Page 137 of Hard Luck (Blackstone House)

Witt strode to the stern, and as he started the winch to lower the shark cage into the water, Cole tensed.

“He didn’t even check where it was going to land. Do you know how much that cage weighs? It’s stainless steel. Dropping it like that would have broken off chunks of coral.”

“He left two people to die, and now he’s trying to steal sunken treasure. I think coral is the least of his concerns.”

Witt motioned with a hand, and Clint jumped into the water. “Go,” he said to Jon when he hesitated. Once both minions had submerged, Witt followed. There was no sign of Dr. Blaylock. Either he was locked up in a cabin, or he’d been buried at sea.

“When are you going to board?” Cole whispered.

“No time like the present. Even if they’re diving to a hundred feet, they’ll have at least fifteen minutes of air.”

I wanted to get this over with. I wanted someone to cook me dinner and bring me a cocktail. This wasn’t a fucking vacation. Would Demelza make me take another vacation after this one to get over the trip? I found I didn’t actually hate the idea, especially if Cole felt like coming with me.

“Do not leave this spot,” I told him before I jogged down to the beach and slipped into the water. Fuck, my rib hurt like a bitch. “Got it?”

“Got it.”

“You remember how to use the gun?”

We’d brought two AR-15s with us from Skeleton Cay—Three’s and Six’s. I wasn’t sure that Cole would pull the trigger, even if his life was at risk, but at least he had a way to defend himself if the shit hit the fan.

“If you think I might need to use the gun, then youshouldn’t be going anywhere. You said your friends were tracking you? We have water. We can wait a few days.”

“Okay, forget about the gun. Just try not to get bitten by too many bugs.”

“I don’t like this.”

“Relax. I’ll be fine.”

I couldn’t promise Cole everything he wanted, but I could promise him that.

CHAPTER 48

COLE

Cole watched from above as Bella took the long route to theCrosswind, out of sight if one of the assholes below happened to look up. They wouldn’t see her silhouetted against the sun.

When she reached the bow, she climbed up the anchor chain, hand over hand. The gun slung across her back must have weighed a few pounds, but she didn’t pause to take a rest or even a breath. Her upper body strength was unreal. Once on board, she moved silently along the gangway that hugged the side of the boat, slipped into the saloon, and disappeared.

It was almost anticlimactic. The only noise came from the waves lapping gently against the shore and birds singing in the trees above. Nothing to see, nothing to do.

It was a far cry from the chaos on Skeleton Cay. Almost relaxing in comparison, at least until a head broke the surface of the water at theCrosswind’s stern. Fuck, was that Witt?

Cole’s heart hammered as the man loosened his fins and tossed them onto the swim platform, then climbed the ladder.

Had he run out of air already?

Forgotten something?

Decided he’d rather leave the hard work to the other two?

Or was he ready to start winching up the day’s haul of treasure?

He started toward the saloon, and when he paused at the door and glanced down, puzzled, Cole knew exactly what he was thinking: where did these wet footprints come from? Witt stepped to his left and looked along the gangway. When he saw nothing, he hurried to the helm, took Frankie’s gun out of its compartment, and headed into the saloon.

Oh, hell no.

Bella had told Cole to stay put, but nobody had anticipated a scenario where Witt returned to theCrosswindearly. There was no way to call for help, and Bella was trapped below decks with a monster hunting her. Yes, she’d apparently been trained for this, but so had Witt.

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