2 Dead & Buried (16 page)

“So what do I do?”

“I need you to lure the treasure hunters out into the open. I haven’t been able to get the ones we captured to talk and I can’t figure out where the rest of them are hiding. I think they are on those boats you guys saw, but they could be docking them anywhere and they’re probably moving them around all the time.”

“I’m not sure I like the sounds of this.” Fiona narrowed her eyes at Luke.

“Me either,” he said. “But they know you guys are getting close and I think they realize they won’t have many more chances. They’ll probably send most of their guys considering what’s happened the last two times. All I need is for Morgan to pretend like she has some sort of a lead and that will get them swarming.”

“What do you mean?” Jake asked.

“We know they are watching because they were on Morgan and Fiona pretty quick today when they dug up the key. So, I’m thinking that Morgan can act like she’s onto the treasure or has another clue and start digging. I figure if we do it at
Sticks and Stones
we won’t lead them to the real treasure here.” Luke turned to look at Morgan. “And if Morgan is alone, she’ll make an easy target.”

Morgan’s stomach clenched but she straightened her back. She wasn’t one to back down from a challenge. “Okay. Let’s go.”

“Well, hold on. I need to put my men in place. We’ll be watching you every second, of course, and I’m also going to have you wear a wire so we can hear you and rush in as soon as possible. That will be the safest way. I could never forgive myself if anything happened to you.”

Morgan’s heart melted at the tender look in Luke’s eyes.
 

“So we’ll do it tomorrow,” He said then turned to the rest of the group, “if everyone agrees.”

“Only if you’re sure Morgan won’t get hurt.” Jolene’s blue eye’s challenged Luke.

“I won’t let anything happen to her.”

Jolene nodded. “Okay by me, then.”

“I guess we don’t have much of a choice,” Fiona said. “The sooner we can get this all over with the better.”

“Agreed,” Jake said and Cal nodded.

“Okay then, I better get things going,” Luke said. “I’m going to leave through the side door over by the Cove, I can use the cover of the hedges in case the bad guys are watching … we don’t want to tip them off that we’ve been planning anything.”

“I’ll show you out.” Morgan heard herself say then convinced herself that it wasn’t that she wanted to be alone with him—it was the polite thing to do.

They crossed the hallway and went through the kitchen to the butler’s pantry that led to the side door.
 

The small area on this side of the house had been one of Morgan’s favorite places since childhood. It was like a secret garden. A rounded trellis covered in pink roses framed the door, colorful flowers sprouted up on either side and two honeysuckle bushes sent a sweet perfume through the air.
 

The shrubs, about ten feet away, enclosed the area in a private cocoon and a wrought iron bench with a stuffed canvas cushion tucked away under a large oak tree made a perfect place for reading.
 

Morgan stood on the top step and Luke a step down, his eyes level with hers.

“Are you sure you’re okay doing this?” Luke’s had caught her by the wrist and her heart skipped a beat.

“Yeah, of course. We need to do
something
, right?” She shrugged.

Luke looked thoughtful for a few seconds and Morgan felt a warm summer breeze flirt with her cheek. It was dusk, that magical moment when the daylight fades and the moonlight takes over. She could smell the flowery perfume of the honeysuckle and hear the summer peepers cheeping away.
 

How many other nights had she and Luke spent listening to peepers in the dusk?

She could feel the heat where his hand encircled her wrist and was suddenly intensely aware of him. She saw indecision in his eyes and then they turned dark with desire. His hand left her wrist and he wrapped it in her hair as he pulled her toward him.

She didn’t resist.
 

Even though she knew she should.
 

Instead she met his lips eagerly, her arms snaking around his neck, her body pressing closer to his.
 

His lips were warm and tasted sweetly salty. They were familiar, but different somehow. She briefly wondered how many other women had tasted those lips in the past ten years as Luke’s arm encircled her waist pulling her in even closer.

The feel of his hands on her body sent tiny frissons of pleasure shooting through her, reawakening the passion that had lain dormant all these years.

###

Luke curled his hand around Morgan’s soft, silky hair as she responded to his kisses, heating his veins with passion. He let his hand fall to her slim waist, her hips and then down her backside.
 

He pulled her hard against him and her moan of pleasure almost brought him to the brink of no return.
 

He shouldn’t be kissing her like this, but he couldn’t help it. In the past ten years he hadn’t met anyone else that could even come close to matching his feelings for Morgan.
 

He was beginning to question why he ever left here in the first place, and, in the
 
back of his mind, was already coming up with a plan for sticking around after this was all over.

But first, he had to do whatever he could to make sure Morgan was safe tomorrow and that was going to take a lot of thinking and planning. Which meant he better stop kissing her … while he could still think.

 
Reluctantly, he pulled away.
 

Looking at her in the twilight, his heart flipped in his chest at how beautiful she was. Her raven colored hair shone in the moonlight. He brushed a silky strand away from her face and gazed into her half closed ice-blue eyes.
 
Desire burned in his veins as his thumb traced the line of her bottom lip, all pouty and swollen from their kiss.
 

He fought off the urge to pull her close and kiss her again. He knew this time he wouldn’t be able to stop, so he stepped away, plunging his hands into the pockets of his cargo pants.

“You don’t have to do this, you know … the decoy thing tomorrow, I mean. I can figure out another way to get rid of the treasure hunters.”

He hoped she’d change her mind and decide not to, but he knew she wouldn’t. He would have called the whole thing off but he also knew how stubborn she could be and figured she’d do something crazy on her own—especially if it helped prove Celeste wasn’t the killer. It was better to follow through with his plan so he could keep an eye on her.

Luke saw her dreamy half closed eyes snap wide open and her back stiffen. “No, I want to do it. I’m not afraid of some old pirates. Don’t even think about trying to talk me out of it.”

Luke took his hands out of his pockets, spreading them wide. “I wouldn’t dream of it. But I want to make sure you’re comfortable with doing this … and I also want to make sure you don’t get hurt.”

He reached out, running his fingers lightly down her arm. He could see suspicion lurking behind her narrowed eyes.
 

Better quit while you’re ahead.

He backed away, his heart squeezing tighter with each step. He suddenly felt like a schoolboy after his first kiss, not knowing the right thing to say. He cleared his throat, taking another backwards step.

“I’ll be here first thing tomorrow then … to let you know the exact plan.”

Morgan nodded. “Okay.”

Then he turned his heart pounding as he disappeared through the shrubs. The job he had ahead of him was probably the most important one he’d ever had. He had to make sure the plan was perfect … his whole future depended on it.

###

Morgan stared at Luke’s retreating back and kicked herself for falling under his spell so easily. Her fingers flew to her lips that were still burning from his kiss.

He’d sure kissed her like he meant it, but what Morgan couldn’t figure out was why?
 
The past ten years had made it perfectly clear that he didn’t have room for her in his life and she certainly had no intention of being just a passing dalliance.
 

Her hand closed around the cold metal of the doorknob. Better to get on with the task at hand than to stand there wondering. The sooner all this pirate stuff was over with, the sooner Luke Hunter would be gone from her life—hopefully this time for good.

But right now she had something more important to do.

She slipped inside to the butler’s pantry and made her way to the informal living room. She was glad to find it empty—she didn’t want to answer any embarrassing questions about her and Luke tonight.

The map was still laid out on the table. She sat down on the couch to study it. Celeste’s parting words echoed in her head and she was learning that it was smart to follow Celeste’s advice.

Staring down at the lines in the map, she realized something wasn’t quite right. The map was a series of markers with lines leading from one to the next and some sparse instructions. Presumably you would follow the lines and find the treasure at the end.

But, something about the lines wasn’t right—she could feel it in her gut. Morgan closed her eyes and pictured the map in her mind. It seemed to float, almost three dimensionally as if the map was drawn for terrain that was at different elevations instead of a straight line on flat ground.

A sudden sound in front of her made her heart lurched. Her eyes flew open, her body tensing.

She relaxed when she saw it was only Belladonna. The cat had hopped up on the table and sat on the map, her tail swishing over the corner of it, blue eyes staring intently at Morgan.

Morgan remembered how the cat threw herself at Luke earlier.
 

“Traitor.”

Belladonna simply blinked at Morgan, licked her paw, washed her ear a couple of times then continued staring.

Morgan returned her attention to the map, studying it as she was instructed. Belladonna sat patiently on the table and Morgan couldn’t help but wonder if the cat knew something she didn’t.

Morgan could feel her eyes growing heavy. It had been a long day and an even longer one was in store tomorrow. Her chest constricted at the thought of being a decoy, but she
had
to do it—her family was being threatened and if she could make it go away then it was worth the risk.

She wandered into the kitchen and made a cup of chamomile tea to help her sleep.
 

Where was everyone?
 

A quick glance at the clock told her it was late—they were probably in bed. And that’s exactly where she should be, trying to get a good night’s sleep. She’d need her wits about her tomorrow to deal with the bad guys … and Luke Hunter.

Morgan was up early the next day, anxiety seeping into her every pore, making her jumpy and jittery. She hadn’t slept well, but figured coffee was a bad idea so she padded down to the kitchen in her bare feet, black tank top and favorite pair of faded jeans for some tea.

Fiona, Cal, Jake and Jolene were quietly sitting at the kitchen island staring into steaming mugs of coffee.

“I guess I’m not the only one up early,” Morgan said as she hunted in the cabinet for her favorite mug.

“Yeah who can sleep with Celeste in jail and you acting as some sort of decoy?” Fiona raised a sleepy eyebrow.

Morgan shrugged. “I’m sure I’ll be fine, and Delphine will get Celeste out today.”

“Yeah, we’re going to meet her in a little bit,” Cal said looking at his watch.

Morgan’s heart thumped. They were all going off to get Celeste out of jail and she’d be going off to get captured by pirates.

“Morgan will be perfectly safe and under our watchful eye with these gadgets,” Luke said from the kitchen doorway as if reading her mind.

Everyone swiveled in his direction. He was dressed in a black tee-shirt that somehow managed to show off every muscle in his chest and arms along with black cargo pants and big steel toed boots, also in black.
 

Morgan’s heart thumped even harder. “How did you get in here?”

“Oh, sorry, I snuck in. Didn’t want to come to the front door in case anyone was watching.” Luke shrugged. “I wasn’t kidding when I said you guys should get an alarm system.”

Morgan narrowed her eyes at him, taking in the three small items he was holding in his hand.

“What are those?”

“These are your lifeline. This will allow us to see everything going on around you.” He held up what looked like a barrette in his right hand.
 

“And these will let us hear everything.” He held up a pair of earrings in his left.

Jolene went over to inspect the items. “These are pretty cool. Unobtrusive. Do they really work?”

“Like a charm. You wanna try them out?”

“I’d love to. Actually I was hoping I could kind of tag along and see how the whole process works.”

Luke frowned at her.
 

“I’m taking some private investigator courses and a computer forensics course. It would be really helpful for me to see some real life stuff.” Morgan noticed that she was giving Luke that wide-eyed look she always gave Morgan whenever she wanted to talk her into something. Apparently it worked on Luke too.

Luke pursed his lips. “Okay, but don’t be alarmed by my men—they can be kind of gruff. And don’t get in the way.”