Alive at 5 (Entangled Ignite) (5 page)

His jaw dropped. “Blackmail? Really? Do you know the penalty for that if I really
am
a cop?”

She snorted. “Extortion, actually. Well?”

He snapped his jaw shut. He knew very well what would happen if the adventure vacation company knew his real identity, and what his bosses would do if they found out he was still investigating this case after they’d specifically pulled him off it.

Wow. She had him. He was impressed, and a little turned on.

He ground his teeth. He would agree to her plan, only because he had no choice. He was determined to find and nail the son of a bitch who had killed his uncle.

“All right, fine,” he reluctantly said.

She might lose her job if she didn’t come back with her investigative story. But he would definitely lose his job if she exposed his undercover activities and his family’s private life on the news. So he would have to keep the nosy reporter under his thumb and under his control.

One way or another.

Chapter Four

Sam and George caught up with the X-Force Adventure Vacation Company in Peacock Springs State Park—250 acres of wilderness in Florida’s Panhandle. Two of the “accidents” had occurred in this very park.

After driving all night, they’d made camp shortly after sunrise. Now, in mid-afternoon, the sun’s heat poured through the openings in the treetops’ canopy. The air hung heavy, like the leaves on the live oak and silver maples surrounding them.

Sam sat next to Zack on a wooden bench just a few feet from the entrance to the Orange Grove Sink, a mocha-colored pool that struck her as too murky to dive in.

She’d done her research last night while George drove. She knew what a sinkhole was. They opened up all the time in Florida. But Peacock Springs was different. Rainwater and the flow of groundwater had dissolved the limestone in the area over time to form the largest underwater cave system in Florida. Five-and-a-half miles of passages had been surveyed by cave divers. That meant plenty of places for lone divers to get lost and in trouble.

The Orange Grove Sink was one doorway to that underground world of wonder. More like a deathtrap. Just the thought of diving in those passages made beads of anxiety bubble up on her forehead.

Patting the sweat away with a tissue, she cut a glance at George, who stood behind his camera. “Are we ready?” Her fingertips were starting to prickle, another sign a full-fledged panic attack had started. She didn’t have to dive today, so what was her freakin’ problem?

“Yep, ready.” The red light on George’s camera flickered on, indicating he was recording.

Zack leaned back against the bench in a tight, Batman-looking scuba suit, one arm casually thrown over the benchtop, but his eyes remained alive and focused, alerting her to the fact he wasn’t as relaxed as he wanted her to think.

“Cave diving is inherently risky. So, why take the chance?” she asked, playing her role as reporter for the crowd gathering around the sink.

“Why
not
take the chance?” He rolled out the same charismatic smile she’d seen right before Maxwell’s landing, when he was flirting with her, before the closed off and difficult side of his personality had surfaced. Which Zack would she be dealing with today?

“That’s not an answer.”

“Don’t judge my answers, or I’ll stop listening to your questions.” His gaze challenged her.

Ever since she and George had arrived, Zack had been playing this frustrating game with her. He’d been flirty, but uncooperative. If she talked to a group of people, he’d join them and listen. When she was alone, he’d avoid her. She still had no idea if Zack Hunter was an arrogant player or an accomplished investigator. Probably both.

She bit the inside of her mouth. No use. It didn’t stop angry words from storming out. “You’re not cooperating.”

“I’m sitting here, aren’t I?”

“You’re not answering my questions.”

“This isn’t a real interview.”

“Sure it is. We may use some of the footage.” She wanted to stomp her foot or do something childish that would make her feel better, but the camera was rolling. “And even if we don’t, they don’t know it.” She gestured toward the other vacationers nearby, using her eyes to make sure he understood the importance of convincing the X-Force Adventure group they were for real. Some were shuffling around the Orange Grove Sink. Others were testing out their dive gear. A few were joking around near a food cart. A couple of the vacationers had stopped to watch the interview.

Zack followed her gaze. “They aren’t close enough to hear what we’re saying.”

“How would you know that?”

He slid off his sunglasses. “Okay, boss.” His dark eyes danced with questionable intent. “Ask me again.”

George interrupted, “Hold up.” Shaking his head, he fiddled with a button on the side of his camera. “Dead battery. I’ve gotta run to the truck for another one.” He unlatched the old camera battery. “We weren’t getting any good shit anyway.” He jerked the battery off the camera and stalked toward the parking lot, mumbling under his breath.

As soon as she thought he was out of hearing range, Sam lit into her stubborn new partner. “You have no idea what I had to do to convince my boss to give me another chance and let me go on this investigation. I have to come back with a story. And you’re looking for answers too, right? So, what’s your problem?”

Zack’s posture stiffened. “This isn’t a game. You shouldn’t be here. No job is worth your life.”

“Well, I am here, so let’s at least try to act like teammates.”

She checked out the area again. Monica, a tall, blond field manager for X-Force Adventure Vacations, stood about ten feet away with a group of three other employees. Her attention appeared to be firmly anchored on Zack.

Leaning into him, Sam pretended to adjust the small microphone attached to his wet suit. “Have you found anything?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. Information on Maxwell’s death?” He smelled so earthy, so masculine in the wet suit, and his hair glistened with moisture as if he’d just taken a shower. What the hell? She didn’t even
like
this man, and she certainly didn’t like how she noticed all these details about him and reacted physically to them.

“Haven’t found a thing.” He inhaled slowly. “And you?”

“I just got here. So far the only person I’ve interviewed is
you
.” She made the mistake of glancing up. His pupils expanded. The flutter of butterfly wings teased her belly. She straightened, wondering again why he affected her like this. She’d interviewed the president, for Christ’s sake. Of the United States. She slid down the bench away from him. “What’s our next move?”

“We don’t have a next move. I’m cave diving in about fifteen minutes.”

“George is going with you.”

“No, he’s not.” Zack’s eyes flashed as he spoke, and he crossed his arms over his chest in a manner that left nothing open for interpretation. “I don’t dive with amateurs.”

“He’s not an amateur.”
Swallow. Take a breath.
“Will you stop challenging me and play along?” She fumbled for a place to hide her agitated fingers.

His big hands covered hers. His fingers were warm and his grip firm. “Play along with
your
rules, right?”

Damn it.
The butterflies were dancing in her stomach again. What was she, fifteen? She freed herself from the heated cocoon of his hold. “Don’t take this so personally. We’re partners on a mission.” This time she forced herself to stare him down.

The air between them popped with electricity.

“When you look at me like that, it makes this personal.” He inhaled again, this time so slowly she knew it was for effect. “Lavender. I like it. Very sexy.”

Her shoulders dropped. Of course he’d come back with an inappropriate comment like that. Yet, she
had
splashed on lavender body spray earlier that morning, knowing she would see him. “Don’t flirt with me. We’ve got a serious job to do here. To find a murderer.”

“Okay, problem solved.”

Sam jumped. She hadn’t heard George return. Behind his camera now, her photographer reattached the battery.

Silence hovered over the three of them, like a blanket of suffocating humidity. She shifted on the bench, rubbing her forearms, hoping heat and friction would force the baby fine hair on her skin to settle back down.

The red light on the front of the camera blinked. “Let’s take it from the top,” George placed his right eye behind the viewfinder.

“Mind if I listen?”

Sam turned toward the approaching voice. Monica had strolled over and now towered over her.
Great.
“Of course not.” Sam gritted her teeth while plastering on a smile. “But you’ll have to stand behind George.”

“Excuse me?” Monica drew back.

“So you won’t be in the camera shot.” She pointed to where she wanted the vacation manager to stand. As Monica walked by, a wave of jasmine assaulted Sam. Apparently, she hadn’t been the only one who’d splashed on body spray this morning. She made a disgusted sound under her breath.

“Let’s do it.” Now they
had
to make this look real. Turning to face Zack, Sam suddenly realized the chemistry of the moment had stopped her anxiety from building. She was nervous, but it felt different today. “So, cave diving is inherently dangerous. Why do it?”

He cocked his head and grinned like Tom Cruise in
Top Gun
. “I’m an adventurer.”

Those simple words ignited heat in her belly. Or maybe it was that confident smile. She licked her lips.

“I want to explore the unknown,” he continued, looking right into her eyes. “To seek out what I’ve never explored before. I want to run my fingers down a virgin passage, squeeze through a small opening. I may get stuck a few times, move back and forth, and work my way through, you know, into this mysterious place where I’ve never been. It’s magical.”

Oh. My. God.
She took a deep breath, her heart drumming like tiny, nervous fingertips. He was just playing with her. She had to remember that.

“There’s no audience, no crowd.” He motioned to the sinkhole. “It’s your own personal achievement. The ultimate pleasure.”

She started to ask a question. “But—”

He cut her off. “I’m a man who loves beauty.”

His gaze bathed her again, warming her with its intensity.

“Very few people can say they’ve seen the light as it breaks through crevices in the rock, painting an underwater cave in a rainbow of colors.” He closed his eyes, the vision in his mind obviously blissful enough to raise his lips into a smile. “There are no computers, no phones, no interruptions.” He opened his eyes and stared deep into hers. “Do you know what I do when I’m in an unexplored cavern?”

Her heart pounded loud enough in the silent pause she was sure her microphone would pick up the beat. “What?” She held her breath.

“I leave my fingerprints all over the new territory, marking it as mine forever.”

She exhaled.
Jesus, he’s good.
She glanced over at Monica, who had a dreamy look on her face. An idea struck her. If Zack Hunter could make her own guarded heart race, then he could probably seduce Monica with little effort. Maybe he could get the vacation manager to tell him everything she knew about the X-Force Adventure Vacation Company. Including the dirt.

“No more questions?” Amusement filled Zack’s voice. His gaze bounced back and forth between her and Monica.

Sam rolled her eyes. “Just one. Does that crap always work for you?”

He blinked. Then he barked out a laugh. “Yeah. Usually.”

“Amazing.” She stood. She wasn’t going to end up like Monica, quick to fall under his spell. She had his number. He was definitely a player. “No more questions right now. But I reserve the right to ask more after your dive with George.” She emphasized the last two words.

Zack lifted his chin, but he said nothing.

George switched off the video cam. “Whoa, that shit was much better.”

Why the hell was George grinning at her? A quick, bright flash startled her and made her stumble and drop back onto the bench, her body inadvertently colliding with Zack’s. Her muscles tensed.

“Perfect. I want to get a photograph of you two together,” a new voice interrupted, this one male.

Sam looked up. The X-Force Vacation Company photographer stood a few feet away, snapping shots of her and Zack.

“Sorry, because you’re back lit I have to use the flash.”

He was a short, balding guy, and easy to miss if not for the company T-shirt, the camera, and the annoying flash that followed him everywhere.

“Can you two move closer together? And smile, please. It’s for the X-Force website.”

Zack’s arm snaked around her waist. In one strong, fluid movement, he slid her body tight to his.

She willed herself not to react, even though the heat of him seemed to melt her skin.

His breath warmed her ear. “Follow my lead, so no one gets hurt,” he whispered. “We may be in the company of a killer, remember?”

She forced herself to smile and nod.

He moved one hand down to a sensitive area at her waist. She suddenly couldn’t breathe. His fingers grazed her skin and she flinched as he gently tickled her. What the heck!

The flash went off again.

“That’s it. Thanks.” The photographer stepped away, his attention on his camera.

Zack’s hot gaze burned through her.

Sam shot to her feet and walked a few steps away, trying to regain her composure. She couldn’t look at him because she couldn’t believe the effect he was having on her.

“Let me pack up real quick, and I’ll be ready to change into my dive gear,” George’s voice boomed, eagerness lighting up his expression.

He flipped his camera off the tripod and sprinted to their TV truck in the parking lot, his gawky gait impaired by the camera swinging at his side.

She peeked at Zack to see if he was going to protest again, but Monica had walked up to him, and they were engaged in conversation. Sam took a step closer so she could listen.

“What a great interview. I’ve never heard anyone describe cave diving with more color or passion.” Monica placed a hand on his arm. “Your interview will be great advertising for our company. I’ll put it up on our website.”

Of course she would.

But only if Sam gave her permission to use the footage. She smiled to herself.

Zack whispered something to Monica and the young woman grinned and nodded, glancing at Sam.

Embarrassed at being caught watching them, she turned away and helped gather the rest of George’s equipment. She fought the urge to glance at Zack again. But the need to know tugged at her, and she lost the battle within seconds. When she looked up, Monica was walking away and Zack was two steps from Sam’s side. She stood taller. “What did Monica say to you?”

He shook his head. “You’re always asking questions.”

“And you’re always avoiding answers.”

“I told her I’d take her diving tomorrow.”

“Really?” For some inexplicable reason, Sam’s chest burned at the thought. “You said earlier you don’t dive with amateurs.”

“She’s not an amateur.”