Undertow (11 page)

She·d flown al the way from Alabama to Cutter Cay, and he hadn·t even worked up the interest to see her before she left with Zane.

Instead, he·d cal ed
Zane
to tel him he·d changed his mind and was going in for treatment.

Not his daughter. That stung.

The time she should have spent on Cutter Cay was supposed to have given her time to connect with him. Now she was a hundred miles away, and he was communicating with everyone but herself.

´He·s doing as okay as can be expected.µ Nick told her. And obviously hadn·t sent a message for Nick to pass along either. What the hel had she expected?

That he·d welcome her with open arms? He hadn·t before. Now that he was so sick, his daughter was obviously the last thing on his mind. She got it. It hurt a bit, but she got it.

´Good. He·s a strong guy, he might surprise us al .µ

Í didn·t have a great relationship with my father.µ Nick said casual y, leaving off the word éither,µ though it hung unspoken in the air between them. ´We were just too dissimilar. He was like quicksilver. Zane·s a lot like him.µ

She crossed her arms over her bel y, not real y sure she wanted to talk about fathers. Or Zane. Both were uncomfortable subjects that she·d tried over the years to analyze, and ended up with more pain than answers. She was better off leaving both men out of her thoughts.

´The only time I·ve ever seen Zane blind drunk was at Dad·s funeral,µ Nick told her. Óf the three of us, he was hardest hit by his death. They were so damn alike ³outgoing daredevils, always the life of the party, the center of attention. But they·re different too. Zane had a hard time seeing Dad·s faults, although God only knows they were in flashing Technicolor. Logan and I, maybe because we·re older, saw the other side of him that wasn·t so pretty. Women were a way of keeping score. A passing fancy easily obtained, and just as easily disposed of.µ

Í think Zane saw exactly who your father was and has tried to emulate him since he was in diapers,µ Teal told him, feeling pissy. She didn·t need to be warned off. She got it.

Nick drank from his glass and gave her a considering look. Í think Zane fools a lot of people with his personality. But there·s more to him than being the life of the party.µ

Right. He had a wel of hidden depth just waiting for the right woman to plumb. If she was beautiful enough, if she was amusing enough, if she was ³whatever. Hel .

If she had a freaking
pulse
.
That
was Zane·s kind of woman.

Teal turned to stare over the calm, crystal blue water at the
Decrepit.
Zane and Colson stood near the crane, talking to Maggie.

The sun gleamed off his shoulders and hair, and a glint of light sparked off his earring. A pang of intense longing pressed deep inside her chest. Yesterday·s kiss seemed a lifetime ago. She didn·t want him to know how much that kiss had affected her. Kiss ing Zane, she thought, wishing « Her breath snagged in her throat. Kissing Zane was as insubstantial as holding glitter in her fist. He·d kissed her because he could. She·d kissed him back because she couldn·t³
not
.

But it couldn·t happen again. Wouldn·t happen again. No matter how wonderful, no matter
how
freaking tempting. She was done with being meaningless.

As if he felt her eyes on him, Zane suddenly looked up, glanced over at the
Scorpion
, and waved. Cocky devil.

After a nanosecond, Teal casual y waved back, then turned back to Nick, intentional y leaning in just a bit closer to him. Éveryone has faults.µ

´Yeah. But Dad liked his alcohol, drank too damn much. Other than that one night for Zane, none of us do. We saw Dad passed out enough times to know we didn·t want to go down that slippery slope. It was no secret that he was a womanizer, and his behavior hurt my mother intensely.µ

That
she knew. Gossip on the island was that Mrs. Cutter had taken the boys aw ay. ´You al went to Oregon?µ

Śhe knew about his affairs, but what could she do? She was stuck with three boys to raise while Dad went off on the next grand adventure. He usual y took a woman with him. And he cheated on them as wel the moment he reached port.

When Mom final y had enough, she took us to her mother in Portland. I don·t know what precipitated it, if it was just the last straw on the camel·s back, or something else, but she filed for a divorce.µ

´But your father got custody?µ

´By default. We were in Portland less than a month. Dad was a very wealthy man. He wasn·t going to tolerate anyone, even our mother, taking us away from him. He hauled us back to Cutter Cay and brought in the expensive lawyers and fought her for custody with everything he had.µ

Teal sat up straight. ´But he drank. He cheated.µ

´Yeah. Chances were, he wouldn·t have won. But it didn·t matter ³Mom was hit by a drunk driver a few months later. He didn·t let us go to the funeral.µ Nick shrugged like it was ancient history, but Teal felt his pain.

Śo we adapted to life without her, kids are resilient. We had a great life on the island. There were always women around. Long leggy blondes, short curvy brunettes, sleek redheads ³µ

Í get it.µ Nick was flogging a dead horse. She so freaking got it.

´We liked most of Dad·s lady friends³he·d bring them home for a month or two if he was between trips, and when we were old enough, we·d go with him.µ

´What does this have to do with me?µ She shouldn·t bring it up, the night Zane got s o drunk he didn·t remember her, but it was like touching a bruise to see if it stil hurt. It did. Í·m not sure why you·re tel ing me this.µ

Í guess I·m trying to explain where Zane·s coming from. We had a hard -drinking, womanizing father, and no mother. He³µ

Źane·s a womanizer. Not that it matters. His lifestyle doesn·t affect me at al .

And let me point out that you and Logan didn·t pick up those habits from your father.

Zane is exactly who he
wants
to be.µ

´Teal«µ

She uncurled her legs and rose, emotional blast shields firmly back in place.

Í·l take care of these dishes, then I real y should go back to see what Maggie and Saul found. This is a decoy site. We didn·t expect to uncover anything.µ

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. Í have people to do dishes. Just take a break. I guarantee they won·t go anywhere without you on that hunk of junk.µ

Teal raised her brow in defense of the
Decrepit,
surprised that she felt a sense of ownership.

Śhe·s wel maintained, don·t let her looks fool you.µ

´You
like
that rust bucket?µ

´Wel , let·s not get too effusive about it, but yeah. She·s growing on me. Warts and al .µ

He studied her face with obvious interest. ´You and Zane are the only ones that feel that way.µ

Nick ferried Teal back several hours later. Zane had kept a watchful eye on the
Scorpion
. If Nick was in a seducing frame of mind, she wouldn·t stand a chance. Had he? Had they?

He waited while his brother handed her on board the
Decrepit
. Her hair was windblown, her nose and cheeks a little pink, and he loved what she did for his T -shirt. He wanted to take it off of her. Slowly. ´We found a wreck that hadn·t been completely cleaned out. Nothing big, just some coins. Go take a turn cleaning so Maggie can t ake a break,µ Zane told her.

Óf course.µ She flashed him a narrow-eyed look, then smiled at his brother.

´Thanks for a fun lunch, Nick.µ She strol ed off, al long legs and attitude. He admired those luscious legs and imagined pressing his mouth to the t ender spot just behind her knee, right in the sensitive bend «

He turned on Nick. Ĺunch?
That·s
why you needed my mechanic? To help you eat
lunch
?µ

Nick ignored him, his eyes fixed on Teal as she headed inside. Śhe·s had some « issues.µ

´Yeah. Having a
friend
putting the moves on her. What the hel were you
thinking,
Spock?

You have no right to mess with her. She·s not like the women we know. Under that cranky, sassy exterior she·s « I don·t know. Kinda fragile, I think.

She·s not up to your speed. Seriously.µ

Ór yours.µ Nick seemed to choose his words careful y as he said, ´Practice what you preach, Ace. I think she was abused.µ

Zane·s body went icy cold, then blazed with heat. Oh, no. Oh, fucking no. He didn·t want to hear this. But it
fit,
God damn it. Not Sam³unless it was neglect.

Ábusive boyfriend?µ

Christ³The thought made him sick, but the emotional disconnect, the bits and pieces he·d observed. Ah, hel . Anyone who hurt someone smal er and weaker than himself needed to be castrated and hung up to dry. That anyone would hurt
Teal
was unacceptable on every level.

Thinking, Nick stuck his hands in his pant pockets and stared at the spot where Teal had stood moments before. He turned back to Zane as if a decision had been made. ´Husband.

She was married.µ

Zane stared at his brother. ´
Married?
Teal? Are you sure? She hasn·t mentioned it, and Sam·s never said a word.µ

Śhe didn·t want anyone to know. I·m breaking a confidence here, Ace.µ

´Why would she keep a husband a secret from her own father? Wait a minute.

How do
you
know?µ Zane pointed his finger at Nick·s chest. ´Did she tel you?µ And why was she confiding in his brother?

Śhe let it slip over lunch that she didn·t want her ex to know where she is.

Think I·l do some digging.µ

´Jesus, Nick. No fucking digging. That·s a gross invasion of privacy.µ Zane clenched his hands into fists.

´Your boat was fucking
sabotaged,
Ace. I think you need to cover al your bases, don·t you?µ

´You think the
ex-husband
·s responsible?µ

´Got any other likely perps? Her employer³us³has a right to question any suspicious people in her background.µ

´First of al , I·m her employer at the moment. Not you. And the fact that she was married and divorced has no bearing on her job performance.µ

´True. But she·s
family
. I think that warrants a little more than the usual reference check. I·l be discreet. If the guy pans out, you can cross one more suspect off your list.µ

Family? Zane imagined kids with Teal·s choppy bangs and fuck -you attitude, then wondered if he·d had too much sun. Śince I didn·t know about the asshole, he was never on my list. But yeah.µ His conscience warred over the right thing to do, then he waffled . ´Go ahead. Let me know what turns up. I won·t mention you told me about this guy. But if there·s a need to deal with him, I·l take care of it myself. After that, butt out, Spock. I mean it.µ

Nick gave him an odd look at his vehemence. ´There·s a story t here.µ

´Fine. But it·s not your story to discover. Drop it.µ

´Dropped. As long as I can look into his background and confirm where he·s been in the last week. Fair enough?µ Nick gave him a hard look. Ánd let me return that warning. Don·t
you
mess with her, Zane. I·m serious. If she·s not up to my fighting weight, she·s sure as shit not anywhere close to yours, Mr. Love-·em-and-leave-·em. Women like Teal don·t do
temporary
.

Just sayin·.µ

´Don·t you have your own boat?µ

Nick went back to the
Scorpion
and Zane went up to the wheelhouse to talk to Teal about his plans for the dive.

Why would a woman keep her marriage a secret? Why would
Teal
keep her marriage a secret?

Since there were a dozen answers, al of them shitty, Zane decided to do a little diggin g of his own.

The fact that Nick was bal sy enough to give him a warning fucking pissed Zane off. He wasn·t
doing
anything, God damn it!

* * *

He was wearing black board shorts.
Just
shorts and that gold hoop gleaming in his ear. No damn shirt or shoes. He was tanned, his muscles covered by taut, satin smooth skin. An arrow of crisp, black hair matted his chest and disappeared beneath the waistband. His ripped abs looked as though he did five hundred crunches a day. In between other calisthenics she didn·t want to think about.

Teal·s mouth went as dry as a seized engine. Her stomach muscles clenched.

Damn it
. Five minutes earlier, and he·d have caught her sleeping on the floor, hugging her pil ow. Thank God she·d tucked her bedrol out of sight moments before.

Unfortunately, the easy chair and lamp she·d dragged out of her cabin yesterday were right there for al but a blind man to see. Her clothes from last night, as wel as the damp towel from her pre-dinner shower, were slung over one arm of the chair. Her book on Caribbean sea life rode the other arm.

´What are you doing here?µ she demanded suspiciously, trying to appear tal er. She was unnerved by his close proximity, and annoyed that she felt that way.

He shot her a stern look. ´Wednesday morning surprise engi ne room inspection. Didn·t you get the memo?µ

Ít·s Thursday. And you should·ve started inspecting these engines before now,µ she said, humoring him. ´You have crappy fuel,µ she told him crossly as she pretended she was in ful body armor instead of just a couple of layers of soft cotton. Ít·s cloudy and it stinks. The fuel jets are probably clogged with gunk, but I won·t know for sure until I can crack it apart when we get back.µ Actual y, she·d been surprised at how clean and wel maintained everything in the engine room was. Sam, of course. The engines were old, but in pretty good shape. But she wasn·t about to tel him that.

They hadn·t been alone together since the night they·d kissed, a kiss he·d clearly forgotten, but one that was insidiously, indelib ly stamped on her memory no matter how hard she tried to jettison it.

He was standing too close. A predator about to strike. He was so blasted big and took up too much space. Tal , and beautiful y proportioned, his body was athletic, his muscles developed from hard physical labor. He smel ed of soap and fresh air. He needed a shave, which was par for his course, but his hair was stil wet and slicked back off his face, exposing his cheekbones and piercing blue eyes.