Chapter 2

Finlay had told Seb her conversation with Alexis had been brief and short on details. Her friend needed their help because she'd stumbled across something disturbing.

Seb would classify the algae sample sitting in the dry box under Alexis's diving gear as disturbing.

The guy on Alexis's sailboat disappeared into the cabin and returned with a cheese puff bag in one hand. Even at this distance, the distinctive bag was recognizable.

"He's eating my emergency cheese puffs," Alexis hissed, keeping her voice low.

"I'll buy you a new bag when we reach Miami," Seb said.

Snack food was the least of their worries. Their problem was retrieving the dry box without the man raiding Alexis's pantry seeing them.

After opening the bag, the guy quickly scanned the water around the boat. He was sloppy, figuring Alexis would be easy to spot in the clear water. If he'd looked further out, he would have seen their heads sticking out of the water. He would have questioned snorkelers being out so far from the group of boats.

Carelessness gave Seb an edge, which he would gladly take.

The guy settled himself on a bench port side, his back to them. He watched the swim platform, expecting to nab Alexis as she boarded.

Every couple of minutes, he shifted his attention to the motorboat anchored starboard. The sailboat blocked Seb's view, but he was certain the motorboat had dropped the guy off. Whoever was running the show was in the motorboat. This guy was simply muscle.

"Where's your gear bag?" Seb asked as he watched the man.

"In the aft cabin," Alexis said, treading water beside Seb. "There's no way to get close without the guy spotting us."

She was right. The clear turquoise water the Dry Tortugas were famous for offering no places to hide from the man's view. Seb would have preferred coming back at night, but they couldn't predict what the men would do. They could move the sailboat or the guy could start rummaging through Alexis's belongings and find the dry box containing the sample.

"He's overconfident and only watching the swim platform," Seb said, a plan slowly taking shape. "Look at the size of him. He's not worried about overpowering a five-foot four woman."

"The bow is his blind spot," Alexis said, nodding. "Statistically speaking, that would raise our odds to better than one in four of being seen. Acceptable if we could board the boat from the bow."

The time Seb had spent with Alexis in Paris had taught him she looked at problems logically and methodically. She'd have to learn how to factor in a Navy SEAL. From what he'd seen as he observed of the man in the sailboat, the odds were stacked in his favor. The guy was bored. Seb wouldn't be surprised if he nodded off to sleep after finishing the cheese puffs.

"First, there's no us in this equation," Seb said. Alexis opened her mouth to protest, but Seb continued as he pulled up the GPS coordinates for his boat from his dive watch. "If anything goes wrong, you'll head for my catamaran. It's anchored on the other side of the boats. It's an easy swim. Hide among the boats until it's safe to swim to the catamaran."

"I'm not staying here treading water while you put yourself in danger," Alexis said as she inputted the location of his boat into her watch. "There has to be something I can do."

"I'll need a distraction." Seb quickly ran through the timing in his mind. It would be tight. The plan was far from perfect, but it was simple, and with a bit of luck, would work. "How long can you hold your breath?"

"I've done some free diving," Alexis replied.

Worst-case scenario, Seb would have to kill the guy if he spotted one of them. It would need to look like Alexis had caught him off guard. Whoever was tracking her needed to think she was still operating on her own. A dead guy couldn't tell them otherwise. It was the only advantage they had right now.

"You're going to splash around in the water to attract the guy to the bow while I slip aboard from the stern. The water is calm, so it won't take much to attract his attention. He's in the Dry Tortugas. Like everyone else, he'll want to see the marine life. You'll need to hide under the boat before he makes it to the bow."

Alexis grinned as she caught on to his plan. "I'll use a fin to slap the water. I've swum with enough dolphins to get the sound close enough."

"He'll scan the water ahead of him and to both sides before he moves to the stern, thinking it could have ducked under the boat. It should give me enough time to grab the dry box." If it didn't, he'd need to take care of the guy with no one on the motorboat spotting him.

"What if you don't have enough time and you're trapped in the cabin?" Alexis asked, her mouth pressed together in a grim line.

"Don't hang around. Trust me to get the dry box. We'll meet at my catamaran."

Alexis nodded, but Seb knew from experience that didn't mean she'd follow his directions. Both she and Finlay shared a passion to do what was right, along with a degree of stubbornness that would give anyone a headache. If she believed there was something she could do, Alexis wouldn't leave Seb to fend for himself.

He would have to make sure nothing went wrong.

"Seb, there's a USB drive with the algae sample. Make sure it's there."

He nodded. It must be important. If it wasn't in the dry box, he'd find it.

They dove under the water and swam to the port side of the boat's bow. Alexis was silent as they pressed themselves against the hull so they wouldn't be seen.

"Stay put while I check out the motorboat," Seb whispered. It was a risk. Whoever was on the boat would also watch the area around the sailboat, but he needed to know how many people were on the motorboat if things went south.

Alexis nodded. He sank beneath the water and came up on the other side of the sailboat.

The two men on the motorboat appeared to be arguing.

"What the f…" The man above him grumbled as a cheese puff dropped into the water beside Seb. "Four days of watching for her. We got lucky. Now we sit and wait. What the hell are they arguing about?"

Seb slipped under the water as the guy leaned over the lifeline. He shouted, extended his arm, and gave the two guys the finger.

When the guy withdrew his arm, Seb raised his eyes above the water. One man headed to the cabin. The other remained where he was, returning the salute. Muttering, the guy above Seb went back to the other side of the boat. His buddy took a seat on the starboard side of the motorboat, facing the sailboat.

Without a ripple to give away his presence, Seb sank slowly back into the water and swam under the sailboat, back to Alexis.

The three men were irritated after spending four days in the tropical sun looking for Alexis. They were impatient to finish the job. The slightest thing could set them off. It would complicate things if Seb needed to improvise.

"Problems?" Alexis asked when he surfaced beside her. Her voice was barely audible. The tense exchange between the men had unsettled her.

"They're not playing nicely together in the sandbox," Seb replied, knowing the outbursts would get worse the longer they sat under the scorching sun. "They've been here for the last four days, waiting for you. Give me ten seconds, then draw the guy to the bow."

She nodded, and he dove under the water, counting down as he swam under the boat. As he reached for the swim platform, he heard a gentle slap on the water. It could easily be mistaken for a dolphin.

The guy stood up as Seb slipped off his fins and placed them over his wrist. Keeping low, Seb ran to the cabin as the guy turned his back. Fifteen seconds later, Seb had retrieved the dry box and was retracing his steps. If the men had searched the sailboat, they hadn't thought to check Alexis's gear bag.

As Seb reached the last step into the galley, a shadow crossed the patches of sunlight streaming through the port windows onto the floor. Back turned to Seb, the guy scanned the water, as Seb had predicted. Only Seb had figured he'd spend a few more seconds checking the water around the bow.

Seb quickly placed the dry box into the waterproof pouch around his waist, set his fins on the bottom step, and scanned the galley. An empty beer can sat on the counter. The guy, still searching the water for the dolphin, was on edge, but sure of himself. It would never occur to him that someone had crept onboard without him noticing.

Seb grabbed the can and tossed it on the floor. The guy turned toward the sound. Crouching at the bottom of the stairs, Seb was ready to move the moment the guy bent down to pick up the can.

Only his feet were visible from Seb's vantage point when he stepped into the gallery. Another loud slap caught the guy's attention. He paused, then hurried back outside, leaving the beer can on the floor.

Alexis must have known Seb needed more time. But it was the wrong move. She should have let him handle it. The guy would attract the motorboat's attention as he walked up and down the boat, looking for the elusive dolphin. There'd be too many eyes on the water, making it trickier for them to escape undetected.

Seb padded up the stairs. This time, the guy's shadow glided across the floor in the opposite direction. Seb crouched and ran across the deck to the swim platform. Within seconds, he'd joined Alexis under the sailboat and motioned to the bow.

They cautiously raised their heads out of the water. Seb motioned for her to stay put as he moved port side, keeping close to the hull. The guy's shadow stretched and shifted along the ocean's sandy bottom as he walked toward the boat's stern, searching for the dolphin.

Someone on the motorboat shouted something indecipherable.

The guy's shadow disappeared from the water.

"Fuck you!" he shouted back from the starboard side.

Seb joined Alexis as the men continued to shout at each other across the expanse of water. Four days of trolling the waters around Garden Key had left them strung out. They were losing it.

"We need to leave before the guys in the motorboat get angry enough to pay this guy a visit. We'll hide among the group of sailboats and work out our next step."

Alexis nodded, and they dove to the ocean floor. They'd be visible in the crystal-clear water for a fair distance. Seb hoped their luck would hold, and they'd be far enough away to be mistaken as part of the snorkelers from the sailboat.

The unmistakable sound of an engine revving echoed through the water.

Seb surfaced and turned toward the Sea Serpent. The guy on board was waving his arms and pointing in their direction. Their luck had run out.