Targets Entangled (19 page)

“Yes, and there is a small microwave in the hutch if you need to warm it up.” Daegan narrowed his eyes when Ferrin glanced back his way. It was as if he were weighing his options on where to start, but she hoped like hell it wasn’t about them since he’d already brought up the topic of the explosive device. Funny, but it was the easier of the two and she choked back a wry laugh at how demented that sounded. He reentered the head, giving her a chance to breathe and grab her coffee. “According to Starr, she combed through the personnel files. She was very meticulous about who was hired and you have to remember that the department heads chose some of these employees themselves.”

“Why was Nina being questioned?” Ferrin took a sip of her coffee and found that it was somewhat cool to the point she wondered how long he’d been in the cabin. She got up and walked over to the hutch to nuke her coffee. She was a bit surprised that she hadn’t woken up when he came in, but then again her body had been pushed to a breaking point. She looked at the time and was astonished to find it read sixteen hundred hours. She’d slept for close to twelve hours. No wonder Daegan had so much to tell her. “I’m assuming that Starr didn’t hire her personally.”

“Nina had some deposits put into her banking account that are suspicious,” Daegan called out from the bathroom. Ferrin had to wonder if he was permitted to divulge this information, but she wasn’t about to bring that up. She needed all the information she could get, especially since all eyes were on her right now. That didn’t sit well with her when she’d always prided herself on doing the right thing. She pushed aside the thought that it had been true until she met Daegan. It boiled down to the fact that it had still been her choice to get involved with him. “She stated that it was money she was collecting as rent while she’s away. One was a deposit and the other was the monthly rent upfront.”

“Did that check out?” Ferrin crawled back on the rack and leaned up against the bulkhead as she sipped her reheated coffee. She pushed some hair out of her face to get a clearer vision of Daegan as he walked back into the room wearing nothing but a pair of denims. Had he done that on purpose? “Nina’s a really nice person and I can’t imagine she would have it in her to murder someone.”

“People can be motivated to do things they wouldn’t normally do given the right circumstances.” Daegan wasn’t looking at her when he said those words, but it was apparent he wasn’t talking about Nina. Ferrin wasn’t sure she was ready to go there so she was glad when he kept on topic. “Starr is checking out her claims, but there were a few other people where some red flags were waving. I’ll name a few and you tell me if you’ve had any dealings with them.”

“Okay.” Ferrin was skeptical, for she usually kept to herself but she would do her best to think back over the last few months. “Shoot.”

“Henry Rivera. He works in the COC where Tami was stationed.”

“I know who you’re talking about but I’ve never even had a conversation with him.”

“Caroline Ross.”

“Doesn’t she work in the ship’s store?” The name sounded familiar, but Ferrin didn’t want to assume anything. Daegan pulled out the chair next to the small desk and flipped it around before straddling it. “The woman with the really dark hair that’s cropped in the back.”

“Yep, that’s the one. Do you know her?”

“Not really. I’ve spoken to her a couple of times when I’ve stopped into the shop for some miscellaneous items.” Ferrin wondered what all of them had done to catch Starr’s attention. “Who else?”

“Matthew Bell from the galley.” Daegan was studying her a little more intently when he said the name and Ferrin stiffened since Matt was the one who’d been walking down the passageway when she’d found Tami. “Did you know him prior to the incident where he ran for help when you asked for his assistance?”

“No, other than seeing him in the galley.” Ferrin was starting to get frustrated. She wanted more details than just names thrown out that weren’t going to stick. She wasn’t close to anyone besides Tami and now she was dead. “Daegan, it doesn’t matter who you name. Besides the people in my department, I’m not really close to anyone and nothing has stood out as odd to me.”

“Starr and Lieutenant Irvine have been in touch with Agent Joel. The DNA from underneath Tami’s fingernails still isn’t back from the lab.” Daegan ran a hand over his closely shaved head, obviously frustrated that he didn’t have the answers they needed. She understood how he felt and more so, considering that it was her name that was being brought up repeatedly. “As for the marks around Tami’s neck, the width of the fingers is a very important factor. I don’t feel comfortable that you’ve been involved as part of virtually every action taken by this individual.”

“You said
individual
,” Ferrin said, catching the description quickly. “You don’t think it’s a man we’re looking for, especially considering the width of the fingers?”

“We’re all assuming that Tami’s murder is in connection with the other related incidents and the bomb, but what if that isn’t the case?” Daegan set his elbows on the back of the chair as he continued to explain his thought process. She didn’t miss that he ignored her question. “What if it isn’t? What if she made another man angry by sleeping with Farrell?”

“She liked to flirt quite a bit, Daegan, but she didn’t do anything to deserve this.”

“I’m not saying she did, but someone unstable might not see it the same way as you and me.” Daegan still shook his head as if he were disagreeing with himself. “Which doesn’t make sense. Every crewmember was given a psychological exam regardless of who hired them. They were all screened for their security clearances. I can’t imagine a psychopath could pass without some kind of flag.”

“I’m sure a lot of psychos can fake that type of exam and obviously did. I mean, even if someone else planted the bomb, we’re talking about two people that somehow got past interviews, exams, you name it.” Even talking about this was making Ferrin uncomfortable. Someone with malicious intentions was aboard this ship and no one had a clue as to who he or she was. “Isn’t there something that Starr can do to speed up the process with the DNA?”

“Like what?” Daegan spread his arms and widened his hands in question. “We did a cursory search of the ship, but there are so many hiding places for explosive materials that it’s not even funny. This person is calculating and deadly—the worst combination. Which is why you’ll be staying here with me. Jackson said he’s changing your shift to first, where it’ll be easier for us to keep an eye on you. And before you argue, which I’m sure you already did with him, this has nothing to do with Starr thinking you’re involved and everything to do with keeping you out of harm’s way.”

“If Nina checked out, then I should be perfectly safe in my own cabin,” Ferrin pointed out, knowing they’d come to the part of the discussion that the two of them had avoided. She wasn’t sure she was ready to hear what had made him live life the way he did, but there was no getting around it. “Why do you want me here when you’ve done everything to ensure this relationship is only about sex and nothing more?”

“Is it? For you or me?”

Ferrin’s fingers trembled and she wrapped them tighter around the mug. She hadn’t expected him to ask her that. He was the one who was supposed to bare it all…not her. Hadn’t she opened herself up enough by even being here? Apparently not because his blue eyes were trained on her like she assumed they would be on his prey through his scope. It was disconcerting, but it got her irritated enough that she answered.

“I knew coming into this a second time that it was for a short period. Your reputation precedes you, Daegan. I might not be like the usual women you’re with, but I know when a man isn’t in the market for something more serious than a roll in the hay. And let’s face it—I’m not the type you’d go for even if you were.”

“And why do you say that?” Daegan’s tone had an edge to it and she couldn’t pinpoint why. “You’re intelligent, compassionate, loyal, and downright beautiful.”

“I’m calculating, methodical, and I don’t care if I go out in public without make-up,” Ferrin countered, not backing down from this. He wanted the truth. “I’m not your typical bimbo, am I?”

Daegan studied her a little more before clasping his fingers together and then resting his chin on them. She became a little uncomfortable, as if she’d missed something important. Even during this type of serious discussion, he had her heartbeat accelerated and her stomach in knots.

“You’re wrong.” Daegan finally folded his arms over the back of the chair and she knew the time had come. She bit her lip to keep from telling him to stop as she saw the anguish and sorrow in his eyes. She hadn’t wanted to cause him pain, but it was apparent that was exactly what the past did to him. “I once loved a woman very deeply and you could say she was a lot like you.”

“What happened to her?” Ferrin whispered the question for two reasons. One, Daegan had stopped talking and was rubbing his thumb across his chin as he’d taken himself back in time. Two, she didn’t want to startle him and have him keep the stopper on the bottle of his memories. They’d come this far and she was willing to hear the rest, whether she’d like it or not. “Is she still back home?”

“She’s dead.”

‡

D
aegan didn’t
have to look at Ferrin to know that her eyes widened with shock. He hadn’t meant to blurt it out so callously, but it was better to rip the bandage off than to agonize over a slow removal. Like when he was talking with Stick, images of Kayla resurfaced but her face was blurry. Time had erased a lot and the guilt of forgetting every single detail from those days still caused him anguish.

“Her name was Kayla and she was murdered way too young by a junkie who wanted nothing more out of life than his next fix.”

Daegan rolled his shoulders and his neck to prevent that claustrophobic sensation of the room collapsing. He would have taken Ferrin up to the deck had he thought this conversation would stay between the two of them. There were too many crewmembers about with big ears and he didn’t feel comfortable revealing his private life to them. Instead, he stayed where he was and he told her about the young woman who’d shaped him into the man he was today. He divulged the good times and the bad, the high school memories, the Friday and Saturday nights they’d learned of life and love in the bed of his beat-up, rusty old F-150, and then he revealed how Kayla was taken from him, along with the trial and the aftermath. He bled the memories out of his veins and with it came a heart-lifting cleansing that was long overdue.

“I went to his rundown shithole of an apartment with every intention of putting a .30-30 Winchester bullet in his brain, and to this day I wonder if Kayla hadn’t intervened with his fate to secure mine.” Daegan had been watching Ferrin’s reaction, wondering how she would feel about a man who’d been ready to commit murder in the name of homemade justice. She’d been quiet, but she never wavered those grey eyes of hers. He would have laughed at her controlled response if it wasn’t so much like her to think before she spoke. “I made a decision that day to live every day as if it were my last. I love life, Ferrin. I love every minute I’m given and I never thought of
how
I did that as having a death wish. It might seem like it to you, but I’m making the most of what I’ve been given.”

“And yet you’ve never had a serious, meaningful relationship since Kayla.”

Hearing Ferrin say Kayla’s name was odd, but not in a bad way. It was just different, as if Ferrin knew every contour of his soul now. He couldn’t argue with her that he’d shied away from feeling too much for another woman, but it wasn’t as if anyone could fault him for that. The beating heart in his chest could only carry so much burden, but only someone who’d experienced what he had would understand that. And yet here he sat, knowing full well if it had been Ferrin who had been killed aboard this ship that he would have felt the same gut-wrenching agony. Wasn’t that just a hell of a thing?

“I know that you’re more important to me than a casual fling,” Daegan stated, needing her to know that he was willing to see where this would lead them. He spread his arms wide in acceptance. “I also know that what we feel for each other goes beyond a simple weekend and I readily acknowledge that. Do you?”

“Would you have gone through with killing that junkie?”

That was certainly one way to get out of answering his question. Daegan was never one to take the easy way out, but he’d hoped like hell his opening up to her would have paved the way to an easier conversation. Instead it had done what he was afraid it would do.

“By telling you the truth, I risk you walking out that door and not coming back.” Daegan couldn’t sit still any longer and he stood up, swinging the chair back in place in front of the small desk. He closed the distance to where she still sat on his bunk and he knelt, needing to touch her. He reached out and took the lukewarm coffee cup from her hand, setting in on the nightstand and then used her hands to help pull her forward. He waited to answer her question until her bare feet were on the ground. “I honestly don’t know. I was young and full of rage. My intention was to wipe his presence off the face of this earth, but I wasn’t given that final choice. Instead I learned what it was like to kill during the war and I can now say firsthand that I’m no God. I don’t have the right to say who live and dies, but I do fully believe in protecting my country and our freedom. In the heat of battle I do what I must to keep my teammates safe and I will continue to do so.”