Born Ready (27 page)

Scott. She missed him so much already.

Tears blurred her eyes.

“Ah, hell, Jacks, don’t cry,” Gary blubbered.

She threw him a look that carried a fiercely obscene message.

Hector and Chemo returned one last time.

“DeCristo said we have to kill her,” Gary told them morosely. He handed the gun to Hector. “Take her out on deck. Put her on the edge of the boat so she falls into the ocean when you kill her.”

At least she had to give him that. He was giving her the funeral she would have most wanted. Burial at sea. Then he said, “The sharks will take care of her corpse.”

Chemo hauled her to her feet. Jackie didn’t try to fight or resist. Her mind boiled. As soon as they got her to the edge of the boat, she was jumping in. Yes, unable to swim, with the tape on her mouth, she would drown. But she would rather drown by her own willful act than get shot by these cowardly curs.

The thug manhandled her up the steps to the deck and the second thug followed with Gary’s pistol.

Jackie’s heart was a snare drum in her ears. Her thoughts were the only thing that kept her calm. Scott. Scott. Scott.

She imagined his arms around her. Holding her nestled in the crook of his elbow, kissing her softly.

Scott.

Tears spilled over her eyes. She was Jackie Birchard. The woman who never cried. But she was crying, not for her life, but for the loss of the man who could have been hers if she hadn’t been so stubborn and prideful.

Chemo walked her to the bow. “Get on the edge.”

Without protest, she climbed up.

She felt Hector step behind her.
You’re not getting a shot at me, buddy.

She did not hesitate, just stepped off the edge of the ship and into the sea.

As she hit the water, she heard the sound of helicopter blades. A floodlight fell over the ship.

“United States Coast Guard!” came a loud voice over a bullhorn. “Nobody move.”

But it was too late. Jackie was already in the water, hands tied, mouth covered with duct tape, dropping down into darkness.

14

I owe my life and that of my daughter to the United States Coast Guard.

—Jack Birchard, renowned oceanographer

WHILE CARL AND TWO OTHER Coast Guards were in the chopper, Scott and another three Coasties were in the cutter pulling alongside the
Sea Anemone.

He saw Jackie take a header off the end of the ship just as the sound of a gun going off reverberated through the night.

No! He could not be too late to save her!

Blindly, he dived into the water.

He had to get to her. Had to find her.

Please, God,
he prayed.
Don’t let her be dead.

He dived, swimming as hard as he could in the direction of where Jackie had entered the water.

For what seemed like hours, but was only seconds, he kicked through the enveloping ocean. He was too late. Too late.

Jackie!

Then his foot touched something soft and silky.

He reached down. Hair. He grabbed for it. Grabbed for her. The floodlight from the helicopter brightened the water around him and he could see her below him.

Her eyes were on his.

Mermaid eyes.

She was alive!

He ripped the duct tape from her mouth, tucked her underneath his arms and swam her to the surface.

THE FIRST THING Jackie said to him as they lay on the deck of the
Sea Anemone
breathing in ragged, gulping breaths of sweet air was “What…in…the…hell took you so long?”

Scott grinned. His Jackie. Sassy as always. Laughing, he pulled her to him and peppered her face with kisses.

She hugged him hard.

He hugged her harder.

“I thought I was dead,” she confessed.

“Don’t ever doubt me, mermaid. I’ll always catch you.”

Carl came over. “We’ve got ’em.”

Scott looked up to see Gary Howard and two of DeCristo’s known confederates standing handcuffed on the deck.

“The cocaine?”

“There’s enough cocaine in the galley to send them away for aeons, and there’s attempted murder charges to boot, but the submarine is gone.” Carl shook his head. “We have nothing to tie the drug delivery to DeCristo.”

Scott swore.

“Hey, three birds in the hand is better than nothing, and with this haul you’ve struck a blow to DeCristo’s operation. Besides, now that we know about the stealth drone sub, we can alter our interdiction tactics to counter him. It’s enough of a victory for now,” Carl said, trying to soothe Scott’s mental wound.

“It’s something,” Scott admitted, but he still couldn’t help feeling like he’d lost an important battle.

“Get them out of here,” Carl said to the officers holding Gary and DeCristo’s two henchmen. The officers herded the drug smugglers onto the Coast Guard cutter that Scott had arrived on.

“You haven’t lost him,” Jackie whispered.

Scott looked down at the beauty in his arms. The woman he believed he’d lost forever. “What do you mean?”

“I put a D-tag on the hull of the submarine.”

Scott frowned. “What does that mean?”

“Oceanographers use D-tags to track whales and dolphins and the like.”

Excitement gripped Scott in a tight fist. “You’re saying we can track the sub back to DeCristo.”

“A sub filled with money. Payment for the cocaine,” Jackie elaborated.

Scott’s eyes met Carl’s.

Carl grinned. “DeCristo is bound to be there to pick up the money. That he’s not going to trust to a flunky.”

“Jackie Birchard, you are a genius.” Scott kissed her hard, hugged her again. “I love you, you beautiful creature!”

“So,” Carl said. “How do we go about tracing the money?”

Briefly, Jackie told them how they could track the D-tag she’d affixed to the submarine.

“Chief!” one of Carl’s men called out, coming up on deck from the galley. “We’ve found a man being held hostage in the hold. He’s weak and dehydrated but we think it’s Jack Birchard.”

“DAD?” JACKIE CROUCHED in front of her father.

Carl Dugan’s men had brought him out of the hold and eased him down on the galley couch. His lips were dry, his color pale. He looked so frail.

“Jackie,” he croaked and reached out to touch her face. “You’re here.”

She wrapped her arms around him. He was so thin. He hugged her in return. The man was not given to displays of emotion, so the hug shocked her, as did the husky sound of relief in his voice.

“What happened?” she whispered.

In a slow, halting account, he told her how a month earlier he and Gary had argued over Jackie’s research on the Key blenny. Her father had decided she was correct and wanted to back her and demote Gary.

Gary had struck him on the back of the head, rendering him unconscious, tied him up and stowed him in the hold. Then he’d dismissed the crew of the
Sea Anemone
and brought on Chemo and Hector.

Guilt chomped at Jackie. While she’d been nursing anger toward her dad, he’d been held prisoner on his own ship.

Scott stood behind her, shifting from foot to foot. She realized he wanted to go after DeCristo and that submarine.

She turned. “What are you still doing here?”

“Supporting you,” he said staunchly.

“Scott, there’s no need. I’m a big girl. I can take care of my father and myself. Get on that chopper with Carl and go after DeCristo. You need to be in on that interdiction. For the sake of
your
father.”

He looked like she’d given him the best present he’d ever received. “You’re sure?”

“Go, go. I’ll be right here when you get back.”

“I won’t be long.”

“Take all the time you need.”

Their eyes met and she felt the full power of his love. “You, Jackie Birchard, are the most awesome woman in the world.”

Then Scott was gone, climbing up the steps toward the deck and the waiting chopper.

“You’re in love with him,” her father observed.

“I am,” Jackie said, completely unabashed by her feelings.

She went to the galley kitchen, got him some water and made him a sandwich from what she found in the refrigerator. How many times had she made him sandwiches over the years? It had been their staple meal. Carl had left two of his Coast Guard officers behind to look after her and she made them sandwiches, too.

“Guess what?” She held his glass of water for him as he ravenously tore into the ham sandwich.

He arched an inquisitive eyebrow, his mouth full of sandwich.

“I found
Starksia starcki.
”

Her father’s eyes rounded in surprise. “You did?”

She grinned. “I did. They were right where I told you they’d be.”

“My smart girl,” he praised. “You were right and I was wrong.”

His praise made everything she’d gone through worth it. “Thanks, Dad.”

Then, through a tumult of emotions, they talked, clearing up a lot of old misunderstandings between them. He apologized for not believing her about the Key blenny, and Jack Birchard never apologized for anything. It was the moment of Jackie’s greatest triumphant. Garnering not only her father’s respect, but his apology, as well.

“I’m not the easiest person in the world to live with, Jackie. I know that and I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too, Dad,” she said, forgiving him everything. How could she not? He was her father. Besides, she had plenty of flaws of her own.

They talked for hours. She told him about Scott and their evolving relationship. And her father listened. Fully, completely and he wasn’t once dismissive.

Jackie stole occasional glances at the clock. She couldn’t help fretting about Scott. He was out in deep waters facing off with a drug lord. Anything could happen.

It was one in the morning and her father’s eyes were heavy-lidded. He’d been through a lot.

“You need to get some sleep, Dad. We have a lot of stuff to sort out, but tomorrow is soon enough for that. You’ll have to go to the police and give a statement about being kidnapped by Gary. It’s going to be a media circus.”

“We could use the opportunity to talk about the Key blenny.” He got up to head for his sleeping compartment. “And how your research is going to save
Starksia starcki
from extinction.”

“You mean it?”

“What did I teach you about publicity?”

“When you get media attention, milk it for your own purposes.”

“Glad to see you listened to a few things I’ve said.”

“Get some sleep, Dad.”

“Your man is going to be all right.”

“It’s that obvious that I’m worried.”

“You love him. How could you not be worried? You have my blessing.” Her father smiled. “Not that you need it.”

“Thank you. That means a lot.”

He leaned over to kiss her cheek. “Good night, daughter. It’s good to have you back.”

WHILE JACKIE AND HER FATHER were reconciling, Scott, Carl and a cadre of other Coast Guards arrested DeCristo just off the coast of Cuba, retrieving his submarine.