Kerry glanced up at him with a wry grin, acknowledging the unlikeliness of it all. “Don’t look it, huh?”
Charlie managed a chuckle. “Get your point, Kerry,” he added, suddenly turning serious. “Think those guys maybe got into something we don’t know about. Wasn’t that serious before.”
Kerry pondered that. Could it possibly tie in to what was going on with them? Was it coincidence the pirates had come after them right after they’d gotten away from DeSalliers? “Could be.”
Hearing footsteps approaching down the dock, Kerry cocked Terrors of the High Seas 265
her head. She got up and leaned over the side of the stern, spotting a familiar figure moving toward them. “Ah.” She exhaled. “Bob.”
Charlie got up and joined her. “That little asshole.”
“Mm.” Kerry climbed up onto the side deck and jumped to the dock just as Bob trotted up to the boat. “Hi.”
“Oh! Hey!” Bob seemed a little out of breath. “Glad I found you. Listen, the cops are after me. Can I hide out in there for a while?” He glanced behind Kerry and spotted Charlie’s glare. “Oh.
Ah…okay, maybe not.”
Kerry sighed. “C’mon. We need all the help we can get.” She paused. “Even yours.”
“Huh?”
Kerry took hold of his shirt and pulled him after her as she jumped back onto the boat. Left with a choice of following or losing his clothing, Bob joined her. “Our friend DeSalliers has been busier than you think,” Kerry told him.
Bob hid behind Kerry as they moved onto the stern. “Listen, Kerry did explain to you what happened the other night, didn’t she?” he asked Charlie hopefully.
“I know what happened the other night, you pissant,” Charlie told him. “You ran out and left us. C’mon over here and let me pop your damn little…” Charlie limped toward them.
“Uh… uh…” Bob started moving backward.
“Hold it!” Kerry stepped between the two of them and held up her hand. “C’mon, guys, we don’t have time for this.” She raised her voice when Charlie kept coming. “Stop it!”
One, two, three, four… Kerry counted silently, feeling the boat shift a little under her as something started moving.
The door to the cabin slammed open and Dar bounded out onto the deck, her eyes immediately taking in the situation. She pounced on Charlie, grabbed his shirt, and unceremoniously hauled him backward. “Hey!” she barked. “Cool it!”
“Let go of me!” Charlie yanked against her grip. “I owe that bastard a big right one.”
Dar got in front of him and blocked his way. “I said, cool it.”
She bristled. “We don’t have time for this crap. Like you said at the hospital—you made the choice to trust him. No one forced you.”
Charlie tried to brush by her. “Dar, get out of my way.”
“No.” Dar didn’t budge. “Don’t even think about trying to move me.”
He stopped and stared at her. “You think you’re Andrew? Get your ass out of my way, girl.” He put his hand against Dar’s shoulder and pushed.
Dar didn’t budge. She lifted her hand and closed her fingers around Charlie’s wrist, tightening her grip with sudden explosiveness. “Charlie,” she gazed steadily at him, “this is my 266 Melissa Good boat, and you’re on it,” she said. “Stop it.” Their eyes locked. “I’m not my father,” Dar warned him softly.
Charlie examined the glittering blue eyes, cold as ice, that were fastened on him, then he stepped back. Dar released his arm and he resumed his seat on the stern bench. “When we get off this boat,” he told Dar, “you ain’t stopping me.”
Satisfied with the answer, Dar turned. “All right.” She looked at Bob. “This has gotten a lot more serious. You can stick around, but keep your mouth shut, and if we need you to do something, don’t make me have to explain it in words of less than one syllable.”
Bob took a step backward. “Maybe I should just go hang out somewhere else.”
Kerry turned. “DeSalliers kidnapped our friend Bud and he’s threatening to kill him,” she said. “Sure you want to go out wandering around?”
Bob looked honestly shocked. “No kidding? I didn’t think he…
I mean, yeah, he’s famous for all this salvage crap, but I never thought he’d get as serious as that.”
“Let’s go inside.” Dar opened the door. “Hopefully, he’ll call soon and we’ll know where we stand.”
Kerry led Bob inside, taking a moment to give Dar a wry look and a pat on the side as she passed her. “Would you like some coffee?”
Dar gave a tiny moan in response. She turned and waited for Charlie to get up and limp over, standing back to let him enter. He paused as he came even with her and their eyes met again. After a minute, Charlie shook his head and walked past.
Dar turned and briefly surveyed their surroundings. She scanned the nearby boats, assessing their occupants. Nothing jumped out at her, and of course, DeSalliers’ yacht was nowhere to be seen. Her eyes spotted two policemen, however. One was standing near the beginning of the wooden dock, and the other was walking up and down near the beach.
She heard the sound of engines behind her, and she walked to the other side of the boat and looked out over the water. A racing boat was idling into the marina, big, throaty engines rumbling as it moved past them. There was a man behind the controls, with what Dar could only describe to herself as a babe next to him.
The man looked around and caught Dar’s eye, producing a smile and a wave in her direction. “Nice boat!” he yelled.
“Same to you,” Dar responded with wry civility. She watched the boat move past, making note of the name and the Miami Beach home port under it. The racer pulled into a slip two past theirs and disgorged its occupants onto the dock. The man gave the woman a slap on the butt and pointed up to a nearby restaurant. He turned Terrors of the High Seas 267
and walked the other way, toward Dar’s boat.
“Figures.” Dar stuck her head inside the door. “Got company.
Ker, watch my phone, will ya?”
Kerry had artfully positioned Bob and Charlie as far away from each other as she could in the living area and was preparing coffee behind the galley. “Aye aye, Cap’n Dar.”
Dar shut the door and walked to the side of the boat to meet their visitor.
“ANYWAY, SINCE YOU’RE a neighbor, I thought I’d pass the word,” the man said with a wry grin. “It was a hell of a weather system, and since it’s headed this way, you might want to check your float plan.”
Dar exhaled. “We had a bad storm here the other day,” she said. “I thought we’d finished with the tropical weather this year.”
The other boater shook his head. He was a relatively good-looking man, of medium height and the type of build that indicated he guilted himself into a gym a few times a week. “Yeah. And you know, I just heard we’re up for an El Nino again this year.
Weather’s been real weird.”
Dar glanced up. “Well, if what they say about global warming is true, better enjoy the islands now,” she said. “We’ll be diving them as reefs some day.” Her hand extended over the water.
“Thanks for the warning, Roger. I appreciate it.”
“No problem.” The man clasped her hand. “Hey, you said your name is Roberts?”
Uh oh. Dar nodded warily. “Yeah.”
His head tilted and he looked at her. “You’re not any relation to Andrew and Cecilia Roberts, are you? They’re my slip neighbors over at the South Beach Marina.”
Oh. Dar managed a relieved smile. “Yeah. They’re my parents.”
“Had a feeling.” Roger pointed at her. “You look like Andy.