Undertow (30 page)

There was a loud knock on the door. Ćan I come in?µ Maggie asked. She wore jeans and a bright pink T -shirt that read
eat my bubbles
and carried her straw cowboy hat.

Teal wiped her hands on a rag. Óf course. Are you leaving?µ

Ńeither Colson nor myself want to go. But Zane·s insistent, and Ben· s turning Rambo on me.µ Her smile was rueful. ´The girls wil be happy to have me home.

That helps.µ

Ít was probably a couple of half-soused guys on their way to a party. They·l get a whopping giant fine, and you can get back to
Decrepit
in no time,µ Teal told the older woman, who was clearly worried as hel .

Maggie walked straight over to Teal and wrapped her arms around her. Teal tensed. Í·m terrified,µ Maggie whispered into her shoulder. After a brief hesitation, Teal tentatively rubbed Maggie·s back . Í·m frightened out of my wits that it
was
a drug deal gone bad and terrible people wil show up any second. I·m scared to leave, and honestly, even more scared to
stay
. Give me a barracuda to face any day of the week, and I·m fine. People are a lot less predictable.µ

Ńot our guys, though,µ Teal told her, hugging Maggie back almost as tightly as Maggie was hugging her. Źane wil kick butts and take names, Ben wil bamboozle them with his bril iance, Ryan wil help Zane, and Saul wil hold coats.µ Teal smile d, even though her face was being covered by Maggie·s blond hair.

Maggie half laughed as Teal had wanted her to. She stepped away, but cupped her palm to Teal·s cheek. Í absolutely adore you, you know that, Teal Wil iams?

You·ve become one of my favorite people. And it·s a short list. I·m very selective.µ

Maggie·s smile made Teal·s chest hurt. She had no idea how to respond. Éven if you weren·t a perfect fit for Zane, I·d stil count you as one of my faves.µ

She reached up and kissed Teal on the cheek. ´Try to keep the boys out of trouble until I get back, okay?µ

´There·s not going to
be
any trouble,µ Teal assured her. ´This is al going to turn into a minor inconvenience, you·l see.µ

Maggie smiled, then gave her another quick, hard hug. ´From your lip s to God·s ear. Stay safe, honey. I·l see you soon.µ

As soon as Maggie put on her hat and left, Teal looked up at the ceiling. ´Did you hear that, God? If you won·t listen to me, listen to her.
Please
.µ

She stayed in her engine room for as long as she could. She did some unnecessary cleaning, checked al her tools, and read a chapter of her book.

There·d be no more diving, and the more alone time Teal had, the more pissed she became at the morons who·d crashed their stupid freaking plane right on top of a wreck fil ed with yet-undiscovered treasure.

Zane walked in during her one -sided verbal rant. Í can tel you·re winning,µ he said, smiling as she stopped talking abruptly. The smile didn·t reach his eyes.

He crossed the room and took her in his arms, burying his face in her hair. Í just need to hold you a minute, do you mind?µ Strain laced the amusement in his voice.

Teal tightened her arms around his waist and buried her face against his chest. She inhal ed deeply, drawing in the familiar scent of him. His arms were hard and strong around her as she laid her cheek against his chest and heard the steady beat of his heart. Íf it·l help, I·l get naked. I·ve never done it in an engine room before, and that ma ttress is nice and bouncy.µ

He laughed softly, lifting her chin on his finger. ´We·re going to do it in here, and on every flat surface on board, as soon as this mess is resolved. I·l take a nice juicy kiss as a down payment, though.µ

His mouth was hot and hungry and addictively urgent. He tasted like coming home to her, too. Of safety. And passion. And promises. Teal caught fire from his hunger and wrapped her arms around his neck as he walked her backward. Her spine hit the bulkhead with a smal thud. He pushed her back against the wal , holding her there with his weight as his tongue dueled with hers.

Her entire body pulsed and clenched as he made love to her mouth. Her nipples peaked and hardened, but Teal had to be satisfied with the pressure of his chest rubbing against hers, because his hands were fisted in her hair, and his knee pressed between her thighs.

They came apart, both gasping for air, pupils dilated.

Zane rested his forehead on hers, then shifted them both away from the bulkhead. With his arms stil around her, he said quietly. Ás mind -blowing as that kiss was, I actual y came down to get you. We have company.µ

Despite the strong urge to burrow into him, wrap her arms around him, and just
cling
, Teal accompanied Zane up the spiral stairs to the salon. Pictures of cauliflower-eared men carrying Uzis flashed through her head. Then she real ized that was
gangsters
and adjusted it to beefy guys in suits with diamond gril s and big ugly handguns. On the other hand, one of her mother·s dealers had worn his fast-food manager·s uniform. She bit back a nervous laugh. Never good to stereotype.

But she·d grown up in a neighborhood chock ful of them. Al assorted sizes, ethnicities, and sexes.

So when she entered the salon a step behind Zane, Teal was ready for anything.

Except Men in Black.

The two men both wore black slacks, black T-shirts, black holsters, and black guns. They wore sunglasses³inside³and had Special Forces written al over them.

´Miss Wil iams,µ the man on the left said politely, indicating she sit on one of the leather sofas. Zane took her hand and sat down with her. Ben and Saul sat at the counter, and Ryan, looking uncomfortable as hel , was on one of the chairs by the computers. The two men blocked the door leading to the deck as if Zane and the rest of them were going to make a mad dash outside to freedom at any second.

´We believe that the CJ Three that crashed was carrying an Alphachip, stolen from a secure faculty in³Nearby.µ

Teal had no idea what an Alphachip was. Ćouldn·t have been a very secure facility if it was stolen,µ she pointed out dryly. Zane squeezed h er hand in warning.

The men were not amused.

´You
believe
?µ Zane asked, politely enough, but a muscle jumped in his jaw.

´The whereabouts of the Alphachip have been confirmed. It was on board the CJ Three when it crashed.

´We would like you to retrieve said chip immediately. After that, you·re free to go.µ

´Damn good of you,µ Zane said shortly. ´But we aren·t going
anywhere
. I·m the custodian and exclusive salvor of the
Vrijheid
. We stil have more work to do on our salvage. Your damn stolen chip is right on top of my wreck. So, gentlemen, I suggest you get someone to haul it up and the hel out of my way.µ

Ít·s a matter of national security that the Alphachip be retrieved within thirty -nine hours.µ

Thirty-nine hours seemed strangely precise to Teal.

Únless this Alphachip is at least the size of a breadbox, it could be anywhere down there,µ

Zane told them, running out of patience. ´How do you intend to find and retrieve it within,µ

he glanced at the clock on the wal , ´thirty -eight hours and fifty-five minutes? Does it have a homing device on it?µ

The two men glanced at one another. Ńo, it does not.µ

Áre you claiming the plane
wasn·t
carrying drugs?µ Teal asked, not sure if these guys were for real. A microchip was smal er than « a microchip. Tiny. Made of silicone, impossible to find in a seabed ful of sand. Impossible to find underwater in the best of conditions. They didn·t
have
good conditions. She and Zane had barely been able to see each other, let alone a little bitty freaking chip, for God·s sake.

Ńo drugs. Just the stolen Alphachip.µ

Śo we·re not getting a bunch of drug runners boarding any minute, looking for their drugs?µ Ben asked in a tense voice.

Ńo,µ Man in Black Left told him before returning to look at Zane with an expression impossible to read behind those damned dark glasses. ´But the people who stole the chip wil start searching for it themselves very soon. They were headed for Princess Juliana Airport to make the drop. They weren·t blown far off their path. As I said. You have thirty -

nine hours to find it and deliver it t o us.µ

Íf it·s that important, then feel free to go down and look for yourselves,µ Zane told them flatly. ´But I have to tel you, it·l be an impossible task. Something that size? In the vastness of the ocean? We couldn·t even see one of the plane·s
wings
. The storm churned up the seabed, and it·s like swimming through a sandstorm as it is down there.µ

´The Alphachip is sealed inside a red box. About this size.µ The guy on the right indicated something the size of a loaf of bread. Ńothing must look out of the ordinary when the men who stole it come looking.µ

The atmosphere in the room was suddenly charged. Teal felt a film of nervous perspiration on her skin. Ánd you two won·t fetch this chip yourselves because«?µ

Ńeither of us is proficient at deepwater diving.µ

She could tel by Zane·s annoyed expression that he wasn·t buying this as he said, ´Plenty of experienced divers to be had in St. Maarten.µ

Ńot who know the wreck and location as wel as you people do. You·ve been excavating the area for weeks. Monitoring it even longer. We·re certain you have a clear map of the area and its topography. Use it to locate the chip.µ

Zane leaned forward. Íf you want our help, then tel us exactly what·s going on.µ He crossed his arms over his chest.

The men exchanged glances, and the first gave a nearly imperceptible nod.

Ĺess than ten miles from this site is a top-secret underwater facility. What goes on there is classified, but rest assured, it·s of utmost importance to our continued national security that that chip be retrieved in a timely manner.µ

Á top secret
government
facility?µ Zane asked. ´These are Dutch waters. Is this facility Dutch?µ

Since the men were clearly American, Zane had a valid point.

Śeveral months ago, we received intel igence that we had a spy in our midst,µ

the guy on the right said without answering Zane·s question. Śhortly thereafter, you showed up. We·ve been monitoring you ever since.µ

´Then you must know I·m not a threat.µ

Ányone lurking around our facility is a threat.µ

Ís that a threat?µ Zane asked with dangerous calm.

´We were simply monitoring you because of your close proximity to an extremely sensitive area.µ

Śensitive area, huh?µ said Zane. Í suppose that explains why the nav and detection equipment goes haywire whenever we get into these waters. You must have some kind of jamming equipment. Am I right?µ

Neither man said a word. They simply stared right through Zane as if he·d never asked the question.

Teal shifted closer to him. These guys made her by turns nervous as hel , and indignant.

´What·s so important about the chip anyway?µ

´We·re unable to give specifics, but it contains data vital to national security.

The data exists solely on that chip. Anyone in possession of it would have access to top -

secret defense systems. Should that happen the ramifications would be catastrophic. This is not a polite request, Mr. Cutter,µ the first man said. ´You are being asked to perform this service by our president. This is a vital matter of national security.µ

Ryan whistled, Ben and Saul exchanged worried looks. Zane·s fingers tightened around Teal·s. Ánd if I refuse this ¶service·? Then what?µ

Í·d hate to have you removed as custodian from the wreck, and have it revert to the Dutch government, Mr. Cutter. It·s vi tal that the chip be retrieved by friendlies,
before
the bad guys get here to retrieve it themselves,µ Left Guy said grimly. Ít would be a disaster of cataclysmic proportions if they get their hands on it

³.µ

Ágain,µ
Teal pointed out. ´You didn·t do a very good job protecting something
this
important in the first place.µ

Zane squeezed her hand in warning to take it down a notch. ´How do we know you two aren·t the guys who stole it in the first place?µ

The Right Guy p ointed at Zane. ´Got your cel phone?µ

´Yeah.µ Zane lifted his butt to get it out of his jeans pocket.

´Get a hold of the White House. He·s waiting for your cal .µ

He who? The
president
? Teal shared an incredulous glance with Zane, then he looked back at the men. ´What·s the number?µ

´We could give you a phone number to anyone. Go through the switchboard.

Give them your last name fol owed by the number B Seventeen. We·l wait outside.µ

B Seventeen was the number on Zane·s charts of the
Vrijheid
dive site. How could they have known that? A cold chil permeated Teal·s body.
Holy hell
. What had they fal en into?

Teal and the others waited on tenterhooks. Zane rose and started pacing as he obtained the number for the White House. Within minutes, he· d identified himself, then there was a short pause and he said, ´Good afternoon, Mr. President.

My name is Zane³. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I understand. People wil start gathering again. How can I³? Yes, sir. I·m sure they wil .µ

For several minutes, Zane listened. Slowly the color leached from his face.

Seeing his reaction to what he was being told worried the hel out of her. The fact that he was talking to the president of the United States on his cel phone meant this was a very big, scary deal.

Í hate to say this, sir, but there·s a good chance
nobody
wil be able to find that chip.µ He paused, stopping midstride in the middle of the room. Outside, the sun shone as if the storm had never been. The two guys dressed in black stood silently waiting for Zane t o finish talking to the president.

Ćould you please clarify that?µ Zane raked his hair back off his face, his cheekbones in stark relief, his eyes shadowed. ´Yes, sir. I completely understand.

Yes, I agree. Thirty-
eight
hours would be optimal.µ He disconnected, then stood for a few moments staring out of the window blindly before turning around to address them.