Targets Entangled (17 page)

“Ferrin, you can understand why Lieutenant Irvine has been questioning you.” Starr pulled up a chair from the ranks to the opposite side of the table and took a seat after placing a folder on the table next to what had been the Lieutenant’s position. Ferrin looked at it, ignoring Daegan altogether, and then focused on the woman who was responsible for her having a job. This was a hell of a lot better than being asked the same questions over and over. “You were off duty when the fire in the galley occurred and you have access to the radios where at specific times the ship-to-shore radios have been found at an odd frequency setting. An intelligence gathering ship disguised as a fishing trawler is following us with the same type of radio capabilities as you have access to in your department. You were the one to find Tami McDaniel murdered in her cabin, and now there was a bomb discovered in your workspace that could have done quite a bit of damage—again, found by you on your shift. You can understand my reservations before Daegan spoke up a half hour ago to tell me that the two of you have been in a sexual relationship since before we departed San Diego on this mission.”

Ferrin’s face flushed at the accusation, the most mortifying part not being able to deny it. She tried to inhale but it felt like she was getting little oxygen. She counted to ten like she used to do when things got to be too much back in the day. Unfortunately, Daegan spoke before she could.

“Starr, she had nothing to do with any of this.”

“I wasn’t talking to you, Daegan. When I have something to say to you, I will look at you. Until that time, you are to remain silent,” Starr stated firmly as she glanced in his direction. She returned her measured gaze to Ferrin. “Is there something you’d like to say, Ferrin?”

“Daegan and I spent one weekend together back in October,” Ferrin declared, meeting the woman’s gaze. She had nothing to hide now, but that didn’t stop her heart rate from accelerating at baring her soul to a woman who might think she was capable of murder. Chuck had been accused and he turned out to be innocent. Was it now her turn? “It ended rather abruptly. We both continued on with our jobs and I’ve given one hundred percent to my position aboard this ship. Tami and I became friends during the preparation of
The Promised Land
and I valued her friendship. I had nothing to do with the fire, I personally reported the findings of the unusual frequencies, and I’ve had no communication with or from that trawler. I promise you that I did not set that bomb. Before you ask a follow up question, the answer is yes. Daegan and I resumed our relationship after Tami’s death. I won’t diminish what we shared by saying it was because I was emotionally distraught. I enjoy Daegan’s company and I apologize for breaking the fraternization rule. I’m sure Daegan is in agreement that it ends today and I will give you my full cooperation in finding the person responsible for these criminal acts.”

Ferrin couldn’t help but quickly glance Daegan’s way, wondering what his reaction was to her statement. She was surprised to find anger simmering in those blue eyes of his. His jaw was obviously locked from the way his muscles contoured against his cheek, but she didn’t understand his problem. Hell, she wasn’t even sure why he told Starr about them in the first place. It didn’t matter now.

“Ferrin, did you see anyone near the radio room when you returned?” Gunny asked, his voice diffusing what could have been a very awkward situation. His large frame seemed to take up most of the room, but then again, so did Starr’s attitude. She wasn’t a woman to be messed with and Ferrin had done just that. “Did you notice anything out of place when you started your shift?”

“I came on duty and it seemed like any other shift, with the exception of our satellite communications link back to the HQ in San Diego being out. Monte gave Jerry and me the details and that’s when Jerry left for the bridge. Monte had left for the night and that’s when I realized that I’d forgotten my glasses in Daegan’s stateroom.” Ferrin did her best to maintain her focus and not look at Daegan again. “There was no one around when I came back. I had secured the hatch when I left and it was unsecured when I returned. I checked around when I noticed that and nothing seemed to have been disturbed. And I know that unless Monte left his post at any time during the afternoon that my leaving was this person’s best and most probable opportunity to plant the device.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Starr said, shaking her head before Ferrin had even finished her sentence. “The person responsible wouldn’t have known you’d have left your glasses somewhere and by happenstance, leave the radio room. Gunny, find out if Monte left his post at any time during the evening and please send Lieutenant Irvine back inside. Wait. Also check with Chief Jackson. I know he’s been filling in for Chuck.”

Ferrin curled her fingers into her palms, not liking that Lieutenant Irvine was going to know specific details about her personal life. It was her own fault and nothing less than what she deserved for breaking the ship’s regulations, but that didn’t mean she had to like it. Once Gunny had taken his leave, Starr and Daegan remained in place. Lieutenant Irvine finally appeared, his permanent frown making it known he wasn’t happy with the chain of events.

“Ms. Hewitt’s whereabouts are confirmed by Daegan Murphy. I want everyone on board this ship interviewed with his or her daily activities established and corroborated. If anyone cannot verify their whereabouts at all during this day, I want to know who it is.” Starr held up a folder and handed it to Lieutenant Irvine. “These are a list of personnel that I want to question personally.”

Ferrin’s stomach lurched a little at what Starr was implicating. Did she know the person responsible? At least to the point where she’d narrowed it down? Starr finally stood, indicating that Ferrin and Daegan should follow her out. Ferrin scrambled to her feet, not wanting to be in this room any longer than she already had been. Lieutenant Irvine walked down the corridor with the file in hand, leaving the three of them alone. Ferrin changed her mind when she felt Daegan’s intense stare on her face. The interview room wasn’t looking so bad right about now.

“I don’t need to convey how disappointed I am in either of you. That much is obvious.” Starr zeroed in on Daegan first. “You are in a position of special trust and confidence. You let me, the team, and the crewmembers aboard this ship down with your actions. The cost could be incalculable. If this in any way jeopardizes the mission, there will be a cost that you will personally have to pay.”

Daegan smartly kept his mouth shut, for which Ferrin was very grateful. Ferrin felt worse and worse about the decisions they’d made with each word hammered home. She was more responsible than this. She wasn’t herself when she was around Daegan and if she still had a job at the end of this mission, she would stay far and wide from his presence.

“Ferrin, I know how important your position is on this ship to you—in particular to your mother and sister. I can’t fathom why you would risk that for something that you can only hope would be marginally meaningful.” Starr took a deep breath as if she’d come to a conclusion. Ferrin did the opposite as she found she couldn’t get enough oxygen while she awaited her fate. “We’re already short-handed. Chief Jackson has been stretched thin. I’ll have to keep you on rotation until we get back to the States. Consider this your one and final warning. As much as Daegan has fucked this up, I do trust his opinion. If he says you couldn’t have done this, I’ll extend my belief to agree. The two of you also have a decision to make. This relationship better be going the distance or nowhere at all from this point on. Am I clear?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Relief washed over Ferrin and she had to lock her knees together to keep standing. Had she been the one in charge, she wasn’t so sure she would have been as lenient as Starr. “I apologize for breaking the fraternization rule. It
was
fleeting and we promise it won’t—”

“All the way,” Daegan announced firmly, interrupting what Ferrin had been about to say. Starr didn’t react at all, but she didn’t need to. It was Ferrin who felt that earlier surge of anger run through her at his assumption. What the hell did he think he was doing? He was the one who had made it perfectly clear that this was a brief interlude and nothing more. He didn’t get to change the rules just because he was embarrassed over having to give her an alibi. “Consider this official notice that we are in a relationship. I don’t want this to be a problem down the line.”

“Duly noted.” Starr turned at the sound of her name. Lieutenant Irvine had Nina Cornwall with him and truth be told, she looked a little scared. Ferrin was torn between loudly denying what Daegan had just said and coming to Nina’s defense. Why were they questioning her bunkmate and why was she being singled out as one of the personnel that Starr wanted to be present for in their interview? “Daegan, take Ferrin back to the radio room and inform Chief Jackson that she’s still on rotation and he can dismiss her earlier assigned replacement. Oh, and you might want to let him know of your personal status so that it doesn’t come into question again. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Daegan put a hand on Ferrin’s arm when she was reaching out to stop Starr from joining Lieutenant Irvine and Nina. This conversation wasn’t done and there was no way in hell Ferrin was telling Chief Jackson that she was having an affair with one of the operations’ team members aboard ship. She yanked her arm away and would have followed Starr to retract what Daegan had said had he not blocked her path with his body. “Abrupt? Fleeting? I don’t think so, siren.”

‡

D
aegan couldn’t
believe that Ferrin thought so little of what was between them that she even reiterated Starr’s word
fleeting
. It was also insulting at best to say their past interlude had ended abruptly. It made it sound like he’d done his duty and wasn’t needed for anything else. In the back of his mind he knew that he was the one responsible for her mindset, but she could have had more faith. He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and led her farther down the passageway opposite of the pantry locker. He wasn’t about to take her up to the navigation deck and aft to the radio room until they had a few things sorted out in a slightly less travelled location. As it was, they were all emotionally charged after what had just occurred. They could use a moment to calm down and catch their collective breaths.

“You’re the one who said this was nothing more than a brief fling. Now you suddenly want to
propose
?” Ferrin whispered in obvious exaggeration, her voice coming out a little too harsh for his liking. “Do you understand that my professional life has been turned upside down since I’ve gotten personally involved with you? Back in October, the information you had me look into ended up sending the team to Missouri and almost getting Doc’s wife killed. Can you imagine if Starr finds out about
that
after everything else? This mission itself has been nothing more than a valuepak clusterfuck and as Starr just pointed out, I’m somehow tied up in all of it. My life has been thrown into chaos and it all comes down to your black cloud in my life, Schleprock.”

“Bullshit.” Daegan backed Ferrin up against the bulkhead so she couldn’t leave without hearing what he had to say. “This job is responsible for all of that. You’re a subcontractor under the employment of a privatized paramilitary hostage rescue team, Ferrin. What the hell did you expect? Lunch at the country club? This isn’t some goddamn cruise line where you’re maintaining radio channels for a corporation who makes money from providing crazy people the opportunity for vacation escapes to the armpits of the world. What we do means something and you’re a part of that mission. This thing between us has nothing to do with our jobs and everything to do with the fact that we’re attracted to one another in the harsh environment we’ve both elected as our career workplace.”

“You make my life quite disordered.” Ferrin finally met his gaze with irritation and something else that he couldn’t name. Her grey eyes were dark as if a storm was brewing within them and he weighed his options on continuing this conversation out in the open. She stood straighter and lifted her chin a little higher. “We both agreed this would end when we returned to the States and now you’re recanting. You don’t get to make that kind of decision without me and I’m not even sure if you’re telling the truth to anyone, including yourself. All the way? Really? What the hell does that mean when you’ve never gone more than a few weeks with the same woman? Your attachments are shorter than my laundry rotation. Don’t think I hide behind my glasses, books, and radios while ignoring the chitter chatter of the other women on board this ship. Everyone knows you’re a class A bonafide clad and prizewinning womanizer and I’m nothing more than a warm body to keep your genitals tuned up while we’re away from home. You’re a loose cannon, Daegan. When you can share with me what made you live life as if you have a death wish is when I’ll consider if this is more than
fleeting
.”

Daegan reared back as if she’d just shot him with his own pistol. Ferrin used his surprise to walk away and he purposefully didn’t stop her. He stood in the corridor with his hands supporting him against the bulkhead, now fully dressed and with his side arm secure in his holster. He actually reached down to make sure it was still there as he shook his head. He might as well have just handed her his Sig. Was that how she viewed him? Having a death wish?