Sea Storm: Children of the Waves (3 page)

Chapter
Three

“Yeah.” Ezekiel listened to what his
investigator had to say. It would just take a little more time and money to
break down the security walls, surrounding the information he required. He had
the money and the connections and he knew where to look now. Time to call in
some favors. “Thank you,” he said into the phone. “I’ll wire funds into your
account. Email me the rest of your report.” He hung up and raised his gaze to
his brother.

“Well, did she find her?” Cyrus asked.

“Closer. Her sources confirmed the family
went into the witness protection program. Hali’s father used to be an
accountant who worked for a firm handling the money for a drug cartel. He gave
testimony before a grand jury, indicting some higher ups. The Justice
Department made the arrest but before he could give testimony in court, the
cartel found out about him and tried to kill the family. The government got
lucky and still made a case against the cartel and they ended up behind bars.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. I saved her life.” Zek never told
anyone about how he’d met Hali, he told Cyrus the story now.

“Wow, dude!”

“Yeah. Anyway, it’s from that point when
the family disappeared. But now, I understand why. I need to contact some
people who can get into those files at the Justice Department. That’s were the
information is hidden and as far as my investigator can go.”

“Well, sounds like a plan to me. When do
you want to leave for the depths?”

“I’m thinking tomorrow night.” Zek’s cell
rang again and he glanced at the number flashing on the caller ID. “It’s Xav.”
He picked up his phone again and grinned, then put it on speaker before he laid
it on his desk, so Cyrus could listen in. “Cyrus is here, so you might as well
talk to him, too.”

“Cori and I will be there some time
tomorrow. She’s going to need your help to plan our wedding. It’s in two days.”

“What?” Cyrus exclaimed.

Zek laughed. “I’ll do my best.”

“I’m counting on it. She’s going to need
clothes, we’ll need some sort of clergy person, and a feast for ten, which
would include all of us on the island and her parents. I’ll email you the
details about her parents. I’m making arrangements for them to get there the
morning of the wedding.”

“Oh, Jerry might still be here. So, I’ll
make it for eleven.”

“Perfect. I’d love to see him.”

Cyrus glanced at Zek then the phone and
frowned. “I thought you guys were already married.”

“By our laws,” Xavior explained. “But I
want Cori to know she’s mine in all ways.”

“All right. I’ll have the helicopter here
to take her over to the mainland to shop for her wedding dress, or I can have
things flown in too, and I’ll alert Marta.”

“You all can discuss that when we get
there. Oh, and one more thing…Aaron will be on his way to the island shortly.
He’s bringing Cori’s best friend with him. She was on the ship with her and
they’re very close. Cori hasn’t said a word to Des, that’s her friend’s name.
She wants to explain things herself. And she wants her friend there, when we
get married.”

“Hold up,” Cyrus interjected as he leaned
forward toward the phone. “Is she planning on telling her friend about us?”

“No, not about the Children, but that
she’s getting married. She knows Zek and I are brothers. Cyrus, I’ve told Cori
about you, but I wasn’t sure you’d be there, so introduce yourself to Des and
be nice.”

“Oh, I’m always nice to the ladies.”

“Not that nice! This is my mate’s best
friend. Behave. I just want you all to make her feel welcome until Cori can get
there and talk to her.”

“Okay,” Zek agreed. “And what does she
know about Cori’s rescue from the sea?”

After Xav filled them in on the story
Cori told Des, Ezekiel hung up the phone and stared at his brother.

“Let me tell Marta we’re having guests
shortly, and what’s going on. She’s going to be thrilled,” Cyrus offered.

“Okay, thanks,” Zek agreed, knowing Marta
would be happy about Xav getting married. She and her husband were two of the
humans they trusted with their secret. He’d saved Henry, her husband’s life. “I
think I’ll go for a swim.”

“I’ll catch up to you. See you in the
depths.”

After she packed up her and Cori’s
things, Des found Aaron again in his room. She’d already spoken to Cori by
phone and felt a lot better. “Everything okay with your friend Xav?”

“Yep. Told you Cori was fine,” Aaron said
and smiled.

“She sounds like it, but still.” Des
stopped smiling. It all seemed really odd. Two days ago, during the height of a
storm at sea her best friend, Cori Daniels had been swept overboard and Xavior,
Aaron’s friend, dove in after her.

“I still don’t really get how either one
of them survived, literally out in the middle of the deep blue sea.”

Aaron shrugged. “A miracle for sure.”

Des nodded. Cori’s account on the phone
earlier confirmed she and Xavior had been very, very lucky. A fishing boat
caught out in the storm managed to rescue them. Des knew such things could
happen. She gave thanks to whatever god looked out for them that day.

Cori sounded fine. Excited even, and
claimed she had a surprise for her she didn’t want to talk about over the
phone. Des suspected it had something to do with the man who’d dived into the
ocean after her. Nothing sexier than a hero who also happened to be a chick
magnet, it made him doubly hard to forget. She could empathize.

However, Des frowned recalling the rest
of the conversation. “Is Xav seriously sending a private plane to pick us up
and does his brother own an island? Where they’ll join us?”

Aaron grinned and nodded.

What kind of folks were these people who
had planes at their disposal and owned an island? Des didn’t really want to
continue on the cruise. It’d lost its appeal, but her life had taught her caution.
She’d been frantic when she couldn’t find Cori and the sirens had gone off on
the ship. Thank God, Aaron managed to catch up to her and let her know what
happened. He’d been a lifesaver, taking care of everything.

It was one thing to flirt with guys on a
boat full of other people. She glanced over at Aaron. Yep, just as handsome as
the first time she’d seen him. Like Xavior, panty-soaking gorgeous. While she
could drool over their looks all day, neither man really drew her to him. Aaron
tried flirting with her and when a striking specimen of the male variety did
that, she flirted back. That’s all. Although, she’d gone on this cruise with
Cori to have a vacation romance, her heart remained detached. “Thank you for
helping me, Aaron. For everything.”

“It was all my pleasure. Xav and I have
been friends for many years. Much like you and Cori, I think. So of course, I’d
help a beautiful woman in distress.” He winked. She grinned back at him. For
all her flirtatious ways even Cori, her best friend since senior year of high
school, didn’t know the truth about her. No one did. She wasn’t some sexual
siren. Oh, she could flirt with the best. She loved men, she just never took
them home and she’d only slept with two men, once in college and another a year
ago. But she never allowed herself to enter into a real relationship with a
man. She might have to answer questions she couldn’t. Hell, she wasn’t even
really who she claimed to be. Yet, at twenty-five, and even though twelve years
had past, neither she nor her family could lay claim to the truth.

After the phone call, the next hour
rushed by. Getting from where the ship docked over to an airport didn’t turn
out to be too much of an ordeal with Aaron handling things. Des called her
folks to let them know she left the cruise, so she could join Cori. Her parents
always worried about her. They were shocked when she told them what happened to
Cori, but were glad when she also told them Cori was safe. Des kept it vague,
not telling them their true destination, only that they were headed to an
island off Grand Cayman. They assumed one of the Little Cayman Islands.

When she and Aaron arrived at the
airport, they quickly boarded the plane. After a glass of white wine, Des lay
back on the comfortable leather chair and closed her eyes. The next time she
opened them, the plane landed on the ground.

Aaron led the way off. A 1964 red Impala
sat parked just a few paces from the bottom of the steps. They walked over to
the car.

A man in a blue Polo shirt and jeans
stood beside it and opened the door for them. Someone else followed behind them
with their bags. But she focused on the car. She loved this car. Her dad always
wanted one and it looked almost brand new. An interesting choice. Des climbed
into the backseat and Aaron with her. “Nice ride,” she commented.

“This is great. Zek sent us one of his
favorite toys.”

Who the hell was Xavior Oceanus and his
brother?
They rolled like this?
She
turned to Aaron, she needed information and he seemed a good source. “Private
jets, private islands. Who the hell is Xavior?” He hadn’t really answered her
when she asked before. She wouldn’t be put off this time.

Aaron chuckled. “He’s well—for want
of a better word, sort of a prince.”

Her eyebrows rose. “What?”

“Oh, his kingdom no longer exists but
make no mistake, he’s from a long unbroken line of royalty and there are still
people who look up to him and depend on him. His brother Ezekiel, Zek, actually
owns the cruise ship we were on. He owns the line.”

The driver opened the door and got behind
the wheel.

Aaron paused for a moment as the car took
off. “The island we’re heading to is owned by Zek. The family is loaded.”

“Wait—we’re not staying here?”
They’d landed on the second largest of the Cayman Islands. “I thought we’d wait
here for Cori and Xav, then head out to his brother’s island after they got
here.” She assumed one of the smaller islands dotting the area.

“No. The car’s just taking us to the
other side of the terminal where we’ll catch the helicopter over to the island,
or we can take the boat if you prefer. They do like to spoil guests.”

Des stared wide-eyed at him. No kidding,
this family had a lot. She could still remember the last time she and her
family were exposed to people of unbelievable wealth. Didn’t end so well and
made her a little wary. But so far, nothing indicated Xavior or his brother
were anything like the people her father had once worked for. “Do you work for
Xavior and his brother?”

“You could say that. I’m Xavior’s
bodyguard.”

“Wow!” Des grimaced. “Does he need a bodyguard?”
She wondered if Aaron was armed. What she really wanted to know was why Xavior
needed a bodyguard, but if the man had the kind of wealth she’d seen evidence
of, then perhaps he did.

“Yes.”

Clearly, the extent of his response
seemed vague. For all his carefree ways, an air of awareness surrounded him. He
always scanned the area around them but acted like he didn’t pay any serious
attention to anything. At first, she thought he just slyly checked out the
women on board ship. But she soon realized he barely scanned the women; he
seemed more focused on their surroundings.

He guided them through the crowded areas
of the craft with ease as well as when they got to shore. Avoiding the
reporters waiting for them when they disembarked.

Des breathed a sigh of gratitude. Media
attention on herself, well, wasn’t something she could allow. She glanced at
Aaron, and assessed him. Not bulky like the bouncers she’d seen at some of the
clubs she’d been to with Cori. He carried a leaner more tapered frame, like a swimmer.
While he’d been a big help and she felt she could trust him, she still wondered
about the entire set up. She wished Cori would arrive tonight, instead of the
day after.

Chapter
Four

The car pulled up beside a helicopter,
Des assumed the one they’d be taking. She’d never been in one before and
grinned as they boarded.