Treasured Lies (20 page)

A bright light appeared out of nowhere and Archer wished he could swim towards it. But he had nothing to give. All energy was gone. His body was a hollow useless shell. Rosalina came into focus and he smiled at her. Her usual morning glow surrounded her and she looked lovely with her hair dancing in the water like it was having a party. She looked more heavenly than ever, like a mermaid.

His last bubble of breath released, and as it drifted towards the surface an incredible sense of euphoria enveloped him. He relaxed completely.

Archer knew he was dying and with Rosalina right there with him, he found peace.

He closed his eyes and let the ocean depths draw him in as he drifted away.

Chapter 23

Rosalina heard an almighty splash, and disregarding Archer's instructions to stay in Alessandro's room, bolted up to the sundeck. She heard Jimmy before she saw him. His guttural growl was unmistakable. He wasn't happy and when she finally saw him she knew why. He had one of the attackers pinned to the deck by an elbow to his throat. The man beneath him was swinging fists that failed to connect with Jimmy's head. Both men were growling like angry dogs but it appeared the intruder was no match for Jimmy's brute strength.

‘Where's Archer?' Her breath burst in and out.

‘He went overboard. Go get him.' Jimmy eyeballed the starboard side.

Rosalina didn't hesitate but her legs wobbled like jelly as she dashed down the stairs. At the bottom step she nearly ran straight into Alessandro.

‘What's happened?' Even in the darkened corridor she could see the whites of his eyes.

‘Go help Jimmy on the sundeck, Ginger come with me.' Rosalina didn't wait for a response. Instead she ran full stride to the back of the boat. A chill ran through her body as she yanked open the dive gear cupboard and tossed out the things she needed. With the flick of a switch, she turned on the high-powered flashlight.

‘Here.' She shoved the torch into Gingers hands. ‘Find Archer, he went over the starboard side.' Two seconds later, clutching her fins in one hand and her own personal torch in the other, Rosalina took a giant breath and dived into the black water. In record time she tugged her fins on. With the sound of her pounding heart in her ears, she shone her dive torch in sweeping arcs, searching for the man she loved.

She tried to calm herself with the knowledge that Archer was a strong swimmer. He could easily swim five kilometres in one go and did it regularly just to keep fit. But by the sound of that splash, he hadn't gone in alone, and he hadn't fallen gracefully. He may be winded, or worse, injured. She cast the thought aside as she scanned the torch from side to side.

She kicked to the surface for a breath.

‘There he is!' Ginger must've been ready to yell at her. She pointed to a spot several metres to Rosalina's left.

‘Shine the torch on him.' Rosalina kicked her fins and with frantic arms she reached the pool of light. She sucked in a huge breath and duck-dived down. Her heart thundered with a cocktail of adrenalin and fear when she saw him sinking towards the depths. His face was turned upwards. His eyes were open as if he was looking right at her, but when he showed no emotion, she knew he wasn't actually seeing. It was like he was in a trance and it terrified the hell out of her. With an almighty kick, she pushed through the panic barrier that threatened to freeze her in place.

She reached him in a matter of seconds, praying for him to hang on. The instant she touched him his eyes fluttered, but when she saw the whites, riddled with red veins, she gasped, releasing a large bubble of precious air. Every millisecond counted. Her mind screamed at her to get moving. She did. Her hands went straight to the thick arms wrapped around Archer's legs and to her surprise they came away freely. She didn't want to look, but couldn't help watching as the black-clad man drifted away towards the ocean floor.

Her rescue diver instincts kicked in. She moved around behind Archer, wrapped her arm around his body, directly beneath his armpits, and kicked with all her might to the surface. She counted the seconds, one … two … three … four. Finally they punched through the water, but she didn't stop there. She aimed for the rear dive platform.

‘There they are.' Ginger's squeal was welcome relief. Archer was heavy, dragging through the water, but desperation kept her feet kicking to propel them forward.

Ginger splashed into the water and helped her drag Archer's lifeless body towards the dive deck. The instant they reached the platform, Jimmy and Alessandro dragged Archer's limp body from the water. Rosalina gasped for breath as she snapped off her fins and scrambled up the ladder.

‘Come on, baby.' She dropped to her knees at Archer's side.

His lips were blue. His chest unmoving. One of his eyes was slightly open, but Rosalina forced herself to ignore it. She opened his mouth to ensure there were no blockages, then she leant forward and breathed into Archer's mouth. Her mind was working through the next step in the CPR process, and when she moved to start compressions, she was surprised to see Ginger fall in beside her, and with her fingers interlocked together she performed compressions like an expert.

‘One, two, three …' Ginger kept up the count as she pumped a pulse back into Archer's lifeless heart.

‘I'm here, baby, come back to me. Come on, Archer.' Rosalina's own heart thundered in her chest as she kept up her own chant. Her eyes darted from Ginger's pounding palms to Archer's unwavering eyes. When Ginger finished her repetitions Rosalina leant over, placed her mouth over Archer's and breathed life into him again.

With every passing second Rosalina felt her world crumbling. Life without Archer wouldn't be a life at all. It would just be existing. Her mind flashed to her father. A man who was so full of life and devoted to his wife and children, but became a hollowed out shell when her mother died. The transition was almost instant. She now understood why.

She shoved the ghastly thoughts aside and fought off the tears stinging her eyes. Archer would make it. He had to make it. Grit and determination took hold of her. She'd damn well make sure he'd live. She leant over again, blew air into his lungs and jumped when Archer suddenly bucked beneath her.

‘He's alive,' she squealed as Ginger helped her roll him onto his side. Water spewed from his throat in great gushes, and then he gasped an enormous life-giving breath.

‘Thank God.' Rosalina pulled his head onto her lap and wept as Archer came back to life in her arms. Tears spilled down her cheeks as his blue lips regained their colour. His cheeks began to glow golden and she realised the sun had crested the horizon casting a heavenly aura over the water. It was a precious reminder of just how delicate life was.

The vacuum that had consumed the last few minutes evaporated and every sound became amplified. Archer's breathing was ragged but regular. Ginger sniffled back tears. Small waves lapped at the base of the dive deck and Alessandro and Jimmy were mumbling sounds of relief.

Rosalina looked over at Ginger. Her wet hair clung to her cheeks in thin strips. Her cheeks were flushed red from exertion and she sniffed as she wiped her eyes. When their eyes met, Rosalina saw relief and pride in Ginger's beautiful blue eyes. ‘Thank you, you were amazing.' No amount of words would be enough to thank Ginger properly.

Ginger's chin dimpled and she sucked on her bottom lip, clearly incapable of speaking at that moment. Rosalina just nodded in understanding. She could appreciate exactly how she felt.

Rosalina turned her attention back to Archer. He squinted against the sun and blinked several times. When he seemed to have figured out where he was, he looked up at her with eyes riddled with so many red spider veins she was certain he'd have rose-coloured vision.

He frowned. ‘I thought I told you to stay in Alessandro's room.' His voice was a ragged croak.

‘I'm sorry … I thought it was more important to save your life.' Rosalina caught a tear tickling her cheek as she looked down his body for other signs of injury. It was only now that she noticed he was naked. His pants must have come off in the water. Her instant reaction was to cover him, but she barely had the strength to move. Instead she just laughed and drew his head closer into her embrace.

‘Hey, buddy … finished nudie sunbaking out here?' Jimmy was as blunt as a sledgehammer, but Rosalina chuckled at his comment.

Archer lifted his head to look down his body. ‘Where are my pants?'

She wiped his wet fringe from his forehead. ‘You must've lost them in the water.'

‘Damn. They were my favourite.'

Rosalina's laughter was more out of relief than anything. As she glanced around at the four people she loved, all starting to join in the laughter, she made an instant decision that this treasure hunt was over. Well and truly over. They needed to get these valuables off the yacht before someone was killed. Her mind jumped to the man she'd let float away and the crazy priest she'd speared. People had already been killed. Enough was enough. She wiped a trickle of water off Archer's brow, grateful that it wasn't any of them.

‘Time to put some duds on, dude.' Jimmy huffed and turned to climb up the stairs. Archer cupped his hand over his private parts.

Alessandro removed his shirt. ‘Here,
la mia bella
. You were incredible.' He helped the dripping Ginger into the sleeves, wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her to follow Jimmy. Rosalina couldn't quite hear what he was saying to Ginger but she was certain it would be nothing but accolades for what she'd done. Rosalina would be eternally grateful for Ginger's help today and she made a mental note to thank her properly later.

When they were gone, Rosalina helped Archer to stand. With her arm around his waist she directed him to the stairs. He leant against her for support, but for a man just brought back from the dead, he was surprisingly steady on his feet.

‘I told you that rescue diver course may save someone one day.'

Archer must be feeling better to remind her of that. Rosalina had hated that diver training course. With days in freezing cold water, lugging grown men in pretend states of unconsciousness up the beach, it was her definition of torture. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine she'd ever need those skills. Now, after literally bringing Archer back to life, she was grateful that she'd forged through the misery to get her certified training. ‘Lucky for you I did.' They arrived at the base of the stairs. ‘After you,' she said with a grin.

A little smirk formed on Archer's lips before he turned and climbed the steps. Rosalina was torn between watching his perfectly toned bottom and doing the right thing by looking away. But she couldn't help herself and enjoyed every step he made upwards.

‘I know you're checking out my butt.'

‘Maybe.' She giggled and playfully slapped his behind.

Archer waited for her at the top. ‘Do you know what happened to the other guy? The last I saw, Jimmy was wrestling him on the upper deck.'

‘Oh, I don't know.' She'd totally forgotten about the other intruder.

‘My guess is he's either unconscious or he's tied up somewhere. We better find out.'

‘You should put some pants on first, or the poor man is likely to be struck dumb.'

‘Everyone's a clown,' Archer snarled with a sparkle in his eye. ‘I really did love those track pants.'

Rosalina snuck into the gym room and grabbed two towels from the cupboard. One she wrapped around herself; when she went to drape the other over Archer's shoulders he pulled her into his chest. He ran his hand over her wet hair as she listened to his heartbeat. It was amazing to hear just how steady his heart was after that trauma.

‘I thought you were a mermaid.' He kissed her wet hair and she felt his warm breath cascade over her scalp.

She chuckled and tried to pull back but he gripped onto her tightly. ‘When I was under the water, I thought it was the end. I saw this light and it transformed into you. You were the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. You are the most beautiful woman, Rosalina. What you did to save me was amazing.'

‘I thought I'd lost you, Arch. I watched that other guy drift away. Dead. You scared the hell out of me. Your eyes were so red. Your lips were blue. You'd stopped breathing.' Her shoulders heaved as she sobbed into his chest.

‘It's okay, babe. I'm okay.' He rested his chin upon her head.

‘It's not okay.' She pushed back from him. ‘It's not safe here anymore. We need to get these treasures off
Evangeline
before one of us is killed.'

‘I know, Rosa. I agree. After we talk to this guy we'll get a plan.'

‘I don't want a plan. I want to go. I've had enough. No stupid treasure is worth this.'

‘I know, babe—'

‘You don't know.' She thumped him in the chest. ‘This silly notion that you have to finish what your father started is poisoning your sanity. Your decisions are not rational.' Her chin quivered.

‘Babe, please.' He cupped her cheeks. ‘It's been a stressful morning.' He tugged her to his chest. ‘Let's make sure everyone is okay and then we'll make some decisions. Okay?'

She sucked in a few shaky breaths as he ran his hand over her hair. ‘I want a decision today.' She pulled back so she could read his expression. ‘Okay?'

His eyes softened and he curled his hand behind her neck. ‘Yes, today.'

Hand in hand they walked to find the others. They were in the saloon and looked like they'd been waiting for them. They were a sombre looking bunch and she had a horrible feeling they may have overheard her arguing with Archer. She furrowed her brow at the motley crew. The smell of alcohol laced the air yet no-one seemed to be drinking. Clearly they had no idea what to do. And Rosalina didn't blame them. Once again they'd nearly lost someone they loved. With a crazy man with a helicopter and a bucket load of money who was determined to get his hands on their treasure, reality had slipped into a horror movie. No wonder no-one knew what to do next.