In Too Deep (15 page)

“I hope you followed protocols to protect the pieces.”

“Absolutely, Dr. Walsh.”

Gesturing for him to lead, Avery said, “Let’s take a look.” She slipped into the hallway and back up onto the deck. In a far corner, the artifacts she’d collected were soaking in two clear acrylic boxes. She knew the solution surrounding them was a combination of water and chemicals that would help gently remove the deposits caused by being submerged in salt water for a hundred and fifty years.

Neither artifact was ready for display, but there were enough areas shining through the grime that perhaps she’d be able to identify one or both of them.

The man beside her vibrated with excitement. “We think the round item you recovered is actually a small trinket box. We’ll have a better idea in a few days. But I thought this might be useful.”

Shawn gestured to the far box. It was small, but then so was the piece she’d retrieved. No bigger than the center of her palm.

“We still have some work to do.” He leaned forward, practically pressing his nose to the clear acrylic. “But we’ve uncovered enough to know the item is metal, possibly bronze. At first, because of its odd shape, we worried that it was broken, but as we removed more layers, we realized it’s simply unusual.”

Avery leaned close and nearly gasped when she realized what she was looking at.

The item still sported a lot of grime, but it was obvious to her that she was looking at a US commemorative medal, given to only a handful of high-ranking members of the US military...including the captain of the
Chimera
before he joined the Confederate cause.

Shit.

Her stomach churned. Her knees went weak and Avery had to grasp the edge of the table to keep herself upright.

There was a small chance the medal belonged to someone else, but in her heart, Avery knew. How many of these commemorative medals could be lost at the bottom of the Caribbean? To her knowledge, only one.

“Are you okay, Dr. Walsh?”

“Yes.” The single word trembled, so she tried again. “Yes, I’m fine. Thank you for letting me take a look at these. I’m hopeful we’ll be able to get more information as the pieces go through the cleaning process.”

She had a little time, but not much. It wouldn’t be long before someone else would be able to identify that medal as well. Hell, even an undergrad archaeology student would be able to do an internet search and figure it out.

Which made what McNair wanted her to do virtually impossible. Without such irrefutable evidence she might have had a hope of convincing everyone the ship wasn’t the
Chimera
.

Her stomach rolled and bile stung the back of her throat.

Now, even if she lied, the best she could do was gain herself a few weeks before Knox and the rest of the team from Trident realized what they had...and what she’d done.

Maybe she could convince McNair this was a battle they couldn’t win.

14

K
NOX
STALKED
ACROSS
the deck, raking his hands through his hair and pulling some out as he went.

Seriously, they were cursed. There was no other explanation. First drug runners and now a hurricane.

They were never going to get the ship authenticated and evaluated for structural safety. He’d had to make a phone call to Jackson and Asher. Neither man had been happy about the delay, but they realized it was hardly in his control. He was good, but he couldn’t force the weather to do his bidding.

Everyone was concerned that if the storm tracked close enough, the surge might dislodge the
Chimera
from her resting place on the edge of the ravine.

None of them were saying it out loud, but he knew they were all thinking the same thing. It would royally suck to have gotten this close only to lose the ship to a freaking hurricane.

That trench was deep, so if the ship moved enough, it was possible they’d never be able to recover her. Past a certain depth they wouldn’t be able to dive to retrieve the remains. And there was always the concern that further damage to the structure could scatter whatever artifacts or gold the ship carried across the seabed.

For about five minutes Knox had entertained the idea of putting everyone on the crew down there to open the hold, but that hadn’t lasted long. Not even a hold full of treasure was worth putting everyone on the team in jeopardy.

Besides, he was just as interested in preserving the artifacts from the ship as he was in retrieving the gold...although the gold would definitely pay for the privilege of handling the rest of it.

So he’d done the safe thing—the right thing—and ordered the captain to take them to the Bahamas.

He was so caught up in his own drama that he didn’t notice Avery was standing in front of him until he collided with her. He grasped her arms to keep her upright as she rocked back on her heels.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t see you.”

“Obviously,” she said, wrapping her own hands around his wrists. “Are you okay?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s my line.”

He was hoping for a smile, could have used one from her right about now. But her lips stayed flat and even.

“Are you okay?” she asked again, each word deliberate.

“No, not really. I’m worried about the storm. The ship may shift beneath the onslaught and drop into the ravine. And there’s nothing I can do.”

“Except pray the storm doesn’t make a direct hit.”

“Yeah, I’m already doing that, but feel free to add your own to the mix. I’ll take all the help I can get.”

Her grip on his wrists tightened. “You might not believe this, but I really do hope everything turns out okay, Knox.”

On the surface, her words were innocent enough, but there was something about her tone that felt off. But he didn’t have enough clues to figure out what.

“Thank you,” he responded, just as carefully.

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.” She stepped out of his path, leaving the hallway in front of him clear, sliding one hand down to grip his hand.

“All right. I appreciate that. Ben says we should be in port within a few hours. Kennedy is already working on finding us rooms so we can ride out the storm. Best case scenario, this delays us a few days. Hopefully McNair and the judge will understand and give us some extra time.”

“Hopefully,” she agreed, though her drawn expression indicated she didn’t think that likely any more than he did.

Crap.

He’d been going so quickly, trying to handle so many details over the past few hours, that it hadn’t occurred to him to wonder where Avery might stay once they got back to Nassau. Obviously, in their hotel because she was a member of Trident’s team and his responsibility but...

“Will you share a room with me when we get there?”

Avery stared at him for several seconds, her ice-blue eyes swirling with some emotion he didn’t quite understand. Maybe regret?

“If you want me to.”

“I do.”

She took a step away from him, the distance between them growing, reminding him of that cold, deep hole yawning beside the
Chimera
.

She let his hand go, her fingers sliding against the inside of his wrist as she continued to move away.

She was halfway down the hall when her quiet words reached back to him, leaving a trail of goose bumps across his skin.

“Let me know if you change your mind.”

* * *

A
VERY
RUSHED
AWAY
from Knox, determined not to let herself look back at his handsome, tempting face.

Shitty timing, running into him in the hallway on her way back from talking to Shawn. She’d needed a few minutes to get herself under control, but she hadn’t gotten them.

How was she supposed to pretend everything was okay when she was fairly certain her entire world was about to come crashing down on her head?

But she couldn’t tell him, which meant she couldn’t let him guess that she was a mess inside. Taking a deep breath, Avery wondered how she’d be able to get through the next few hours, let alone days and nights sharing a hotel room with him.

Knox McLemore saw too much. He’d recognized pieces of her no one else ever had. Things
she
hadn’t even realized were there.

Closing the door to the office behind her, Avery leaned her back against the cold plank of wood and twisted the lock at her back.

She grabbed her cell phone, pulled up the last incoming number and pressed it. Her hand trembled as she held the phone to her ear and listened as it rang.

“Ms. Walsh, I hope you have some good news for me.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Well, that’s disappointing.”

“I found a medal, one that’s going to be easily identifiable and almost certainly was owned by the captain of the
Chimera
. There’s no way to give you what you want.”

Silence echoed down the line, scraping against Avery’s already frayed nerves.

“I would have expected an intelligent woman like yourself to come up with some way to explain or destroy the evidence.”

Frustration buzzed in the back of her throat. “I can’t simply make the damn thing disappear, Mr. McNair. I only pulled two artifacts. It would be immediately missed.”

“Then perhaps you should have chosen more carefully, my dear.”

God, she wanted to reach through the phone and wring the man’s neck. Never in her life had she felt this kind of anger toward another human being, not even her sister’s boyfriend. Now, if McNair had been in front of her, she could have joyfully drawn blood.

“You obviously have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“No, my dear, that’s why I hired you.”

His words, so silkily delivered, made no sense. “I thought you owned a salvage company.”

“I do, but I don’t oversee the day-to-day operations.”

She didn’t understand, but didn’t have time to be concerned. “Look. Even if I managed to discredit this artifact, there would simply be another one. The ship is the
Chimera
. I have no doubt about that. Someone will discover the truth.”

“Well, that’s a shame...for you. I understand the
Amphitrite
is headed to the Bahamas to ride out the storm. Be prepared to headline a press conference as soon as you reach land, announcing the ship Trident found is not the
Chimera
.”

“But...” Had the man not heard a single word she’d said?

Before she could formulate another argument, the line went dead. She was really getting tired of him hanging up on her.

This was not good.

McNair would follow through with his plans. Avery had no doubt he would have a full press contingent waiting for them when they reached port, even with the storm bearing down on everyone.

And he expected her to announce exactly what he wanted.

Walking over to the desk, Avery collapsed into the chair. She couldn’t help but remember how she and Knox had used it just one day ago.

Right now, that memory twisted in her gut.

She didn’t want to betray him, and that was what she would be doing. But telling the truth would mean losing her career and putting Melody in jeopardy.

Although, wasn’t her career ruined anyway?

She could do as McNair wanted and lie, but eventually someone would figure out the truth. Her work would be discredited and she’d lose the reputation she’d spent years building. Her career depended on that reputation, without it no one would put any value in her opinion as an expert.

But if she didn’t go with the lie, then McNair was going to expose her secret, reveal that she’d never actually finished her PhD and had been misrepresenting herself for years. That would completely destroy her reputation. Even if she went back to school and got the qualifications she needed, no one in the industry would ever hire her again.

She was screwed either way.

* * *

K
NOX
WAS
NOT
prepared for the hordes of cameras, microphones and video equipment that met them at the dock. There was no doubt he looked as if he’d been up for twenty-four hours, because he had been. His eyes felt gritty, his skin brittle and thin. He needed a beer, a nap and to brush his goddamn teeth.

Instead, he was facing perfectly coiffed reporters who delighted in shoving microphones into his face and hurling questions at him like, “What are Trident’s plans following the leaked information that the wreck isn’t the
Chimera
?”

What Knox wanted to do was grab the mic from a preternaturally perky brunette and throw it into the water behind him. What he did instead was keep his mouth shut. Because he had no idea what she was talking about.

And he’d learned a long time ago it was better to stay quiet until you knew what was going on.

He was about to give some pat “No comment” answer when the crowd shifted. The vultures abandoned him. He would have thought that’d be a good thing, but it wasn’t.

Because walking down the dock behind him was Avery, perfectly prepared in one of her high-priced business suits. Her glorious red hair was pulled back into a sleek tail that fell down the back of her navy-and-white pinstriped jacket. Her pristine white heels clicked against the worn wood. And those damn pearls gleamed against her pale skin.

Knox’s fists clenched at his sides.

Avery had known this was coming. So why hadn’t he?

Stopping several feet away Avery held up her hands. “Ladies and gentlemen, please, let’s continue into the yacht club where Mr. McNair has prepared for the press conference. I’ll be more than happy to answer any of your questions.”

Across the sea of people, Avery’s gaze finally met his. Those damn blue eyes. They weren’t cold, as he’d expect, but pleading, desperate. Full of guilt.

He wanted to be wrong, but his gut told him he wasn’t. Was this what had upset Avery in the office? Prompted her to throw that glass and then jump him as if she couldn’t get her hands on him fast enough?

Had that hot interlude all been an act to distract him?

Knox’s chest tightened. It ached, just as it had when an insurgent had gotten the drop on him and slipped a knife between his ribs. Luckily, the bastard had missed everything important. Not like Avery...

Crossing his arms over his chest, Knox let everyone sweep past him before snagging her arm and hauling her back a few steps.

“McNair called a press conference,” she said softly, pointlessly, since she’d just announced it.

“About what?”

“He found out about the items I recovered.”

“That’s funny. I’m fairly certain, considering those artifacts are onboard my own damn ship, that I’d know if they’d yielded some definitive answer about the wreck. Wouldn’t I?”

She simply shook her head, guilt and sadness clouding her expression.

“I’m sorry, Knox. Just, please.”

“Please what, Avery? Ignore the fact that you’ve obviously been working with McNair behind my back the whole time?”

It was exactly what he’d feared. What his intuition had been screaming from the moment Avery Walsh sat down across from them in the conference room at Trident headquarters.

Dammit, why the hell did he have to be right this time?

Knox shoved away from her, dropping her arm as if it was suddenly coated in poison.

“Go, give your press conference, but know this isn’t over.”

She swallowed. He tried not to let it affect him that her eyes went watery.

“Dr. Walsh,” someone called out.

Knox turned to find McNair standing at the end of the dock, his arm outstretched, fingers open, as if he was waiting to welcome a lover home.

The man was perfectly turned out in a tailored suit. His skin was tanned and his teeth flawlessly white. The smile he gave them both didn’t reach his dark blue eyes.

“Come, Avery, there are people waiting to speak to you.”

The command in his voice was hard to miss. But so was Avery’s hesitation as she moved toward him.

Knox waited until McNair ushered her down the dock and into a building across the street before pulling out his cell phone and hitting the number for Trident. He didn’t bother with a greeting, but said, “What the hell is going on?” when Kennedy answered.

He could hear the tightness in her voice when she answered, “About an hour ago McNair leaked a story that Dr. Walsh had uncovered definitive evidence the wreck isn’t the
Chimera
and scheduled a press conference to discuss the particulars.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“Which is exactly what I said to Jackson when he found out about it. By the way, he said to tell you he’s sorry.”

“For what?”

“Not believing you. About Dr. Walsh.”

That was cold comfort right now. And there was more at stake than a little corporate espionage. Knox felt the cut of Avery’s betrayal straight down to the bone.

He’d been shot, stabbed and lived through explosions. Having his heart ripped out hurt a hell of a lot worse.

He didn’t think he could watch.

“I assume this travesty is being televised?”

“It is.”