Undertow (9 page)
Water inched higher. Even once she found the source, it wasn·t like she could pul a plug and let the water out. It was il egal to discharge any liquid that had oil particles suspended in it out to the open sea, and she could see the iridescent sheen on the surface of her new indoor swimming pool.
´Think, damn it!µ
The rising level of the bilges would damage the shaft generator, and if she didn·t do something right that damn
second,
the pumps in the bottom platform would stop functioning. She couldn·t wait for help. Knowing the alarm would alert the others, Teal stepped off her bedrol , which was already covered in inches of dark water. The cold water hit her mid shin. Right now pumping out the bilges
immediately
was her only thought. She plunged her hands into the dark liquid, her fingers questing for the valve handle, her mind spinning furiously. The injection valve could bypass the main sea chest in case of emergency. If she could just get it set so that instea d of the sea, water would be drawn from within the ship itself, it·d help. She·d checked the valves ³al the valves³just that morning.
Thank God.
She quickly and efficiently connected the emergency bilge injection valve as the cold water crept up her shins to lick at her calves. Ćan·t you people hear the freaking alarm?!µ she yel ed over the cacophony. Her wet fingers lost purchase of the valve spindle, and she almost sliced off a finger.
Śomeone? Anyone? Get your ass in here!µ
The connectors clicked into place, and final y, she had some good news: The pump immediately started sucking seawater from the lowest points in the engine room. The bad news was that water was coming in as fast as it was being sucked up.
She was woman enough to know when she needed help, and this problem required al hands on deck. Wading through the cold, rapidly rising water, Teal yanked open the watertight door. A mini waterfal spil ed over the raised threshold and started spreading down the dimly lit passageway. Her feet slipped and slid in several inches of water and she slapped her hand against the wal to keep from fal ing flat on her ass.
She looked up to see Zane was running toward her. Okay. Not
her
. Toward the engine room.
But she was so damn happy to see him, she·d take i t. A triangle of tanned, hair roughed skin showed in the open V of his unbuttoned shorts while he finished tugging down his dark T -
shirt.
As soon as he reached her, he grabbed her upper arms. ´What the hel ?µ
His grip wasn·t nearly as gentle, subversive, or insidious as it had been a few hours ago when he·d been trying to seduce her. But this was an emotion she was equipped to handle.
The answer to his question was pretty obvious, but she answered anyway. Éngine room·s flooding.µ She had to yel over the sound of the alarm.
Maggie, Ben, Saul, Colson, and Ryan crowded behind him. Nobody looked sleepy, although it was three A.M. A foot of water on the lower deck was an instant wake-up cal .
Zane·s fingers were warm on her bare skin. She remembered his kiss and shivered, but she didn·t step back, and he didn·t let go.
´Damaged pipe?µ His mouth was a grim line while his eyes glinted with worry in the dim overhead lights.
´Maybe.µ There were dozens of ways the boat could be leaking. That was just one. Ćould be a leak in the propel er shaft or corrosion in the hul . I have the pumps going, but I·l have to check them al .µ The whole freaking boat was a pile of rust.
Ŕyan, with me,µ Zane said with admirable calm. Teal·s heart was beating so fast it almost blocked out the strident screech of the alarm. ´Maggie, coordinate everything from topside,µ
he instructed. Śaul, Ben, and Colson help Teal.µ
She shivered as his thumb did a sneaky caress across her chil ed skin. The man played touchy-feely even in an emergency. Unbelievable. Then his fingers tightened around her upper arm. His eyes seemed exceptional y blue as he held her gaze for several painful heartbeats. ´Don·t do anything stupid, Wil iam s.µ
Too late. She·d kissed him back earlier tonight hadn·t she? Teal tugged free.
´Ditto.µ
* * *
He and Ryan stayed together, their lights slicing through the darkness in long n arrow beams. They stayed close to the hul as they swam down to the propel er shaft.
Damn it to hel . He started to second-guess himself. Perhaps he should·ve waited to salvage the
Vrijheid
until after he·d taken
Decrepit
in to dry dock for that overhaul. The ship had seemed sound enough. Maybe he·d just let himself believe it was. His eagerness to squeeze the last few weeks out of the season could wel be putting everyone on board in danger. If nothing else, he might be re sponsible for sinking his own ship to lie beside the Dutch frigate for al time. His damn luck was taking a fucking vacation at the wrong time.
Ryan tapped his arm and jerked his head toward the hul as if to urge him forward. Normal y he loved night diving , but there was a different vibe to the infinite liquid darkness when other people·s lives and his entire operation was at stake.
Zane shook his head, trying to stay positive. If the leak did involve one of the shafts, it was repairable. Maybe it wouldn·t even require putting in to port and taking a time -out in dry dock.
Before anything else could be done, he had to find the leak. It was a bad idea attempting to fix both the seal in the engine room and the problem down here at the same time, since that would let in more water from both simultaneously. Teal and the others had to be sweating bul ets as they waited.
He shone his light on the rudder post. Yeah, that was where it was leaking al ri ³What the fuck?
Frowning, Zane directed his flashlight beam di rectly on the flange. Everything surrounding it was corroded, dirty, or covered with verdigris. The scrapes and gouges made by a tool shone bright and obscene in the light.
Shit. This was no accident. Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to remove and then replace the nut.
Some scurvy son of a bitch had tried to sabotage his boat.
´What are you doing here?µ Zane asked Nick as his brother stepped into the
Decrepit
·s salon the next morning. Everyone was getting a late start due to being up half t he damned night repairing the damage to the rudder. Zane was talking to Ben about the ramifications of sabotage when his brother strol ed in.
´You asked me to drop this off on my way out.µ He set several large, heavy boxes³Zane·s requested wine³on the counter. Ćonsider it dropped.µ He glanced around. ´Why does everyone look like shit on a shingle? Up late partying last night? Not a wise move when you have to dive today, Ace.µ
Zane led his brother outside. Śomeone removed a nut from the propel er shaft and took the flax out of the packing rings,µ he told Nick grimly as they walked out on deck. ´We took on a couple of feet of water before we got it taken care of and repacked, but it was a bitch of a job. Especial y in the fucking dark.µ
´You haven·t left her for more than an hour that I know of in the last month or more. Leak like that would·ve been noticed before.µ
Śomeone went to a hel of a lot of trouble to make sure it happened slowly, and when we were way the hel away from land. It could have happened anywhere and anytime in the last week.µ
´You·ve got to be kidding.µ Nick gave him a startled look.
Śabotage?µ
Zane didn·t doubt it for a second. ´Tool marks al over the flange and bolt.µ
´Damn. I don·t like the sounds of this, Ace. You·re a lover, not a fighter; who could you possibly have pissed off enough to do something like that?µ
Zane shrugged. Ńobody I know of.µ It had taken a couple of hours, but they·d al pul ed together and managed to repair the damage and pump the water from the engine room. Stil pissed off, Zane leaned against the rail. ´Whoever the hel did this knew that removing the flax packing in the shaft wouldn·t be noticed until it was too late.µ
´You can·t be a hundred percent sure it was intentional,µ his brother pointed out reasonably. ´The boat is older than dirt. Fittings come loose, the packing could·ve ³µ
´
Fallen
out? Not a chance in hel . That flange was removed, the packing pul ed out, and the bolt put back. Those bastards knew it would be a slow steady leak.µ
Í hate to suggest this, but it·s obviously someone on board who did this.µ
´Jesus, Nick. There·s no one on board
Decrepit
who·d sabotage me. I·ve worked with these people for years, you know that. They al want this just as badly as I do.µ
Everybody except Teal, that was « Zane thought about that for a nanosecond and then dismissed her as a culprit. She was many things, but sne aky and underhanded, she was not.
Teal would stare him in the eye as she drove a jackhammer through the hul , but she·d never do it behind his back.
´There·s a lot of money at stake, Ace. Money is a great motivator. People have sold each other out for far less than what·s down there.µ
Zane shoved his hands into his pockets. Śomeone sabotaged my ship, but it·s not one of mine. Trust me. This isn·t over by a long shot. And yeah ³before you hit me over the head with it for the umpteenth fucking time ³I·l outfit her with that security system you and Logan have been bitching about me getting for years. But in the meantime, it·s a stel ar day, we didn·t sink beneath the waves, and good things are out there just waiting to be scooped up in al their glory.µ He smiled at his brother, not quite as sanguine as he was pretending to be. Something was rotten in Denmark, but until he figured it out there was no point flogging the problem to death.
Time to change the subject. ´You read my notes?µ
´You·l watch your back, right?µ Nick cautioned, then acce pted that for now the subject was closed. ´Yeah. Pretty damned exciting.µ
Zane leaned back against the rail. Í·m going to win the bet, you know.µ
Í hate to say this³but I think you just might.µ
´Want in on the action?µ
Nick shook his head. God, it was weird seeing his brother with al that facial hair. He looked like someone else. ´You do know you look like a deranged primate with al that fur on your ugly face, don·t you?µ
Nick laughed. Í·m not deranged.µ
´Matter of opinion.µ
´You can pay me back for hauling my ass out to play errand boy. I need Teal to take a look at an engine problem.µ
´Where·s Mario?µ
Ńot here.µ Nick shot him an inquiring look. ´Got a problem with your mechanic coming over to take a look, Ace?µ
Zane thought of their kiss last night, then he thought of Teal climbing aboard his brother·s boat. Man, he didn·t like the idea one bit. Óf course not.µ
As if she·d read their minds, she came up the ladder and walked on deck. Then peeled out of her wet suit. Even though he knew it was n·t intentional, watching Teal do the slow striptease out of the tight wet suit gave him an unwelcome erection.
Which was starting to be a permanent condition.
Underneath, she wore a perfectly respectable, plain black mail ot that looked as if it had been painted on. He frowned.
Nick waved a hand in front of his eyes to get his attention, which was when Zane realized he·d been staring like a randy schoolboy. Crapshitdamn.
´Hey, Teal!µ Nick yel ed. She was standing near the crane with Colson, who was showing her a sleek purple shel the size of his face. ´Grab your sunglasses and get ready to see what a
real
ship looks like.µ
Zane narrowed his eyes as Teal smiled at his brother. The smile was wide and easy. She liked Nick, that was obvious. Hel , he liked his brother, too. Most of the time. But he didn·t appreciate him waltzing in to swoop one of his team members off the ship. ´How long are you keeping her?µ
´Depends on how long I need her.µ
Ín case you failed to notice, we·re in the middle of a dive.µ They·d moved to a new site the day before.
Í thought the real dive didn·t start until next week? This is just a decoy dive, right?µ Teal glanced from Nick to Zane, and Nick smiled.
´Teal, my engine needs your expert eye. Can I kidnap you for a while?µ
Śure. Let me get a cover-up³µ
Nick slung an arm around her shoulders. Ńah. Why bother?µ
Why bother
? Because as modest as her one-piece swimsuit was, Teal was
naked
underneath it.
Nick might appear cool, calm, and reasonable on the surface, but underneath ran a boiling inner nature that was lethal to women. His sex appeal was subversive. Stealthy.
Unsuspecting females never saw it coming. Then
bam
!
Teal might not know it but Nick was every bit as masterful with the ladies as Zane could be.
On his worst day, of course.
Not happy with the turn of events, Zane pul ed his T -shirt over his head. She wore armor when he was around and Lycra with Nick? One thin damn layer of nothi ng? Not acceptable.
´Here. Put this on.µ He glared at his brother, who hadn·t said a word. Teal stood there mutely holding his shirt.
Śhe hasn·t built up a tan yet,µ he muttered to no one in particular. Śhe·l fry.µ
He cocked a brow at her. She was looking at him as if he·d lost his mind.
Hel . Maybe he had. ´Don·t hold it like you·re about to swab the deck with it,µ he snapped.
´Put it on, woman.µ
* * *
Scorpion
·s sleek clean lines as Nick brought the launch alongside the dive platform to tie up. The megayacht was a little smal er than Zane·s boat, but the contrast between
Scorpion
·s crisp white paint, miles of gleaming bright work, and immaculate teak decking, and Zane·s
Decrepit
was like night and day. Nick·s boat boasted a hot tub and a helicopter pad as wel . She couldn·t imagine anyone less likely to frolic in a hot tub than Nick Cutter. Now
Zane