Page 25 of Risky Desires

Curiosity must have gotten the better of Dad because when Tyler was onto his third fish, Dad joined him. Working side by side, they filleted another six fish.

It was strange to see them working together like that.

Dad hated cops as much as I did. And for good reason. He also hated strangers being on Rhino. This boat was his sacred place. It was where he’d proposed to the love of his life and where Mom had died in his arms. Rhino was his life now, and he was wary of who stepped onto her weathered deck.

As the minutes bled into each other, and the sun sank below the horizon, casting us in a twilight world of muted colors, the pair of them worked together, first preparing the fish for dinner and then untangling a massive length of rope that we’d been meaning to sort out months ago. At every opportunity, Tyler maintained a diligent watch across the ocean. Dad rested with his hands on his hips and seemed to be struggling to breathe.

Stars were dotting the velvet black above us when I finally peeled back on the throttle. Setting the engine to the lowest speed, I leaned over the magnetometer monitor, searching for the yacht on the bottom of the ocean.

“Are we there?” Tyler asked.

I jolted and turned around. “If you keep sneaking up on me like that, don’t blame me if you get a kick in the balls.”

Tyler raised his hands. “Okay, I’ll start whistling prior to approach.”

Shaking my head, I turned my attention back to the monitor.

He slipped in next to my side. “Can you see the yacht?”

He smelled so good. I couldn’t remember the last time I was next to a man who wore cologne. He’d done a damn good job of removing fishy odors.

“What are you looking for?” he asked.

“Jeez, you’re impatient.”

“Well, in my defense, you ignored my last two questions.”

I scowled at him.

He shrugged. “I’m curious. I’ve never done anything like this before.”

“Obviously.” I hoped Mr. Inquisitive didn’t intend to bombard me with questions all day long, especially if he graced me with that sexy cologne.

What was that scent? Oriental spices? Musk? Whatever it was, it smelled so good.

“Ooh, is that it?” He jabbed at the magnetometer monitor as Rhino glided right over the top of the wreck.

“That’s the one.” I waited until the yacht was out of view, and Rhino was out of its way before I turned off the engine. When Rhino’s bow settled into the water, I released the four anchors. The long chains rolled over the sides of the boat.

“Out the way.” I shooed him out of the bridge and marched outside. A half-moon was edging up from the eastern horizon, and the Milky Way was making its presence known.

I strode to the portside bow anchor which had stopped rolling out, and checked the depth marker on the chain. “One hundred and sixty feet.”

“Is that good?” Tyler leaned over my shoulder and peered at the chain links that were as big as his bicep.

“Define good?”

He blinked at me. Holy smokes, his lashes are long. Maybe he had some Mediterranean heritage in him.

He waggled his head. “At that depth, how easy will it be to salvage the wreck?”

“Well, the depth isn’t our biggest concern.” I strolled to the bucket of fish guts, and as I walked the length of my boat to the rear, Tyler matched my strides behind me. I stepped down the three steps to the dive platform and tossed the bucket contents overboard.

Tyler stood beside me, peering into the water.

“Oh shit.” He pointed to our right. “Shark.”

Two fins carved across the surface like machetes, and as the sharks feasted on the bloody burley, another five sharks joined them.

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