Four of Hearts (18 page)

They didn’t waste any time. They hugged Bree and Celeste in thanks, and took off for the public beach to wait for Richard and Ryan.

From the second he spotted his wife and Fallon on the beach, Ryan began to live again. For the last twenty-four hours, he’d been in a state of suspended animation. His body had functioned on a marginal level, but it was as if his soul had left, and he existed as nothing more than an empty shell.

The sight of the two women he loved, safe and unharmed, filled him with life again. “Sean said they weren’t hurt in any way,” he said.

“I’ll kill them all myself if Sean lied to us,” Richard said. “Then, I’ll kill Sean.”

The tender lumbered through the surf, and Ryan silently willed it to move faster. He couldn’t wait to hold Candace in his arms, to feel her skin warm against his.

He moved to the front as they neared the beach. Candace and Fallon stood just beyond the surf line, their faces wreathed in smiles. Before the crew lowered the drop-gate, Ryan launched himself over the rail. He caught Candace as she flung herself against him. God, she felt good. Desire ran through him, hot and wild. He buried his face in the mass of hair billowing over her shoulder and drank in her scent. When he registered the beat of her heart against his, he relaxed his hold and cradled her face in one palm. He gently tilted her chin upward.

Tears streaked her beautiful face, and he cursed himself for putting her through this. He used his thumb to brush the moisture from her cheek. “I’m sorry. So sorry,” he whispered and covered her mouth with his. Candace plastered herself against him and returned his kiss with an equal passion. He couldn’t get enough of her. Ryan swept his tongue across the seam of her lips, and she opened for him. He plunged in, tasting, taking, promising. A soft moan rose from her throat, and Ryan drank her in. Candace was heaven in his arms, and for the first time since the ordeal began, he began to relax.

He broke the kiss, but continued to hold her tight. “I love you,” he whispered against her lips.

“I love you too,” she said, then took a small step back. He reluctantly let her go, but kept her fingers wrapped in his. It was too soon to let her go completely. Candace nodded her head to the side and he tore his eyes away from her for a second. Fallon stood close by, one hand clasped in Richard’s, but her eyes were on him. A moment of panic coursed through him before he understood the enormity of what he had to do. His eyes flicked back to Candace, and she squeezed his hand in acknowledgement.

Ryan tugged on Candace’s hand, drawing her close. She leaned against him for a moment and, he brushed a soft kiss across her temple before he placed her hand in Richard’s. The exchange went smoothly – Candace into Richard’s arms, Fallon into his.

Relief poured through him as Fallon wrapped her arms around his waist. “Thank God you’re all right,” he said. The rigid line of her spine softened under his hands, and then he bent his head and took her lips with his. Fallon melted against him, surrendering to his kiss, and returning it with passion.

Reason warred with need. He shouldn’t be kissing his best friend’s wife in front of these people, but he couldn’t not kiss her. Love and desire flowed through his veins. It was Fallon who ended the kiss. As she pulled away from him, he glanced over her shoulder. The four people standing guard over the prisoners made no attempt to hide their curiosity. Ryan groaned and elbowed Richard. “We have an audience.”

Candace stepped back and Richard brushed a finger over her swollen lips before turning to Ryan. “I guess we’d better go see what this is all about.”

“I’ll explain to Sean,” Ryan said. Three heads nodded. “Why don’t you girls get on the tender. As soon as we’re finished here, we’ll all go back to the ship.”

“That’s a good idea,” Richard said. “We’ll be there in a few minutes.”

The four of them exchanged hugs before Candace and Fallon headed for the tender. “Let’s get this over with,” Ryan said. Richard muttered something and fell into step beside Ryan.

Ryan thanked Bree, then Drew before moving on to his family. “Celeste,” Ryan greeted his sister-in-law with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I can’t thank you enough.”

“No need. I kind of miss doing this sort of thing,” she said.

“Don’t let Sean hear you say that,” he admonished before turning to his brother. Ryan held out his hand to shake, and Sean took it and pulled him into a bear hug.

“Damn glad this worked out, Bro,” Sean said.

“Me, too. I owe you, big time.”

“Yeah, you do, and I’ll be collecting soon enough. My company is going to install a state of the art system on both islands, and you’re going to pay for it.”

Ryan smiled. “No argument there. Whatever it takes. Just do it. I’ll pay. I’ve learned my lesson.”

Sean clapped him on the back. “Anything else you want to tell me?” he asked, his eyes straying to the tender and the women onboard.

“No. I don’t. I haven’t got a clue what I could tell you. We’re just figuring this out ourselves.”

“No problem. You haven’t asked any questions about my love life. I won’t ask any about yours, but you do realize Celeste and I weren’t the only ones who saw, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do. We’ll deal with it,” he dismissed his brother’s concerns. He’d have to tell Drew and Bree something, but what that would be, he didn’t have a clue. “Who are these guys?”

“Let Drew tell you. He knows more than I do,” Sean said. He signaled to Drew to come over. Richard, Drew and Bree joined them. “Drew, why don’t you tell them what you found out?”

“Sure.” He waved his arm in the direction of the seven men trussed and sitting in the sand a few feet away. “Meet the proposed new crew for the
Lothario
. They all have merchant marine experience, but there’s one in particular I think you should meet.” Drew led the way and they all followed. He stopped in front of one of the men. “I’d like you to meet Mike Penrod.”

“Why is that name familiar?” Richard asked.

“You remember a few years back? A tanker ran aground in the Gulf of Alaska?”

“Yeah, I remember,” Ryan said.

“Well, Captain Penrod here is the only man in history who has ever failed to see a sandbar the size of Manhattan.”

Richard whistled. “No shit?”

“No shit,” Drew confirmed.

“I thought he was serving time,” Ryan said.

“He was,” Bree confirmed.

“Either of you remember who owned that ship?” Drew asked.

“A conglomerate, I thought,” Richard answered.

“Yeah, Deep Well Exploration. Among the many shareholders was one Vernon Cannon.”

Ryan and Richard looked at each other, then as one they looked at the man at their feet. “You think he’s working for Cannon?” Ryan asked.

“That would be my guess,” Drew said.

“So, these guys were supposed to pilot the
Lothario
and deliver it to Cannon?” Richard asked.

“Again, I’m only speculating, but I’d say that was the plan.”

“Where were they supposed to take it?” Richard asked.

“We don’t know, but I intend to find out,” Celeste said.

Ryan eyed his petite sister-in-law with skepticism. “Don’t underestimate her,” Sean warned. “If she says she’ll find out, she will. You can bet on it.” Pride laced his words, and Ryan thought he’d better rethink what he knew about Celeste Callahan.

“What do you want us to do with them?” Drew asked.

Ryan turned to his brother. “Sean?”

“Let’s take them over to the other island. That way the
Lothario
passengers can still have their shore day here. The dungeon room is almost finished. We can keep them there until the Bree can arrange their transportation back to the states.”

“Bree?” Drew questioned Sean.

Bree stepped up. She flipped open a small leather wallet, and the badge inside caught the sunlight, blinding Drew for a split-second.

“What the fuck?” Drew’s gaze traveled from Bree’s hand to her face, and back again.

“Stand down, Whitcomb. I’ll take it from here.”

“What’s going on here?” Drew asked the small group on the beach. He turned to Bree “I thought you quit the FBI.”

“I’ve been working undercover. It was on a need to know basis.”

“And I didn’t need to know? I’ve been running the ship for the last few months and I didn’t need to know?” Bree returned her badge to the pocket of her windbreaker.

“That’s right. You didn’t need to know. You did an excellent job of staging the rescue, but I’ll take it from here.”

Drew glared at the pint-sized woman with the big-assed gun and knew he had no choice. She had the badge, which meant she had the authority. He was a fucking civilian now.

“She knows what she’d doing, Drew.” Sean Callahan, his best friend and business partner, interjected. “We rounded up the kidnappers, now let her do her job. Without her, we’d have no right to hold these people.”

“I’ll contact my office and arrange to get these guys transported to Miami. I take it you want to see this through?”

“Yeah, we do,” Ryan spoke first, then glanced at Richard for confirmation.

“Whatever it takes. This Cannon guy has to be stopped,” Richard said. “He’s gotten bolder with every attack. If this keeps up, someone is going to get hurt or killed.”

“Drew, stay with Bree as long as she needs you. I’ll see everything is covered on the ship,” Ryan said. “Bree, you’ll let us know what you need from us?”

“My office will be in touch. I’ll return to the ship as soon as I transfer custody of the suspects.”

Ryan nodded in agreement. “I’d appreciate your continued presence on the ship until Cannon is apprehended.” He turned to Sean. “I do not want to know how your wife is going to get the information we need. Just see that we get enough to find Cannon. This has got to end.” His gaze swept over the four people he’d trusted with Candace and Fallon’s lives. “I’ll trust you’ll all do your best to keep this out of the tabloids?”

“We’ll do our best, Ryan,” Celeste said. “Now, you two need to take your wives out to the ship. Send the tender back for us, then you can start sending passengers to the island.”

“Since this is going to be a shortened shore day, I think we’ll keep the ship here another day. That way we’ll be available to help if we’re needed,” Richard said. “Okay with you, Ryan?”

“Okay with me.”

* * * * *

Candace stepped out of the shower and into the giant towel Ryan held for her. He folded the towel around her, enfolding her in his arms at the same time. She let Ryan dry her, and made no protest as he slid her arms into a heavy terry-cloth robe and tugged the belt tight.

“There’s food waiting in the other room.”

“A man after my heart,” she said as he led her to the table. He seated her with all the grace of a maitre d’ in a five star restaurant. After he’d uncovered their plates, he sat across from her.

“This is nothing. Wait until you see what Richard has planned for this evening.”

“I thought. . . .”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure it will be everything you have in mind, and then some. Now eat. Then you need to get some rest.”

Every muscle in her body ached from the strain of the last few days. “I think I could sleep for a week.”

Ryan grinned. “Well, I don’t know about a week, but the rest of the day is yours, so eat up. I’ll tuck you in, then I’ll get out of here so you can sleep.”

Candace dug into the grilled salmon, her favorite, and let the first bite melt on her tongue. “I wish you wouldn’t,” she said, and forked another bite into her mouth.

“Wouldn’t what?” Ryan asked.

“Leave me. I don’t want to be alone.”

“I’ll stay, if that’s what you want, but you’re sleeping, and that’s it.”

“Trust me, I don’t have the energy for anything else right now, not that it hasn’t crossed my mind,” she smiled at him. “But, after I’ve had some sleep, then. . . .”

“Then I’m up to anything you have in mind,” he promised.

Candace took a couple of over the counter pain relievers and crawled into bed. Ryan tucked her in, then stretched out beside her on top of the covers. His kiss was tender as he snuggled close to her. “I’ll stay until you get to sleep, then I’ll move to the other room. If you need anything, just call my name. I’ll be here in a heartbeat.”