since they always seem to run away somewhere right after we eat, I need
to corner them
before
the food is ready. I guess hanging with us is just
not cool enough anymore. Oh, to be that age again.”
“Yes, because you are soooo old,” Trevor teased.
Leaning her head back and turning to watch the scenery outside the
passenger window, Becki said softly, “Some days I
feel
old, Trev, old and
tired.”
“Come on doll, what’s up? Talk to me.”
“Nothing really. Today has been one of those days. I just--” Becki
took a deep breath, and heaved a heavy sigh. “I don’t understand it, so I
can’t begin to explain it to anyone else. I just seriously wish I didn’t have
to put on my happy face and do this thing tonight with my family.”
When he had spotted Becki with one of the ART members earlier, his
heart sank. How in the hell had she managed to get hooked up with St.
John?
They had seemed pretty cozy, but Trevor was willing to place
money on the fact that Becki’s melancholy mood was directly related to
the scene earlier. He had been surprised when she asked him to give her
lift and even more surprised when she had practically
jumped
into the car.
Becki embodied everything a man could ever wish for: an enthusiastic
zeal for life, ingrained honesty, goodness, and sexy as hell. Becki was the
type of woman who made a guy believe in white picket fences.
Trevor loved to hear her laugh, and see her eyes sparkle with joy at
the simplest things. In contrast, those things had no place in his life; he
merely existed. His life was a lie. He wasn’t honorable. Truthfully, he
did not deserve to breathe the same air as Becki. He hoped that he could
track down the coin, keep her from getting hurt in this tangled mess, and
get out of town before she found out how undeserving he was of her
friendship. The coin was his main concern, and he needed to get on
with it.
Trevor had just missed the coin in Savannah, but had managed to
stumble onto evidence pointing toward Charleston as the new location
of the coin. He had scouted around the city for a while and then decided
to take a drive to blow the cobwebs away.
A few miles from town, he
had stopped at a local pub for a sandwich and drink.
Becki was waiting tables that day, and he immediately fell in love with
her big chocolate brown eyes, dimpled smile, and infectious laugh.
She
had walked over to take his order and whispered that the ‘Reuben was
the safest bet’ because their cook had called in sick that day.
Trevor had closed his menu and immediately ordered the Reuben.
They had ended up having a drink at the close of her shift, and she was
now the closest thing to a friend he had ever known. Still, his mission
was to recover the coin, and he had orders to eliminate anyone who got
in the way-- friend or foe. Not that he would personally take care of the
deed. Trevor drew the line at taking a life, human or otherwise.
“So, your mystery man is just passing through?” Trevor prompted.
“Here on business, something about finding missing coins. He acts
like it is such a big important thing; he’s so secretive about it. Do you
remember hearing about a coin collection that got stolen a few years
ago?”
“No,” Trevor said blandly.
“I figured I would Google it tonight. You can find anything on the
net. Want to treasure hunt with me? Maybe we could find it and collect
a reward,” Becki said with a laugh.
Trevor forced a smile and choked out a reply, “I can think of many
more interesting things to do together, sweets. Let’s leave treasure
hunting to the experts.”
As they pulled into the parking garage, Becki leaned over and kissed
Trevor on the cheek. “Thanks for everything Trev. I really needed to
blow off some steam.”
“The offer still stands, doll face, dinner, dancing, moonlight and a
little magic?” he tempted.
Becki kissed him again, a smacking kiss on the lips. “Magic, my ass,”
she grinned.
“If only you knew,” he answered with a grin of his own.
Climbing out to walk toward her car, she looked back and promised,
“Some other time for dinner, my treat.”
“You got it doll face, but I buy. Let me know when.”
“Ok, I’ll see you at the Pub later this week.”
“Yea, you can let me do a body shot,” Trevor said with a wink, and
then he roared out of the parking garage at full speed.
Becki laughed shaking her head; he was a trip. Too bad she didn’t
feel the same attraction to him that she felt for Royce.
Great, where had that thought come from? Hadn’t she just spent the last couple
hours getting him out of her head?
She checked her phone, and she saw a
missed call from Nat undoubtedly reminding her of their dinner plans.
She would talk to her at Kurt’s house. There was just enough time to run
home, shower, change clothes, and stop at the market. Becki didn’t want
to be late.